Writing Prompt: You think this means you won?

Morning all. Ready to jump into a new prompt? Excellent. Timers set for fifteen minutes and lets see if we can shake some of the morning fog from the brain.

I suspect this is not the beginning of the story but near the end and that Dan had something to do with the downfall. But I like the thought of a group who is powerful due to someone else losing their powerful patron and thus their shield for bad behavior. I think there is a lot of fun stuff to play with there.

Tuesday, March 10^th: You think this means you won?

‘You think this means you won?’  Dan thought the words, incapable of actually saying them aloud.  He knew that saying them aloud would just cause peals of derisive laughter from Dave and his cohorts.  It was clear from the smirk on his face that Dave thought he had won.  That he scored a victory. Dan held his tongue.

He allowed the rant to go ion in his head but he stood there stony faced and silent.

“Pathetic,” Dave said.  It was his parting shot.  He turned and walked away, the others following suit.  “Can’t even fight back,” Dave told one of his friends.  “What a loser.”

Dan let them go.  He knew in their world to back down was considered weak even if there was no way to win.  To not fight was to be weak. 

‘Keeping quiet for more than ten seconds is to be weak,’ Dan thought.  Dave and his friends believed that the volume of their voices rather than the content of their voices made them strong.  Loud commanded the room.  Loud meant you were in charge.  That you were Alpha.

Dan allowed himself a snort.  Dave and his friends could be as loud as they wanted.  People nodded and smiled when they were in the room but as soon as they were gone, smarter heads prevailed.  Whatever nonsense they were spouting was forgotten and people got in with what they planned to do regardless.

They smiled politely only because Dave’s father had power.  He was in charge, the CEO.  So of course people listened to him when he was present.

Dan held his peace.  He turned away and wondered if Dave even knew that his father was soon to be removed from his position.  He wasn’t retiring.  He wasn’t simply being replaced by someone younger.  He was being fired.  With Prejudice. 

He stole from the company and was involved in numerous shady deals. 

‘Not just involved,’ Dan thought.  In many places Dave’s father was the instigator.  He was being let go quietly so as to not drag the company’s name through the mud but there would be rumors and when any future employers called to check references, those rumors would be confirmed.  Dave’s father may no longer be able to command such a high position. 

There was another internal audit going on.  Many of the people Dave’s father made certain were hired were complicit in his schemes.  They were being let go as well.  All of those who were hired under him and not found to be complicit would be going under review.

‘All of us will be reviewed,’ Dan thought.  He felt a little smug about that.  His review came before Dave’s little show of superiority here.  He may feel the sting of humiliation, but Dan hoped that with luck Dave would not pass his own inspection.  He already knew all of the father’s of Dave’s cohorts were being let go.  Since like Dave they were all nepotistic hires, their scrutiny would be intense. 

Dan just hoped they failed inspection.