by Leona Jarnefeldt 14th March 2022, 2:39 pm
-Mr. Bank's residence, Mr. Bank's Office, eight hours and twenty-five minutes later-
"I see that you've completed the delivery to Dr. Madison. I also see that you've got something for me." Mr. Bank greeted the Wizard Saint as she walked into the room. Leona waited until she had stopped in front of his desk before replying.
"Yes, Mr. Bank. Dr. Madison sent some results she claimed that you'd find interesting." Leona replied.
"You know what to do, my dear. Place the briefcase on my desk and I'll read them later." Mr. Bank replied. Leona silently walked over to the desk and placed the black briefcase on top, then stepped back and watched the desk recede into the ground, then rise moments later.
"Well done, my dear Wizard Saint. I trust that Dr. Madison didn't give you any trouble." Mr. Bank said next. Leona shook her head.
"Not at all, Mr. Bank. Dr. Madison's a pleasure to deal with compared to Dr. Harrison." Leona reported. Mr. Bank gave an amused chuckle.
"That she is, but Dr. Madison's a strange one. She's so calm that she's almost detached from this world. She's married to her job and I don't think she has any family or significant others, so there's nothing to stand between her and her research." Mr. Bank offered his opinion on Dr. Madison. The part about being married to the job sounded a lot like Leona herself. The Wizard Saint was almost always on the go and almost always working or doing guild paperwork. She did not do much else besides those two things, but the arrival of Masha and Nathan into her life meant that she might have to find a better work/life balance.
"Anyway, you've completed that assignment for me. I appreciate you being willing to do that for me on the heels of the unpleasantness that Dr. Harrison subjected you to." Mr. Bank expressed his gratitude for her making a return trip to Motor City so soon after dealing with Dr. Harrison.
"It's no problem, Mr. Bank." Leona assured the client.
"Dr. Harrison's a thoroughly unpleasant man. He fancies himself superior to everyone because of his degrees, his diplomas, and his certifications. While he's undoubtedly a learned man, his people skills leave much to be desired." Mr. Bank spoke about Dr. Harrison. Leona was inclined to agree with that assessment, but since her own people skills were lacking, she kept her mouth shut.
"When I spoke to him about his mistreatment of you he owned up to it, but he claimed that you forced him to behave that way. He claimed that without him using a firm hand with you that you'd wander into his laboratory and mess up his experiments or steal his money when he wasn't looking." Mr. Bank added, telling Leona more of Dr. Harrison's defense of his unpleasant behavior towards her. Leona frowned.
"Yeah. I totally made him shove me against a wall and made him force me to dump the contents of my backpack on the floor last time. I also made him literally kick me out of his house hours ago." Leona said with obvious sarcasm. Mr. Bank chuckled.
"Yes, Dr. Harrison's logic is... strange. Speaking of the not-so-good doctor, I'll spare you the rest of the details of our conversation and tell you something. You should know that I issued him an ultimatum." Mr. Bank informed Leona.
"What might that ultimatum be, Mr. Bank?" Leona asked the client.
"I told him that you were the last of my couriers who was willing to deal with him. I also told him that should he ever lay another finger on you that next time he'd be fired. No ifs, ands, or buts." Mr. Bank informed her. Leona was not happy to hear that.
"I can't say that I'm happy about that, but it's not in my hands." Leona replied candidly. She had a feeling that Dr. Harrison would switch from physical abuse to verbal abuse in order to exploit the loophole in Mr. Bank's words.
"You're right. It's NOT in your hands, Wizard Saint. As much as I dislike the man I still need him. He does good work." Mr. Bank replied with equal candor. Leona frowned deeper but kept her mouth shut. The choice of how to deal with Dr. Harrison was Mr. Bank's and he had given his verdict on the matter. Whether she liked it or not Leona would have to abide by his decision.
"All right then." Leona replied as calmly as she could. She should have been more mature than to express her displeasure, but the news that Dr. Harrison was getting one last chance was a slap to her face. Dr. Harrison was likely going to switch from physical to verbal abuse and was going to be even more unpleasant to her now that he knew she had told on him.
"With that being said, I appreciate you putting up with him for so long without retaliating. I won't forget how you were the better person in dealing with him." Mr. Bank tried to soften the blow a bit by assuring Leona that she was the better person. That was not much comfort to the Wizard Saint, but she was glad to know that her efforts had not gone unnoticed.
"I appreciate you saying that, Mr. Bank." Leona said calmly, making it a point to acknowledge the compliment. She was not going to linger on the subject of Dr. Harrison because Mr. Bank had already made his decision on the matter and she was not going to challenge him on it. It was time to move on.
"Is there anything else you need me to do for you?" Leona asked Mr. Bank. Silence filled the air for several moments.
"I'll need a few moments to think, my dear Wizard Saint." Mr. Bank answered.
"All right, Mr. Bank. I'm in no hurry." Leona replied calmly. She remained where she was and waited silently for Mr. Bank to speak again.
[Post Word Count: 1,002]
[Total Word Count: 8,296/10,000]