"I know. But he's still collecting a paycheck."
"He is? Why?"
"Because of his contract. I had two choices. I could keep him on and pay him.Orfire him and pay him anyway."
"But that sounds like a terrible deal – for you, I mean."
With a shrug, Cole replied, "I wanted the company. And I secured other concessions to make up for it. Trust me, I made out just fine."
"Really?"
"It's like that with any deal," he said. "You get some things you like and some things you don't. The secret is to make sure the good outweighs the bad."
It was surprisingly philosophical, especially coming from a guy like Cole Henster, who had never struck me as the compromising type. "So you'restillpaying Mister Grampkin? Even now?"
Cole nodded. "For two more weeks."
"Why two weeks?"
"Because that's when the year ends."
"Oh. Right." This should've been obvious, but I was still reeling from what I'd just learned. And Istilldidn't understand why MisterGrampkin would be seeking a low-level job at a candy store when he used to run a much larger company.
It made no sense. But if Cole was telling the truth, I'd been angry at him for nothing.
And I'd quit for nothing, too.
Had I truly beenthatfoolish?
Maybe.
And yet, I couldn’t help but recall all of those job opportunities that had never panned out in spite of some promising interviews.
For months, I'd been convinced that Cole had been sabotaging my chances. But now, after these latest revelations, I didn't knowwhatto think.
On impulse, I said, "Let me ask you something. Do you ever get calls about me?"
"What kind of calls?"
"Like, for a job reference."
"Maybe," he said. "But Marge would get the calls, not me."
The name didn't ring a bell. "Who's Marge?"
"My new assistant."
Right.I knew firsthand that Cole didn't answer his own business line. And yet, I was almost jealous of this Marge person. Why, I had no idea. After all,Iwas the one who'd quit. "But let's say someonedidcall, what would Marge do?"
"She'd get with H.R., havethemhandle it."
"So not you personally?"
"There'd be no point," Cole said. "We only give out the basics."
"The basics?"
"Yeah. The person's job title and how long they worked there." He studied my face. "But why do you ask?"
