The story does not contain sexual involvement of people under 18.
*****
In college was a good student. I knew that my future professional life depended on good grades, which would open doors for me. Despite constant efforts by my girlfriends to involve me in their social life, going to parties, and meeting guys, I resisted and rarely went out, opting to invest my time in being better in school.
My BFF, Sonia, was the most vocal of them all, "Debbie, you are pretty, smart, funny, and have a body of a movie star. You have a unique mixture of qualities that both guys and girls like. You are young and beautiful, and wasting the best years of your life."
My answer was always the same, "I am 20. I'll have enough time to enjoy later, when my career is established."
In most subjects I got an A. The only exception was math. For some reason, professor Arthur Bonham didn't like me. I prepared long hours for his lessons and tests, and thought I knew the material. However, he took every opportunity to mock my efforts and downgrade my examination scores. His piercing eyes and smirking smile confused me; I admired his wisdom and wit, but could not understand why he didn't like me. Unlike some students, I was trying to listen to every word he said, I was polite and never challenged him, and, of course, never attempted to play tricks on him like Peter and Barb often did.
By the end of my senior year, I managed to gather enough courage and asked to talk to him in private. He spared me 5 minutes. I muttered, "Professor Bonham, I admire you as a great teacher. For years I've tried to please you, but it seems you don't like me. Why is it?"
His eyes inspected me up and down, and then his stare met my eyes again, "Debra, you are a good student, but you can do better. Your good looks are not going to deter me from demanding more of you."
"But I really did my best, yet you still lowered my score to B."
"Because, as I said, you could have done better." He had a mischievous grin and signaled for me to leave the room.
...
Fast forward 6 years.
I was 28, unmarried, a junior CPA with Morgan, Gallagher, and Smith, the most lucrative firm in town. I was very proud to be the only one who got accepted among dozens of applicants. I was tutored for 2.5 months by 2 senior members and was doing well. I began getting clients 3 months ago and started being appreciated.
One day, the boss entered my office, locked the door behind him, sat down, and said, "Debra, I like how in such a short time you showed good progress. I want to give you a chance of a lifetime. A friend of mine just inherited a huge estate with 2 businesses from a very rich uncle who recently died. He asked me to designate my best employee to take care of the necessary taxes and have recommendations on how to continue. The job may expand from CPA to investment brokerage, increasing the profits exponentially. I could have given this job to anybody, but I believe in you. Please, don't disappoint me."
I was elated, "Sir, you won't regret it, I promise."
He smiled, "You better. Your future depends on it."
"Thank you very much, sir."
He placed an envelope on my desk, grinned and left the office.
I opened the envelope and saw the person's name. It was Arthur James Bonham.
...
Professor Bonham arrived at my office on Tuesday at 10 am sharp, right on time. He gazed at me and recognized me immediately, "Debra, what a surprise. So you are the Miss Sergeant my friend recommended. I hope he is right. I have little patience for losers."
I forced a smile, "Sir, I looked at your file and think I can help you."
"Good to hear. Listen, I have another appointment an hour from now, so let's begin."
"Actually, I already prepared a proforma with preliminary recommendations. In short, since you are now 46 and prefer to continue teaching at the university, I thought selling the 2 factories you inherited and investing the money would be a wise way to continue. I outlined my suggestions to do it in a way that will save you significant tax money in the upcoming years."
He grinned, "Sounds good to me. I'll take it with me and check your assumptions at home. If you are correct, I'll be very proud to have been your former teacher. Let's meet again in a week, but I prefer to do it in MY new office. Access is much easier."
He extended his hand to me and left soon after.
...
The following Tuesday, at 9:30 am, as we had planned before, I knocked on his office door at the high rise building across the lake. It was a scantily decorated room with a mahogany desk and a couple of chairs. There was no place for a secretary. He let me inside. I walked to the large window and glanced at the impressive view from above.
I smiled at him, "Sir, from here you can see half the city. It's a fantastic office place, which you obviously did not purchase with your teacher's salary."
His face turned serious, and he blurted, "Debra, you are right. I inherited a large sum and plan to use it wisely. I checked the documents you sent me and, unfortunately, you disappointed me."
My heart sank, "What did I do wrong?"
"Your assumptions were based on previous government and congress data. However, if you haven't noticed, republicans took over, and their agenda is completely different. If I invest according to YOUR recommendations, I am likely to lose a lot."
I blushed and later turned pale.
He continued, "But that's not all. In your calculations, you neglected to consider the local taxes on the ingredients that were bought abroad. Taking into account these additional expenses changes the equation completely." He stopped and stared at my face.
I wanted to bury myself from shame, "Sir... it will never happen again. Please give me another chance."
"Debra, in college, on your final day I told you I expected more from you. I am sorry to say you failed both of us."
"Sir, please, it was a huge assignment and I worked on it day and night, so minor errors are inevitable."
He smirked, "MINOR?... Perhaps for you because it's not YOUR money. I think it's better if I talk to Joe Morgan and tell him his recommended employee sucked so I plan to give my business to Rogers & Perlman. I am sure that they can do better."
I saw my world crumbling on top of me. I didn't just royally screw up, but I was shaming Mr. Morgan and our famous firm. The result would certainly be my firing and never being able to practice in town again.
I pleaded, "Please, Professor Bonham, if you leave us because of me, it will damage our company's reputation and ruin my life..."