Who’s the Fool? by C.L.Chick
(aka KrystalGamer1 - written for April’s SimLit)
Read Time: ~ 2 minutes
Jake landed on his rear after Derek pulled the chair out from under him. He hung his head as the entire IT department of the Bank of Norwald erupted into laughter, with Derek’s being the loudest and most prominent.
“Look everyone,” Derek held up a newspaper rolled into a cone, “I made a gift for our resident fool.” He placed the dunce cap on Jake’s head while he mocked him. “Duh, doh, I, uh, don’t know what happened to my presentation, Sir. Doh, duh. It was on my computer yesterday. I swear it, Sir.” The office erupted into laughter again.
Jake stared daggers at him.
“What?” Derek crouched near him and whispered. “Are you going to go run and tell the boss how I stole your work again? Go ahead. Try it. Wear the cap. It’ll be fitting when he calls you a liar and an idiot and kicks you out of his office again.”
Late that afternoon, Jake read his letter of resignation three times before hitting the send button, then logged out of his computer for the last time.
Eventually, the office grew quiet and only Derek remained. Jake knew he’d be the last to leave. It was part of his ruse to make him look like the hardest worker in the department. It also meant that he was entrusted with the keys and had to be the last one out.
He waited until Derek joined him in the elevator, then stopped the door right before it closed. “Oh, I forgot something. I’ll be right back.”
Derek let out an impatient huff. “Whaddya forget? Your dunce cap?” He chortled. “I’ll be downstairs, sap. Hurry it up,” he added as the door closed.
Jake raced to Derek’s computer and inserted the flash drive. It took him less than sixty seconds to get the job done.
The next morning, Jake flipped through real estate ads while enjoying a fine Columbian roast from his luxury hotel room on Grand Cayman Island. A newscaster prattled on in the background, then garnered his attention with a story of interest.
“Breaking news. Authorities are reporting that the sophisticated hack of the Bank of Norwald came from the inside. Computer programmer, Derek Johnson, described as a “genius” and “rock star” by coworkers, has been arrested for the heist. We interviewed manager, Thomas Storm. “I can’t believe it. Derek was the best and brightest in the department. He had everything going for him.” When asked if Mr. Storm thought it could be anyone else, he said, “It’s impossible. No one else had the knowledge or access. And they’ve already checked the forensics. It came from his computer.””
There was a knock at the door. When Jake answered, a suited gentleman in his mid-thirties greeted him. “Hello, Mr. Davis?”
Jake nodded. “That’s me.”
“It’s Louis, Louis White. We spoke on the phone.”
“Yes, I’ve been expecting you.”
“Excellent. I thought we’d begin with the Bahala Tropical Villa. It’s a steal and well below your budget at only $1.2 million.”
“Sounds great. Just let me grab the rest of the listings.”
He turned and went back into the room, retrieved the stack of listings from the table, then peered at the newscaster on TV with Derek’s mugshot to her right. “Who’s the fool now, asshole?” He hit the button on the remote and the screen went black.
If you enjoyed this story, please feel free to share it with the links on the right.
“Way to go, Jake Davis! Karma's...Well, you know what they say about Karma. Cute little story and I just love love love the ending! Derek's definitely the fool.” - Vikki Chick
“I love it! Derek got what he well deserved!” - lisabeesims
“Oh, my! Derek got his comeuppance in a big way! He definitely picked the wrong person to bully. This is very well-written, Krystal, and I love the photos/builds!” - Sally Long
“Man---I wish I could question Derek's choice to bully the person whose work he was stealing, but this behavior isn't uncommon in my experience. Sounds like this jabroni would have sabotaged himself with no input from Jake. But this way's more fun.” - Dolly Llama
“What goes around, comes around. Swiftly. Lol” - Mena Buchner
“Aha. Well that will teach him to assume someone is a fool. Gotcha!” - MInraed
“Back to reread - still a very satisfying comeuppance!” - lisabeesims
“This proves adults are just children who have to pay bills, lol. Don't mess with Jake. It's the quiet ones who'll ruin your whole world!” - Qnshr5
“Really enjoyed this story! Derek got what was coming to him, lol!” - divanthesimmer
“Fantastic story, the twist was brilliantly written.” - SimmedUp Magazine