"Mr. Clifton, how can I help you?" Tony asked in a trembling voice.
He knew that he was a nobody in Baltimore and that Rufus refused to talk business with him, so he assumed he must be ringing to order him to do something.
"A young man is going to come to you to apply for a job. I want you to hire him as a security guard," Rufus said succinctly. He didn't want to waste his words on someone like Tony.
"Yes, yes, I'll offer him a job at once," Tony said quickly. He thought back to the arrogant young man that he had just sent packing and wondered how he could find him.
"Don't tell anyone about it or I promise you'll regret it," Rufus said coldly.
"Yes, I understand. Rest assured I won't tell anyone," Tony managed to assure him before Rufus ended the call.
Tony was sweating and was short of breath. He was more tired than he had been the time he had to break up a huge fight between some of the university's students after a party.
The pressure of being watched by the Clifton family of Baltimore was a heavy burden.
"He must come to work here," he told himself. He was nervous and kept repeating the words over and over. He had only one thought in his mind. He had to make sure that Alex started working as a security guard, or he would face consequences too horrible to even think about.
He got up and rushed out of the office. As he passed several staff members stood up and greeted him.
"Good day, Chief Lewis," one said.
"Chief Lewis, how are you?" said another.
They saw that Tony was sweating and wondered what was wrong.
"Mr. Lewis, what's the matter with you? Are you very hot? You can't be, it's cool in here," one asked with concern.
"Don't worry about it. Help me find Alex Ambrose. If you can't help me find him, just get out of my way," Tony said angrily. "Someone tell me where Alex Ambrose is."
"Alex Ambrose?" The others hadn't heard the name before. They didn't know who Alex Ambrose was.
"The young man who just came looking for a job," Tony explained with frustration. He thought, You're a bunch of idiots. He felt angry and defeated.
"Oh, he went out through the south exit," said one of the security guards.
Tony opened the door and rushed toward the south exit. The other security guards sensed his panic and followed him.
As he ran out of the administrative building, Tony saw Alex and Don sitting on chairs beside the pond. He was so relieved to see them that he ran straight over.
Alex didn't react, but Don was puzzled. He wondered, Why has Chief Lewis brought so many people out here?
"It was very good of you to apply for a job with us, Mr. Ambrose," Tony said when he reached Alex. His forehead was glistening with sweat, and he had an eager smile on his face. He continued, "I'd be overjoyed if you would join our team. Please come with me and we'll sign the employment contract immediately."
Tony's words surprised everyone. Twenty minutes earlier, he had contemptuously dismissed Alex. Something must have happened to change his attitude so abruptly.
"Oh? Chief Lewis, didn't you say that I'm not suitable for this job and that I should go and find something else?" Alex asked.
When he saw Tony's look of desperation, he knew that Rufus must have scared him.
"No, I was talking nonsense before. I was wrong. Mr. Ambrose, no matter your height or appearance, you're perfect for the job. I believe you were born for it. Our security team here at Johns Hopkins will be very lucky to have you," Tony said quickly.
"You mean I was born to be a security guard?" Alex asked.
"No, I didn't mean that," Tony replied hastily.
The job of security guard was not well respected in society. Tony didn't want to accidentally belittle Alex. He was flustered as he said, "I mean, with your qualifications, you would be good at almost anything."
"Well, then I'll find something else that I'll be good at." Alex stood up and prepared to leave.
"Mr. Ambrose, wait," Tony said, trying to stop him.
He was so anxious that he almost cried. He took Alex's arm and said, "Please stay. I can offer you thirty-five hundred dollars a month just to sit in the office every day. You don't need to do any patrolling or standing guard."
Johns Hopkins University security guards were paid about thirty thousand dollars a year. Tony had promised Alex an annual salary over forty thousand dollars. He was prepared to take the pay raise out of his own salary if it would persuade Alex to take the job.
If he couldn't persuade him to accept, he knew that the Clifton family would hold him responsible. He couldn't face their anger.
Tony glanced at other security guards and said, "And you lot. Why haven't you apologized to Mr. Ambrose yet?"
The other security guards didn't understand what was happening, but they always did as Tony ordered them to do. They started apologizing to Alex.
"I was wrong before. When I said that young people are impetuous, I was wrong. It's really just being energetic," said the middle-aged security guard with glasses. "In fact, I'm convinced that you'll be an excellent security guard. I feel very lucky to work with you," he continued.
"At only twenty years old, you're still young and vigorous compared to us. Having you in the team will really liven us all up. Mr. Ambrose please join us. It will be very good to have a younger person on the team on a campus full of young people," said the round-faced middle-aged man.
Seeing how anxious Tony was, Alex was satisfied. He said slowly, "Well, okay, I'll stay and work as a security guard. As for your offer, I don't need a raise or a reduction of work. Just tell me my duties."
He didn't want any special treatment because he knew that would make the others dislike him. He was determined to get along well with his colleagues.
"Well, that's wonderful," Tony replied as he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and his heart finally slowed down. He said, "Mr. Ambrose, I'll handle the paperwork for you now."
"Okay." Alex was just about to leave when he saw Don who was still sitting in a chair nearby. He asked Tony, "Chief, do you have a job for him?"
Tony had planned to take all the wages from the position left by Don in addition to his own. He said, "Don doesn't get along with his colleagues. He's not suitable for this job."
When he heard how Tony described him, Don was depressed. He felt that his future looked gloomy and he felt even more envious of Alex.
"I disagree. If he's not going to be working here, then I can't either. I'm sorry," Alex said, turning to leave.
"Mr. Ambrose," Tony said, but then he hesitated for a few seconds. Finally, he said, "Don can continue to be a security guard here. I won't fire him."
"Really?"
For Don, it was an unexpected joy. He quickly stood up, went to Tony, and said, "Thank you, Chief. I promise that I'll do a good job."
Tony wasn't happy about it at all. He felt like he'd been manipulated into paying an extra body, which made him feel resentful and depressed.
"Mr. Ambrose, please come with me. We'll sign the contract." He took Alex back to the office and they quickly completed all the paperwork. Alex officially became a security guard at Johns Hopkins University.
"Well, Mr. Ambrose, Don can show you around the campus and explain your duties to you. When you get back, we can talk through everything and decide together on your exact responsibilities."
"Thank you, Section Chief Lewis. Please call me Alex. You're my boss, so I'm happy with whatever duties you assign me," Alex replied.
When he walked out of Tony's office, the other staff looked at him suspiciously. He'd been able to change the boss's mind completely in under twenty minutes, and they knew that their chief was usually very stubborn when he'd made his mind up about someone. They wondered if there was more to Alex than they knew.
Alex ignored them. He knew that whatever he said, it would only arouse more suspicion.
He went over to Don and asked him to show him around the campus and explain all about their work.
As they walked around the campus, Don kept staring at Alex intensely. Finally, to break the tension, Alex patted Don on the shoulder and asked, "Are you in love with me? Is that why you're looking at me like that?"
"What? No!" Don was taken aback by Alex's question but quickly recovered, and said, "I'm just very curious. Who are you? Why was Chief Lewis so desperate to please you?"
"I'm just an ordinary person. I think Mr. Lewis was afraid that I would sue him for rejecting my application without a good reason. That's why he was afraid of me," Alex lied.
"Well, I thought you were just another rich young brat, but maybe I got it wrong." Don scratched the back of his head and said with a smile, "But I still want to thank you. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have a job, and my sister would have no books to read."
Alex heard the simple and honest gratitude in Don's words. He had heard him mention his sister several times, and deduced that he didn't care how hard his life was as long as his sister could afford books to read. That seemed to give him the most joy.
They went to the northernmost part of the campus, where the six-story house stood that was the residential building of Baltimore University.
Alex and Don were walking toward it when a girl approached them carrying some books. Alex was very happy because the girl was Debbie.
Alex went over and asked Debbie if she was living in the house. He also told her that he had been given the security job so he would be able to protect her.
Alex and Debbie were aware of Don's presence and were careful about what they said so as not to arouse his suspicions. After a few words, Debbie went inside.
As Debbie walked into the residential building, Alex turned back to Don.
"Alex, you already have friends who are studying at the university," Don said with a smile. Then he said in a low voice, "But you can't go messing around. I can see you're married." He was looking at the ring on Alex's finger.
Alex looked at the ring and smiled. He couldn't tell Don that it was the girl he had just been talking to who had given him the ring.
"Don, buddy, how about we work in this area together? What do you say?" Alex said.
Don was thirty-two years old and had more experience. It should have been him calling the shots, but Alex knew that if he worked around the residential building, he would be able to watch Debbie every day and monitor what was going on.