“Occasionally!” Dobbs snorted. “It seems like every time…”
“And even if I felt the system was unfair, which I don’t,” the man at the desk continued, “this ship is only the means of delivery. We don’t make the rules. We only shuttle materials from point A to point B and collect the money, as instructed. In theory, we shouldn’t have allowed your men to unload your cargo until we had collected our payment in full.”
The man was leaning forward now, his eyes burning with a sudden intensity.
“In short, Mister Dobbs, I feel we’ve treated you fairly decently through this entire affair. If you have a complaint, I suggest you write a letter. In the meantime, isn’t it about time you came down off your high horse and started acting like a human being?”
Dobbs started to retort angrily, then caught himself, reconsidered, and relaxed, exhaling a long breath. Like most bullies, he would give ground when confronted by a will of equal or greater strength.
“I guess I have been making a bit of a jackass out of myself, haven’t I?” he admitted ruefully.
“You have.” The seated man opened the attach‚ case and began counting.
Dobbs responded by sinking into the offered chair and leaning forward, his elbows resting lightly in his knees. He had discovered in the past that people were more receptive when approached at eye level.
“I guess I forgot that the captain of a freighter is a businessman same as me.” he confided. “You know, as much as we’ve seen each other these past couple days, I’ve never gotten around to asking your name. It’s Blutman, isn’t it? Ulnar Blutman?”