Never Cross Your Boss

"Mr. Hank Goodman, this is Curtis Snyder from HR at Westbrook Holdings. We've found serious discrepancies on your resume, so we're rescinding your job offer."

The HR representative hung up before I could ask what he meant. I stared at my phone, my jaw tightening.

I founded Westbrook Holdings during my sophomore year. To keep a low profile and finish college without drawing attention, I put our CEO, Emily Peterson, in charge of running the company while I stayed behind the scenes as its majority shareholder.

Since then, Westbrook Holdings grew into an established company with formal hiring procedures. HR shouldn't have rescinded an offer without first looking into the allegations.

The dorm room door swung open. George Owens walked in, pretending to look concerned.

"Hank, HR just told me they pulled your offer. Is that true?"

He sighed and walked over to my desk.

"You get such good grades. Why would you lie on your resume? You know this could ruin your career, right?"

The room went quiet. Wade Chandler stopped playing his video game and pulled off his headset.

"Well, that explains it. I wondered how you landed a management trainee job at Westbrook Holdings when you're barely even here to study. Turns out you just lied your way in."

He turned to George.

"At least you're doing it right. You're up early every morning, working your butt off over there. That's how you earn a job."

George tried to look disappointed, but a smile kept tugging at his lips.

"I was just looking out for the company. I couldn't let them hire someone based on a fake resume."

Then a quiet voice rang out.

"But we all know Hank's good at coding. Why would he need to lie?"

The voice came from across the room. Ross Wiley, our straight-A roommate who usually kept to himself, looked up from his books.

He frowned and pushed his black-framed glasses up his nose. "Besides, their hiring assessment is really tough. Hank got the highest score."

Wade rolled his eyes.

"Oh, sure. You spend all day with your nose in a book, so you must know how the world works. Who cares what he scored if he's a liar? Why are you so eager to stick up for him anyway? Planning to make up a few things on your resume, too?"

Ross was never good at arguing. His face flushed, and he struggled to find a response.

I gave Wade a hard look. "Since you're so worried about everyone else's career, how's your job search going? Last I checked, you didn't have a single offer."

His face tightened.

I turned to Ross and softened my voice. "Don't waste your time on this, Ross. Go get some studying done."

Ross gave me a grateful look, gathered his books, and left for the library.

Wade turned back to George. "Hey, we should celebrate tonight! You're about to get hired full-time!"

George brushed him off. "I've got work to catch up on tonight. Weren't you going to take a shower?"

Wade hesitated, then shuffled into the bathroom.

As soon as we were alone, George dropped the concerned act and grinned at me.

"So you get better grades than I do. Big deal. That won't get you far in this city, Hank. You need connections. You need to know how things work."

He ran a hand through his hair.

"That management trainee position is mine now. Welcome to the real world, buddy."

As he raised his hand, I noticed the fancy watch on his wrist.

George didn't come from money, and his internship barely paid enough to live on. A watch like that was well beyond his budget.

I chuckled. "Is that right? Let's hope your connections can help you keep it."

His smile faded. I pulled out my phone and sent Emily a message.

[Look into someone in HR named Curtis Snyder.]