An Unexpected Solicitation

"Check this out. Remember the headhunter I mentioned at the conference in Birmingham? Look what just came in the mail. Bet it's a job offer." Jake eagerly tore open the envelope. His smug look was quickly replaced with one of confusion, and then dismay. "This can't be right! They got the wrong guy."

"Not the offer you were hoping for?" I politely asked.

"Listen to this crap: I was very much impressed with you and informed my colleagues that I believed your background, political affliations, and world view were very much aligned with our organization's mission. We would like to reserve in your name a ticket at no charge to fly to Nashville for our annual membership drive. We have also sent important links to the business email address you gave me at the conference."

"How dare they compliment you.." But before I could finish, Jake interrupted. "This is from a white supremacists group. This could ruin me. I could lose my job. How could this happen?"

Jake spent the remainder of the day making furtive calls, pacing the halls, and asking me for advice.

At 4:59, on the way out, I stopped at Jake's desk. "You know what this sounds like to me?"

"What? Please tell me. What if this spreads across social media?"

"Sounds like payback for April Fools 2019. You really didn't think I'd let that slide, did you?"

"You son-of-a.."

My grin never faded the entire commute home.

243 words

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