Reddit mentions of The Office King

My fellow redditors,

If you purchase my novella "The Office King" and are not satisfied, I will refund your money, no questions asked. Writing it has been an all-consuming passion and labor of love. I’ve spent the last five years trying to make it something of quality. It is a satire replete with the absurdities of office life and international intrigue.

The Office King is available on Amazon. If you are a Kindle unlimited subscriber, it is available as a free download, otherwise it is $1.99 for the Kindle Book and $5.99 for the Paperback. Any reviews are wholeheartedly appreciated.

Note: you must provide proof of purchase in order to get a refund. Refund only applies to Kindle Book. You can private message me.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076PNNRVN

Below is the first Chapter:

Basically, at the very bottom of life, which seduces us all, there is only absurdity, and more absurdity.

– Albert Camus

Chapter 1

A King is Born

Kenneth King sat in an ergonomic leather-bound swivel chair behind an oak desk garnished with neat knickknacks placed in a semi disorganized manner so that no one should accuse him of being too anal. King's brown crop was meticulously maintained. His penetrating aquamarine eyes oozed zeal. He stood six two flat, six four on tiptoes. And on tiptoes he often found himself, performing calf raises in order to strengthen the weaker of his legs that had suffered an achilles tendon injury in preparation for a triathlon – a triathlon which with his bad leg he finished second. King was blessed with a member that his wife adored, and that spawned their four lovely children, twin boys and twin girls two years apart. A Yalie, like his father, his grandfather, and his great grandfather before him, his membership to Skull and Bones was all but guaranteed. King wore his lineage like a skunk wears its scent, matter-of-factly. He was the embodiment of the ascent of man, formed in the upper crust in a symbiosis of merit, mediocrity, and nepotism. For a man with such advantage he remained grounded, attributing much of the good in him to his mother, who often reminded him of his luck in life during his formative years. “Kenny, you won the cosmic lottery and don’t you ever forget it,” she would say. Mother was of peasant stock. A beautiful daughter of a blacksmith and homemaker, who made quite the impression on father at a cotillion she was coerced to attend with her best friend. A year later, despite the initial queasiness his blue blood parents felt, they welcomed her into the fold and the couple was married. Her exquisite beauty was an antidote for her lineage: “Someone that pretty deserves to be rich,” an uncle observed at a family function. The parents agreed and repeated the phrase to one another to help cement their support. At forty-two, Kenneth King was a retired commercial pilot and a newly minted lawyer. The tyranny of success was instilled in Kenneth at a young age. It propelled him to achieve despite his wealth. When he was five years old his father sat him down and told him a story that his father, his grandfather, and his great grandfather had passed down to him. “My dear boy, would you like to hear a story?” “Yes papa.” “One day a frog fell into a jar of milk. The frog was small and the jar was big. The frog tried to jump out but was unable to. The milk was deep and the frog’s feet could not reach the bottom to push off and jump out. The frog began to swim. And he swam and he swam and he swam some more. The frog was tired but kept going; slowly the milk began to thicken all around him. He kept pushing and fighting and swimming until he felt the milk thicken so much so that the milk turned to butter. At that point the frog stopped swimming; he could stand on top of the butter and hopped right out.” This story was repeated many times in King’s life and left a lasting impression. No doubt the intended effect his father desired, for he knew his son’s lot in life was to a large extent dependent on combating complacency and privilege. The burden of privilege, an insurmountable beast, needed taming. This was something the ninety nine percent knew nothing about. Instilling in his boy a strong work ethic was one of his greatest achievements. He wanted his son to derive happiness from a life of purpose. He’d seen many contemporaries drowning in excess, sleepwalking through life, miserably depressed, choking on mouthfuls of caviar and champagne, amounting to nothing but the interest in an endless string of zeros appended to the millions in their trust funds.

Thank you for taking the time to read. I would love some feedback.

Sincerely,
-Haim