THE MOMENT
"It must've been an underhanded attempt at sabotage...," Murry shrugged at his boss. He knew it was a backfired scheme he'd set up; but, the details didn't matter too much. He knew his boss wouldn't dig around too much if he didn't press the issue, and it was easier to just let it go. Especially because he had such a solid alibi. "I wasn't even in at all last week." He'd been cursed recently; but, didn't quite know what he was working with. He picked up the gist of the curse as the old hag laid it on him one evening on his way home from work.
"You'll always be second best and have every underhanded thing you try turned against you," she wheezed out the rules as she wiggled her fingers at him. For a witch, she was surprisingly personable. She assured him the curse was nothing personal. It was merely business, and she even offered him a discount if he ever decided to curse someone. It took a few days of observation, then he decided to skip a week of work while the last of his machinations fizzled out.
"Well, you're our second-best accountant, so I'm willing to let it slide this time," his boss nodded with a stern voice. "Just be careful about your behavior going forward," he offered some extra advice, and Murry nodded.
"I sure will, thanks boss," he said as he got up. It was hard not to laugh; but, he didn't want it to be misinterpreted. It wasn't that he didn't take the situation seriously, it was just amusing how things had worked out. He made his way back to his new office. It was notably smaller than his previous one when he was the best. But, this one was still quite large compared to the smaller cubicles the lesser employees used. As he settled in, he got on the computer and started browsing the web. He had work that he should've been doing; but, thanks to the curse, it didn't seem to matter anymore. Taking a week off was his way of putting the curse to the test, and he was satisfied with the results. So far, it seemed to be working as intended.
"How bad was it?" There was a knock at the door, then his friend Jessica waltzed in with the question. He'd known her since before he started at the firm, and they'd been pals for a while. He was undecided if she was the mystery client that sent the witch after him; but, he spent a week thinking about it and realized it didn't matter either way. She was present when he got cursed, and she had endless questions after the experience. But, she'd always been curious. It didn't necessarily mean anything that she was always trying to steer him away from his backstabbing ways either; but, the curse did kind of do the job.
"Not too bad," Murry nodded with a smirk. "It could've been worse if I were around to take the blame; but, I'm not too sure about that after all," he shrugged. "Either way, I'm convinced now more than ever. That curse is the best thing that ever happened to me," he chuckled.
"That's unexpected..," Jessica tilted her head at him. "You're not in the number one spot anymore, and all your schemes backfire.. it sounds pretty bad for ...well, you," she giggled. The major reason he didn't consider her to be the instigator was that he'd never done anything to betray her. Of course, she was never in a position to earn him anything worthy of betrayal; but, after a certain amount of time he accepted her as a friend and never felt the need to harm what little trust he'd earned from her. She knew all his tactics and gave a certain level of disapproval for them; but, they maintained a friendship regardless.
"Well, sure," Murry nodded. "But, that was the old me. I felt like I had to be the best, and I was willing to do anything it took to get there."
"And, what? You don't feel like that anymore? Just, magically all of a sudden?" Jessica asked.
"I guess, kind of?" Murry shrugged. "I mean, thanks to the curse, it's literally impossible to be the best, right? It's a pretty big load off my mind. It's like going to a restaurant, and they're out of your favorite dish. At that point, you're already there, so you just get something else," he smiled. "I don't have to try to be the best anymore, it's pretty great," he said. "And, since I don't have to try, I don't have to use any shady tactics either. They can't be turned against me if I'm not using them," he added.
He'd been dividing his attention between her and scrolling the web. She finally noticed and leaned forward to look at his screen.
"You're not even working?" she asked. "So, you're not even going to try anymore?" there was a hint of almost sisterly disappointment in her voice. That faint crack of worry in her voice was enough to convince him she didn't set up the curse. It didn't matter at all, he wasn't too curious. But it was a decision his mind made in the moment.
"It's a pretty great situation, all things considered. I used to bust my behind and step on people just to get to the top," Murry nodded with a chuckle. "Now, not only will all my schemes be turned against me, I'm apparently, cursed to always be second best," he grinned. "It turns out I can do no call-no show for a week, and still come back to a job as the second-best accountant in the firm."