“Think I’m scared? Look at you, Aldric. All tame and housebroken.
A momma’s boy, tagging along to company parties just ‘cause she asks!”
Briony opened her door, half-standing. “Aldric, let’s call the police,” she said. That’s when Jarvis shoved me, hard, his palms slamming my chest, making me stumble back.
“What’s your deal, huh?” he roared, face flushed, tossing his can to the ground, liquid fizzing out. Briony yelled, pulling out her phone, flashlight on, filming every move. “Jarvis, back off!” she shouted, her voice sharp but steady, camera locked on him.
I followed Briony’s lead, pulling out my phone and calmly calling dispatch. I reported someone blocking our garage, acting aggressive, and drinking in public. Jarvis lunged closer, bellowing so the alley echoed.
“He’s attacking me!”
“Are you for real?” I said, stunned by his act. “I’m threatened!” he screamed. “He came at me!
This guy charged me!”
He paced, arms flailing like he was pleading to a jury. Briony’s phone captured it all, her flashlight making him squint. Marigold sat frozen in the car.
Police arrived in under five minutes. Two officers stepped out. Jarvis’s act flipped instantly—he was suddenly calm, hands in pockets.
“Officers, I was just leaving,” he said. “I’m blocked in. This guy got hostile!”
I stayed quiet.
Briony played the video. Marigold backed us up. The car was illegally parked.
The can lay at his feet. One officer raised an eyebrow. The other shook his head.
“Been drinking, sir?”
Jarvis’s eyes widened. “This?” he said, grabbing the crumpled can. “I… uh, found it on the ground.
Was gonna toss it.”
“Sure.”
They ran his license. No priors, and he blew just under the legal limit. Enough to squirm, not enough for charges.
They told him to leave and warned him about obstruction and public drinking. “Count yourself lucky,” one said. “Next time.”
Briony stayed by the car.
Marigold said nothing. As Jarvis drove off, he slowed, lowered his window, and flicked something at me. It floated down, landing at my feet.
His business card. “Don’t forget me, Aldric!” he yelled. “I can talk my way out of anything!”
I picked it up.
Glossy black cardstock, raised text. Jarvis T. Creative Consultant, Architectural Visualizer.
Website. Email. Phone.
Downloadable résumé. Overdesigned, it screamed, Take me seriously. It seemed like something he tossed often, a branding flex, not caring who had his info.
That was his mistake. He wanted to feel untouchable. He wanted the last word.
But that card? Jarvis handed me the keys to his world. I said nothing to Briony or Marigold.
I smiled, helped Marigold settle in, made a salad while Briony warmed the pasta and tossed garlic bread into the oven. I laughed when it was needed. But my mind was already working.
I work in systems. I know how databases talk, how applications hit queues, and how long it takes for a résumé to land. And Jarvis?
He’d given me a direct line to his world: résumé, contacts, digital fingerprints—clean, legitimate. A playground waiting. I found a rough address from my mom’s email.
The dots didn’t connect—they begged to be used. So I got to work. Every night, after dinner, when Briony and Marigold were asleep, I’d pour a drink, open my laptop, and apply for jobs.
As Jarvis. Dozens. I savored it, slow, like a ritual.
Retail. Fast food. Warehouse.
Grocery. Gas stations. I filled applications like crafting a masterpiece, using his résumé.
No edits. He’d done the heavy work. I just redirected his brilliance to… humbler platforms.
“Why do you want to work here?”
“I love engaging people and have a flexible schedule.”
“What are your long-term goals?”
“To grow within a customer-facing role and lead a team.”
“Work weekends?”
“Absolutely!”
I uploaded his portfolio link to every application—renderings of luxury condos, minimalist wine bars. Let managers puzzle why an architect wanted to stack soup cans. I didn’t lie.
I just… gave him exposure. Eighty-seven applications. I counted.
While I did it, I pictured Jarvis smirking, then frowning, checking his inbox, notifications piling up. Unknown HR emails. “Thank you for applying!”
I imagined him groaning at recruiter calls at odd hours, maybe a callback from a hardware store.
I saw him wondering if someone was pranking him or if he’d gone LinkedIn goblin. It took a week—late nights, cold coffee, and the thrill of knowing someone like Jarvis, who struts through life untouchably, was about to feel a pinch of chaos. Then I waited.
A month later, it hit. We were at my parents’ for dinner. Marigold had left.
Mom, Nerys, made roast chicken. A calm night. Briony set the table.
Dad had the game on low. “Oh, Aldric!” Mom said, tossing feta into the salad. “Remember Jarvis?
My boss’s kid?”
“Yeah,” I said, keeping my face blank. “What’s up?”
She grinned, sitting down, wiping her hands. “He’s losing it.
His mom, Odessa, says he’s swamped with job offers. Not his usual… caliber, though.”
“Like what?”
“Fast food,” she laughed. “Hardware stores, call centers.
Honest work, but for him? A nightmare! He thinks he’s hacked.”
“Wild,” I said, pouring wine.
“Odessa said he got a call from a movie theater. Jarvis thought it was a studio gig. Nope—concession stand.”
I took a bite of chicken, chewed, swallowed.
“System glitch, probably,” I said. “Happens.”
“Maybe,” she said. “Honestly, he’s too full of himself.
Even Odessa’s fed up, and he’s her only kid.”
I didn’t pry. I didn’t need to. In my head, I saw Jarvis pacing his apartment, slamming his mouse, rereading emails, unraveling.
I pictured him Googling himself, logging in and out of job sites, changing passwords, suspecting everyone he’d ever crossed. I grinned. Maybe he blamed a coworker of his mom’s.
An ex. Or just karma catching up. Me?
I never said a word. Not even to Briony. A week later, I checked his website from the card.
Gone. “Bad gateway.”
His socials? Locked down, private.
His “creative empire” was offline. And you know what? I felt alive.
Not a shred of guilt. Because guys like Jarvis don’t think about the lives they bump, the messes they leave, the voices they drown out. He didn’t care how tired we were, how hard Briony and I worked to make our home ours.
He didn’t hesitate to shove me, lie to the cops, or toss that card. But when that card left his hand? He gave me something he didn’t intend.
Access. That card was meant to intimidate, to say, I’m bigger than you. But it really said, Here’s everything you need.
Would I do it again? Hell yes. Karma doesn’t always send a memo.
Sometimes, she’s in sweatpants, sipping cold coffee, clicking “submit” after dinner. Sometimes, she knows exactly which form to fill… and which button to crush.
