"Leslie What - Designated Hater" - читать интересную книгу автора (What Leslie)

You suddenly understand that random violence is not random, but is
contracted out. It all makes perfect sense, now that you know how things work. You
lean forward. тАЬSo why are you talking to me? What happened to the last guy?тАЭ

тАЬRetired,тАЭ he says. тАЬWas with me forty years. Says you can call to chitchat
about the job, if you want.тАЭ

You canтАЩt help but be interested, but youтАЩve read your share of
deal-with-the-devil stories, so youтАЩre understandably cautious. тАЬWhatтАЩs the catch?тАЭ
you ask.

тАЬItтАЩs a volunteer position,тАЭ he says, тАЬand unless something happens to me,
thereтАЩs not much opportunity for advancement. I canтАЩt think of anything else, other
than that.тАЭ

You tell him, тАЬNo. It sounds rather extreme.тАЭ He shrugs, and bums some
numbers into the tabletop with his breath. тАЬIf you change your mind, just give me a
fax,тАЭ he says. He disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving the contract fluttering above
the table.

You dear the dishes and shove the paper into the garbage sack. You hurry to
the office, but find it impossible to keep your mind on your work. The boss notices
you sitting around and gives you a little something extra to work on at home.

It takes you four hours to finish that little something. YouтАЩre hungry, but all
you can find for dinner is a banana thatтАЩs gone black. The flesh is soft, so sweet it
tastes metallic. You toss the peel into the garbage and тАФ almost as an afterthought
тАФ pick your way through the trash to retrieve the contract. The paper is smooth,
strangely cold. You read carefully, searching for loopholes, then fold the paper into
fourths and slip it into the back of your bureau drawer.

You tell yourself, тАЬIтАЩm not interested,тАЭ but you know itтАЩs pretty low when you
have to lie to yourself because no one else is there to listen. You struggle to keep
from opening that drawer to read the contract over one more time.

You picture yourself signing on the dotted line. Your hand goes to your
pocket, where your purloined ball-point pen has just leaked and left your new shirt
bruised for life.
 You know that managing the Designated Hater would make life a little easier.
Because sometime soon тАФ maybe later tonight, maybe not till tomorrow morning тАФ
someone is going to do something else so stupid it pisses you off, pushes you a little
further over the edge. Consider your options. Really, when you think about it, youтАЩre
the most qualified applicant around.