I agreed.
Julius Swanson was one of those recruits.
Within a month of joining the company, he'd been promoted all the way up to executive assistant to the CEO.
That's when the office gossip started reaching my ears.
Someone from the secretarial pool came to me with a tip.
They said Julius had been bringing homemade lunches to Shelagh's office, and the two of them would eat together, holed up in there for the entire lunch hour without coming out.
Shelagh's explanation was simple:
"Julius works incredibly hard, and he's talented. I can't hold it against him just because he's young and fresh out of school, can I?"
"As for the lunch thing, it's because he's so dedicated. He helps me process documents through the lunch hour, so he just started bringing his food to my office."
"There's nothing between us. But if you think it's inappropriate, if you're jealous, I'll reassign him. Just say the word."
I wasn't the type to doubt my partner over rumors and hearsay.
On my own time, I reviewed Julius's credentials and sat in on a few meetings he'd managed.
Everything was organized, measured, well-executed.
I genuinely admired the guy's potential. I paid off his student loans and his family's debts out of my own pocket.
I even arranged a raise and a promotion to chief secretary.
I told the staff to knock off the gossip and stop spreading rumors about someone who didn't deserve it.
I thought I was investing in a promising young man with a bright future.
Turns out I was feeding a snake.
It started with the locks. He claimed he needed constant access to the apartment to pick up documents for Shelagh, so he changed the door code to his own birthday.
When I confronted him about it, he apologized with this wounded, pitiful look on his face.
That same night, he took a drunk Shelagh out and neither of them came home. His phone was off. Hers went straight to voicemail.
I searched for them for an entire day and night, nearly called the police,
before Shelagh finally called to say she was already back at the apartment.
I rushed home and found him standing in my kitchen, wearing my pajamas, making Shelagh breakfast.
When he saw me, he put on a sheepish smile.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Fox. I'm so dumb, I just can't remember your door code. Ms. Henson had too much to drink, and I couldn't get in, so I had no choice but to take her to a hotel for the night. But don't worry, nothing happened."
My temper flared. I was about to say something when
Shelagh's face went cold. She pointed at the front door and told him to get out.
"You can't remember a six-digit code. You can't figure out how to turn on a phone. Maybe the chief secretary position is too much for you. Don't bother coming in tomorrow."
The color drained from Julius's face.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Henson, I swear it wasn't on purpose! Please don't fire me! My mother needs surgery, two hundred thousand dollars, and I'm counting on my salary to help cover it!"
"If you let me go, my whole family is finished!"
Shelagh stared at him, ice-cold.
"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to my husband. You're the reason he's angry. If he doesn't forgive you today, I don't care if you cry yourself to death, you're gone."
Julius dropped to his knees in front of me, slapping himself across the face, one cheek then the other.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Fox. I was just afraid that knocking on the door in the middle of the night would wake you up and affect your health."
"I'm stupid, I have no social skills, I messed up! Hit me! Yell at me! Just please, please don't fire me!"
I looked at him on the floor like that, and in the end, I said nothing. I just told him to leave.
Shelagh wrapped herself around my arm afterward, clinging to me.
"Honey, how are you so kind? He made you angry and I was ready to fire him on the spot!"
