“Julie.”
“Yes?”
“I need you to know that what Melissa said about your employment was inappropriate.”
I stayed quiet.
“Your position here depends only on your performance. And your performance has been excellent.”
“I appreciate you saying that.”
Richard paused.
Then:
“Your father is very thorough.”
I glanced toward Dad.
“Yes.”
“I underestimated how thorough.”
“Yes.”
“I won’t again.”
He wished me goodnight and ended the call.
Dad asked who it was.
“Richard.”
“And?”
“He told me my job is safe.”
Dad nodded.
“I knew it would be.”
“How?”
“Because Richard is smart.”
Dad kept his eyes on the road.
“Smart people usually recognize when a situation creates unnecessary exposure.”
“You really knew all of this would happen.”
“No.”
“I knew the work was correct.”
He tapped the old spiral notebook sitting on his dashboard.
“I knew my records were complete.”
“I knew the box wasn’t mine.”
“I knew I had called the correct people.”
