Page 30 of Deadly Sins: Envy

“Some.”

“I caught The Wild Honeybees the other night. They’re a bit green around the ears, but they have potential.”

“I’m looking for Alex Marshall. He works here, right?”

“Heworkedhere.”

“Was he fired?”

“He was.”

“Why?” I asked.

“He’s too aggressive with our clients. It’s ruining the business and my reputation.”

“Define aggressive.”

“Alex has a short fuse. I never know when he’s going to go off.”

“How long did he work here?”

“About a year.”

“If you thought he was aggressive, why did you keep him on for that long?”

“For the first nine months, Alex was the perfect employee. He seemed to be a team player, he got on well with Beck and the other guys, and the clients liked him.”

“What changed?”

“The honeymoon phase ended, I guess, and I started to see a different side of him. It’s hard to say what triggered it. One day he was fine. The next, he wasn’t. It was like a switch flipped.”

“Did anything happen around the time you noticed the change in behavior?” I asked.

“His mother died. I didn’t think much of it because he never spoke about her, and he acted like it wasn’t a big deal. Guess I figured they weren’t close, but thinking about it now, he was never one to speak much about his private life.”

“Had he worked in the industry before you hired him?”

He shook his head. “When he came in looking for a job, I said I’d give him a three-month trial period and we’d go from there. After the three months was over, I was impressed. I brought him on full-time. After six months, I gave him a stack of folders containing a dozen names of potential clients I’d met over the years whom I was still interested in working with but had never signed. I promised him a bonus for each one he talked into having a sit-down meeting with me that led to them signing a contract.”

“Was he successful?”

Kit nodded. “He sent four to me in two months, more than any employee ever had in such a short amount of time. I was thrilled ... until I started receiving complaints.”

“About what?”

“Two of the four I sat down with decided not to pursue the offer I made them, which I expected. I told Alex not to worry and to focus on the next potential client in the stack. He didn’t heed my advice. He started calling the ones who’d said no at home, using foul, vulgar language. They felt like he was harassing them. I was mortified.”

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t know what he was like.”

“I should have had an idea, though. I hired Alex to give him a second chance, an opportunity to make something of himself. He wasn’t just some guy off the street. He was a convicted felon.”

A felon, which meant it was possible he’d served time with Danny Jackson.

“For what crime?” I asked.

“Aggravated assault against his ex-girlfriend. According to Alex, they were drinking one night. They got into a heated argument, and she punched him and then bit him on the neck. He pushed her away, trying to defend himself, and ... well, Alex’s a big guy. He pushed too hard, and she fell through a glass table.”

How convenient.