People were trying to tell him he was a genius. As Henry walked along the side of the board room table, people kept on shaking his hand. Patting his back. Telling him he was a genius. The only thing he felt was bitter regret. Henry could feel the eyes of James seering into the back of his head. He knew he wasn’t a genius. He may have developed the idea, but he was no genius. The seed that started it all was blurted out at their apartment one drunken Tuesday night.

“You know, we’re probably smarter than all of those stuffy suits,” James declared as he took another swig of beer.

“Maybe you, Jamie, but certainly not me,” Henry muttered. He knew full well that no matter how hard he worked, he couldn’t compare with the ingenious brain of James Howard III.

“That project they’re working on, you know, the one for the new ride’s launch program. There’s a really simple solution to their overly complicated problem,” James said in a blatant and almost bored tone.

As the meeting wrapped up, Henry shoved his way to the door and burst out, needing to get out of the suffocating guilt. However, this did nothing to alleviate his discomfort. He saw James nearing the exit of that torturous board room, and knew he couldn’t stay to face him. Henry started towards the elevator with renewed vigor.

Henry stepped outside the sliding glass doors and into the Florida heat. He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the thick, humid air. Somehow, it still wasn’t as suffocating as that board room. He knew he shouldn’t have done it. He knew he should have let James come forward with it, or not at all, it should have been his choice, it was his idea. After Henry messed up the delivery of the promotional photos to the board, he needed to redeem himself. Everybody loved James, with his British accent, and family influence. He didn’t need another leg up. Henry bringing the idea to the head of the department gave him the credibility he needed to succeed in this company. He knew he had to set himself apart from the rest somehow.
Henry jumped as he heard the mechanics of the doors working behind him. James stepped out, eerily calm.

“Why’d you do it?”

“I needed to.”

“Needed to betray your closest friend? Needed to act like my idea was yours?” James’ voice rose with every syllable. The calm facade that he maintained is no more.

“I need to not get fired! They’re gonna fire someone soon as a part of the program, and you’re fine! You’re Dune’s favorite, and everybody says all your work is excellent. I just wanted to level the playing field.” The bitter words came out of Henry’s mouth too quickly to stifle. The hurt visible in James’ eyes was like a hot knife.

“What playing field? I’m sorry, but I wasn’t aware this was a competition,” Jamie said, the frustration in his voice clear.

“I’m sorry. I was desperate,” Henry began to plead.

“You know what? I don’t even want to hear it. My version of desperate is very different from yours. Sure, it would’ve been a rough few months trying to regain some of the credibility you lost, but you could’ve gotten there. This was not your only choice, and it says a lot about you that this is how you chose to handle it. I’m getting my stuff from the apartment tomorrow, and from then on I don’t want any contact from you,” James said, as he strode back into the building, not looking back at Henry once.

Henry spent the next 24 hours in a state of purgatory, unable to work with the crushing weight of his actions. For a genius that should be proud of his accomplishment, he was downright miserable. Still consumed with regret, and the loneliness he felt without his best friend, he sat slumped over his desk. The report that hadn’t budged from his screen for over an hour wasn’t becoming any clearer. Henry was positive that none of the others before this had been this hard. He wanted more important work, but this jump felt big. Maybe it wasn’t big for the guy that came up with a solution that the top company engineers hadn’t dreamed of. Henry straightened up as he heard the click of heels making their way to his cubicle. The only woman in the office who wears heels is a woman to be feared. Being the head of the department’s assistant came with extreme power.

“Mr Wolcott, Mr Dune has asked to see you,” Helen said as she rounded the corner to his desk. “If you wouldn’t mind following me to his office.”

She didn’t even wait for a reply before she strode off, expecting he would be on her tail. Which she is correct to assume, as Henry jumped out of his chair and lengthened his strides to keep up with her. At every window they passed, he checked his hair, his teeth, and his tie. As they reached the wooden door, Helen left him, returning to her desk. He cleared his throat and knocked.

The heavy door was opened for him, and he met the gaze of Alfred Grant, the engineer in charge of the launch project. As Henry stepped forward into the corner office, he felt more and more out of place. The men standing in the room were the ones calling all the shots. Anything Henry said to them was inconsequential, as he was so low in the office hierarchy.

Mr Dune gestured to the seat across the desk from him, and Henry nearly tripped over his own feet scrambling to the seat.

“Well, Mr Wolcott, I’m sure you’re wondering why I called you in today,” Mr Dune began as he looked at Henry expectantly.

“I must admit I am, sir. Is there anything I can help you with?” Henry said, trying to keep his voice as level as possible.

“As a matter of fact, there is. I was hoping you could clear something up for us. If you wouldn’t mind, could you please tell us how exactly this idea for the launch came to you? Be sure not to leave out anyone who may have influenced the idea.”

Henry sat there, gulping like a goldfish out of water. As he scrambled through his mind to come up with anything, any probable process of how he had come up with the idea. The only clear thought that pulsed through his mind continuously was that he knew being a genius wouldn’t last for long.