Chapter 5

I stared at that period for 10 seconds. It seemed loaded with complicated emotions: confusion, anger, speechlessness, and maybe a tiny bit of pride, if I wasn't kidding myself.

Half an hour later, Richard called. "Care to explain yourself?"

"Explain what?" I said.

"I paid you to scout, and you came in first in the whole department?"

"That was, uh, kind of a happy accident."

"An accident? You took eight classes and came in first in every single one. You call that an accident?"

"I wanted to do the most thorough scouting job I could."

"You weren't scouting. You were…