"Hey." Neal leans across the table and flicks Malcolm's forehead gently. "No you weren't. I spoke with him privately on that announcement, he gave me a little insight into his reasoning, and there's a lot more he's working through than distaste for a coworker. He said that to hurt you. That was the point. He was upset, and he probably knew that it would. Even if it's true that he doesn't want to work with you? Using that fact in a moment of temper to score a low blow is immature at best, whatever else he's dealing with."

Neal's lips pinch into a tight frown for a moment. "I don't know how you put it to him, but however you did, I'm guessing--guessing--he thought you could be coming to gloat or provoke and tried to beat you to the corps-à-corps."