Empire of Lies

Michael Before

I never understood what would make someone willingly apply for a job in corporate America. Between the monotonous hours, the chicken-shit pay, and the tedious tightrope treading across a fragile CEO’s ego, there was little to admire. It was why I remained completely unimpressed whenever I met a suit. They all talked and walked the same, and they honestly thought that they ran my city.

They had no idea about the gritty underbelly shit that kept the wheels turning while they were sleeping. No idea that every dime in their banks, every share from their investors, and every person who walked in and out of their sleek-colored buildings were all directly co

Still, every now and then, I couldn’t help but steal a glimpse of this world in action. Just to make sure that I’d made the right decision to avoid it.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the employee of the month a

“I hope you’re as excited as I am, people!” He pushed his wire-framed glasses up onto his face as the rest of the team entered the room. “Are we ready?”

I checked my watch and set the timer for seven minutes.

“The employee of the month, the person who will receive the life changing four hundred-dollar bonus on their next quarterly check is…Peter Monroe!”

The room erupted into applause. I remained still by the windows, ru

“Mr. Monroe has tripled his sales and landed us new business clients which will truly help our bottom line.” He continued to talk. “As for the personal feedback, he’s been stellar there as well. A customer called our corporate line and said her grandmother was sick—said she needed a little extra time to pay her loan, and Mr. Monroe said hell no. Then he double charged her account!”

Applause.

“There was another customer who claimed that he was about to be evicted—which we all know isn’t our fault, and Mr. Monroe turned down his request for an extension. He got him to sign on for another short-term loan with an even higher interest rate. Not only that, but he got this customer’s entire family to sign up for separate loans as well!”

Mr. Monroe smiled amidst another round of applause, and Mr. Albright encouraged the staff to cheer as loudly as they could.

“I hope he’ll serve as an example for the rest of you this month and you’ll pursue the impossible, because it’s possible.” He clapped his hands. “Congratulations, Mr. Monroe. Now, back to work, everyone.”

The employees started to leave the room, and I debated whether I wanted to give this man my parting words now or in his office.

“Mr. Dawson?” He beat me to it. “Mr. Dawson?”

“Yes?” I approached the glass table.

“Can you stay behind a few seconds, so I can talk to you in private?”

I nodded and waited until the last person left the room.

“I was hoping that I would be able to a

“But what?”

“Well, lately you haven’t been yourself. You’re lacking the team spirit, and you’re lacking the drive. You’re also—for lack of a better word—sucking ass.”

I raised my eyebrow.

“Especially these last couple of days,” he said. “You went from being nice and approachable to brooding and cold. You were once the first associate to volunteer to work late hours, but now you’re leaving super early. Also, I don’t know why the hell you went and got tattoos all over your hands and on your goddamn neck, like you’re some type of wa

I smiled, saying nothing.

“Now,” he said. “I can only afford to keep the employees who give their all every day, so I’m willing to give you a chance to stay on board at the best hedge fund in the city. What do you think about that?”

“I think…” I paused, wondered whether I should be a nice person about this or be myself.

“Um, hello, Mr. Dawson?” He crossed his arms. “I can’t wait all day for you to respond. Time is money, and we do have more sales to make.”

Myself it is... “I think your company is a festering shit hole that preys upon the poor, and I think your father is rolling around in his grave right now at the fact that you call this a hedge-fund company. I can guarantee that he’s more than disappointed with you and how disgustingly greedy you’ve become. I also think you have no idea how to be a real CEO.” I paused. “Then again, you are cheating on your wife with the college girl who brings you coffee, cheating your employees by more than seventy percent, and lying to all of your other rich friends about ru

His face paled and he looked as if he’d lost his soul.

“Are you still impressed with my research, or do I need to tell you a little bit more about yourself?”

He said nothing, he just stared at me.

I shrugged and headed to the door. Pushing it open, I looked over my shoulder. “If it’s any consolation, I was already pla

I walked through the offices, taking the elevator down to the garage.

The moment I slid behind the wheel of my Jaguar, I sent my identical twin brother a text message.

Me: Congratulations. You’re fired now.

His name immediately crossed my screen via phone call.

“Yes?” I answered.

“Did he try to beg me to stay? Was he surprised?” His words rushed out like a river. “Never mind, don’t answer that. Thank you for taking another one for the team.”

“Why don’t you ever submit a two weeks’ notice or simply stop showing up to these shitty jobs like a normal person?”

“Because I have deep and severe closure issues.” There was a smile in his voice. “Don’t you remember our dear therapist saying that?”

“I only remember you continuing to use it as an excuse.” I rolled my eyes as I pulled out of the parking garage. I heard one of my burner phones buzzing in the glove compartment and stopped the car. “Hold on a second.”

Opening it, I rummaged through all seven of them until I found the culprit. The one that was marked “work.”

“Yes?” I answered.

“Good morning, Mr. Anderson,” the soft sound of my lead employee’s voice came over the line. “I’m so sorry to bother you this early in the morning, but we have a few major problems.”

“Tell me the biggest one.”

“We’re almost sold out on VIP tables for New Year’s Eve, and Rio Warren is here right now wanting to buy four of them.”

“Okay, and?”

“It’s Rio Warren, sir.” She suddenly sounded softer. “As in, the rumored boss of the D’Amato mafia family…”

No, he’s actually their ‘underboss’. I shrugged. “Is he willing to pay his money upfront?”

“Yes, he um…He laid it all out in hundred dollar bills a few minutes ago.”