Chapter 2

02

Nelson Shepherd worked at my company. I'd saved his number and never once used it.

The reason I wanted to call him now was the cash gift I'd found under his name in Wilfred's funeral book.

And it wasn't small. Twenty thousand dollars.

Nelson had no relationship with Wilfred. That money was meant for me.

I hesitated for a moment, and as I watched my turn for the procedure come up, my hand shook and somehow dialed his number.

Just as I was about to hang up, he answered.

"Hello, Ms. Henson..."

"Yes. Can you come to the hospital?"

The words got ahead of me, and just like that I'd said what I was thinking.

The moment it was out I regretted it. Nelson and I weren't close.

"Okay. Send me the address."

I hadn't expected him to agree so easily.

After I hung up, I hesitated, then sent it anyway.

I really hadn't thought he'd get there before I went in.

When he came running up to me, he was out of breath, beads of sweat still on his forehead.

"Ms. Henson, what's wrong?"

Nelson was a few years younger than me. We had no dealings normally, so why had he paid twenty thousand after Wilfred died?

And why had he rushed straight to the hospital to see me?

"Just a minor procedure."

The questions were cut off by the voice calling me in.

I turned and walked toward the room, Nelson following beside me, not knowing what to do with himself.

Inside, I was clear-headed at first, then slowly went hazy and lost consciousness.

When I opened my eyes again, he was already standing at my side.

He didn't ask anything, didn't say anything, just stayed with me quietly.

I rested at the hospital for a while before leaving, and he stayed with me the whole time, all the way back to the house I was living in now.

"I got scared because of the procedure. That's why I called you. Thank you."

He waved his hands quickly. "Don't mention it. Get some rest, Ms. Henson."

He was still stiff around me, probably because I ranked above him at the company.

Before he left, he cooked me some porridge, and as I ate it I couldn't stop the tears.

I rested at home for two days, then went back to work.

The moment I walked in, everyone looked at me with pity. Among my coworkers I spotted Nelson, and there was more concern in his eyes than in anyone else's.

When I got to my office, I saw the layoff list.

This decision was one I'd already known about before Wilfred's accident, so it was no surprise.

Opening the list, I found six names on it: people who never put any effort into their work and made a spectacle of themselves all day long.

I took out my pen to sign, then stopped short as Nelson's name flashed into my head.

As the idea rose, I called the HR manager.

It didn't take long before he handed me a new layoff list.

This time there was one more name on it. Nelson's.

Manager Lambert glanced at me a few times, like he wanted to leave but had something to say.

"Manager Lambert, if you have something to say, say it."

I asked without looking up, and that seemed to give him the nerve to speak.

"Ms. Henson, everyone else is a known slacker. Letting them go is one thing. But Nelson's honest, and he works hard. If we cut him, it'll be hard to satisfy people, and he'll probably take it badly himself."

What he said was true enough, but the company's decisions were mine to make.

"The fact that he tried to bribe me should be reason enough, don't you think?"

I looked up at Manager Lambert, and this time there was nothing he could say against it. He could only nod and leave.

I signed the layoff list quickly.