The Three Fates of Henrik Nordmark: A Novel Read Online Free Page A

the first time since they sat down.
    “What do you mean?”
    “The golf pro made millions and the first thing he did was divorce his wife so he could marry a Victoria’s Secret model, you know, kind of like what Lance Armstrong did when he divorced his first wife to date Sheryl Crow.”
    “People really do this?”
    “It happens all the time,” Mason said.
    “Really?” Roland said.
    “Really.”
    Roland undid his suit jacket and sat there lost in thought. Two minutes passed in silence before the door to the interviewer’s office opened. Out walked a gruff old man in an expensive tight-fitting suit. He had a round belly and his face was all eyebrows and Coke-bottle glasses. “Mason, you’re next,” he said.
    They shut the door behind them. For fifteen minutes, Roland picked at the rubber on the sole of his shoe until Mason came out. Both men were all smiles as they exited the interview room. They shook hands, patted each other on the shoulder and even shared a laugh. The interviewer gave Mason a gentle slap on his shoulder and flexed the bicep on his right arm. Roland was surprised to see Mason reach up and feel the man’s bulging muscle.
    The interviewer looked at Roland. “Let me hit the bathroom and then we’ll talk,” he said.
    Roland waited until he left the room.
    “What was that all about?” he said.
    Mason hesitated. “It was the strangest thing,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. The interview was going really well until about the ten-minute mark when the guy challenged me to arm wrestle.”
    “Really?”
    “Really. I told him I didn’t want to arm wrestle and that we should talk about the job. But he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He said he doesn’t respect a man without the gumption to arm wrestle him and that he’d never hire a man he doesn’t respect.”
    “So what did you do?”
    “I arm wrestled him.”
    “Right there in the meeting room?”
    Mason nodded. “Yep.”
    “Did you win?”
    “No,” Mason’s voice changed. “That old guy’s really strong. He beat me in three seconds flat. When it was over I asked him if I got the job and he said no. He said he might have given it to me if I’d had the guts to challenge him to arm wrestle and not the other way around.”
    Roland looked at the office; his eyes drifted down the hallway where the interviewer had gone to the washroom.
    “What should I do?”
    Mason glanced back at the office door. “If it were me, if I had to do it all over again,” he said, “I would walk right in there and challenge him before he even had the chance to challenge me. That would show him you have balls of steel. He would hire you for sure if you did that.”
    Roland churned his jaw and squinted a little.
    “I don’t know,” he said.
    “It’s up to you.” Mason walked toward the exit. “I already know I’m not getting the job. If I were you, I’d do everything in my power to show this guy you mean business.” Mason left the interview area. The room was quiet for a few seconds before the interviewer returned from the washroom.
    Roland immediately started sizing up the man’s forearms.
    “Let’s get this over with, shall we?” the man said.
    From the moment they entered the office and sat down around a small table, this man’s demeanor told Roland he had absolutely no chance of getting the job. Roland swore he could see the man’s eyes turn upwards and to the left — a classic characteristic of deceit. He also noticed the man’s arms were limp and that he only looked Roland in the mouth and jaw, not in the eyes. This man was completely disinterested and had no intention of hiring him. Roland felt a twinge of panic in his chest. When the man spoke, all of Roland’s fears were realized.
    “So, tell me about yourself,” he said.
    This was an unqualified catastrophe. The man drawled out the word So as if he didn’t even want to start the conversation, as though he was thinking inane thoughts about breakfast and