An irritated sigh escaped Kyle, and he rolled his eyes. “Listen. These people know the system inside out—better than you and me. I swear they come here pretending not to know the language, yet theysomehowmanage to get every entitlement out there.”
He smirked, and Blake had to hold himself back from grabbing the man by the throat and throttling him. Kyle was one of those insidious bigots: smiling on the outside, then cursing you under his breath when you walked away.
Unaware of how his words upset Blake, Kyle continued his rant. “I’ll bet she’s on Medicaid and food stamps and lives in subsidized housing, yet you can bet your ass she drives a Mercedes. Those people—”
He couldn’t sit there any longer and listen to the crap coming out of Kyle’s mouth. “I’ll make sure to keep it strictly business from now on. You won’t have to worry about me.” Forcing himself to smile, Blake hoped his faked sincerity fooled his boss. He held his breath as Kyle studied his face.
“See that you do. It’s busy out there again. Better get back to work.”
Happy to be dismissed, Blake gave Kyle a brief nod and escaped the office, his heart pounding. A close call. He’d have to be careful when dealing with the customers from now on. Despite what he said to Kyle, if he could help someone, he would. It was who he was, and that would never change. The same way if he saw wrongdoing, he’d have to report it, which is what landed him here in the first place.
He flopped down in his chair, and Oscar peeked over the top of the cubicle wall.
“Kyle give you hell?”
Unsure anymore who he could trust, Blake shrugged. While he liked Oscar, certainly more than Lucy or Eddie, he wasn’t at all certain he could confide in him. Seemed snakes in the grass didn’t only live in the corporate world.
“It’s okay,” said Oscar with a nod. “I understand. We were all young and idealistic once. Best to come in, do your job, and then go home and fight the good fight. There’s no place for it here. Not if you want to keep working.”
In Oscar’s eyes he saw wisdom and resignation, and Blake hated it. He didn’t ever want to go through the motions of life. Jeremy had taught him so much without even trying. Sure, making money was important. He wasn’t stupid. But what was the purpose behind it all if you became lonely and bitter from the struggle? Living life to the fullest and enjoying the simplest pleasures in everything needed to walk hand-in-hand with the business side.
“It shouldn’t be like this. There’s room to do our job and help people too.”
“Son, when we’re young, we all think we can change the world. In the end, more often than not, it changes us.”
“And not for the better,” Blake remarked. “I want my life to mean more than getting up in the morning and sitting in an office every day. If I can help one person, then I’ve accomplished something.”
Oscar opened his mouth to answer when Lucy, who’d finished with a customer, paused on her way back to her desk and cut him off. “You know, Blake, if you don’t like it here, you can walk. Trust me, there are plenty of people looking to fill your spot.”
Biting back the insult he’d have loved to hurl at her, Blake gave her a tight smile. “I never said I didn’t like it here. To the contrary. I love working with Oscar and George. They’ve been a great help and good friends.”
He’d never been one to actively dislike someone on sight, but in the time he’d worked there, Blake found himself unable to garner up any enthusiasm to even attempt a friendship with Lucy. Combative from the start, she thrived on nitpicking and attacking everything he did and said. The best he could figure out was that she resented where he’d once been and took out her frustration on him about her own inability to leave her job.
Her lips narrowed, and she flushed. “Just make sure you listen to Kyle. It’s his business to run.” She walked away.
At Oscar’s heavy sigh, he raised his brow. “I hear a lecture coming.”
Furrows creased Oscar’s forehead, and he ran a hand over his closely cropped head. “Hate to say it, but she’s right. We all sell our souls to a different devil and have to figure out how much we can handle before we break.”
For the rest of the day, Blake thought about Oscar’s cryptic comment. It continued to bother him when he and Jeremy were at dinner with Noah. He liked Jeremy’s soft-spoken brother and knew Noah would understand his feelings. Everyone sat chatting, well-fed and warmed by the wine, and he waited until after they’d ordered their espresso, then broached the subject, careful not to give anything away.
“If you knew something would help a person but you were told to keep quiet because it might cost you your job, would you?”
Jeremy and Noah glanced at each other first; then Jeremy braced his elbows on the table, a troubled frown wiping away the laughter from his eyes.
“Is there a problem at work? You haven’t mentioned anything.”
“Not so much a problem but I was really curious as to how Noah would think to handle it.”
Noah gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s actually a common question I get from patients. I think that’s a personal decision, but one that goes into the heart of your core beliefs. Can you stand by and simply do your job without becoming personally involved?”
“Where’s this coming from? I don’t get it.” Jeremy’s quizzical expression caused his heart to thump.
“Just a question.”
As if he didn’t hear Blake’s answer, Jeremy continued. “Is someone you know at work getting a hard time from the higher-ups?”
Now Blake wished he hadn’t brought anything up. “It’s nothing. Just a hypothetical. I, uh, heard something today and wondered how Noah would handle it. That’s all.”
