It had worked. The strategically placed books – Hugo, Zola, Harari – showing his new colleagues he was an educated reader. A man of philosophical thought. A last minute decision to move Michael J. Fox and some puzzle books into view showed he also understood modern culture and had thoughtful pastimes.

Even the cat showing up had worked in his favour, got some laughs, extracted declarations of cat-loving from several of his new team.

Then the laughter changed. They weren’t listening to him. Hands covered smirks. There was pointing. He turned to see the cat pushing a book into view: ‘Satisfaction: The Art of the Female Orgasm.’

Call disconnected.

Written for Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (more details HERE). The idea is to write a short story of 100 words based on the photo prompt (above).

To read stories of 100 words based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.