When the Stars Align

(My thanks go to Linda62953. She did a great job of finding my mistakes and pointed out the errors in the story line that I missed.)

I've worked it out you know. What it is when the stars are perfectly aligned; it simply means that the cosmos want front row seats, so it can watch one of those perfect storm moments. You know, when everything is set in such a way that life is ready and waiting, to break it off in your ass so they can laugh while it happened.

So now, you have a small glimpse of my world that morning. Enter stage left, me.

I had the biggest presentation of my life to make; this one presentation was going to finally get me that promotion I had been fighting for, for the last year. It was within my grasp. I could almost taste it. Petterson's Jewelry Company had been looking for a new ad agency for almost three months now. The feeding frenzy that followed when the advertising world got that little tidbit of information meant that some of the owners of these same companies would be perfectly willing to eat there young to get that account. Today was going to be our pitch for it.

My team had been busting it's backside for the last ten days to come up with an ad that would seize the account. The fourteen-hour days, the weekend that everyone had spent in the office while husbands and wives patiently waited for their loved ones to come home, the constant phone calls and interruptions from the bosses upstairs, yet through all this, each and every one of us believed, we truly believed we had nailed it. I had been up all night finalizing everything and was running on an hour of sleep and coffee, loads of coffee.

*******

Mani's Deli was a Godsend, it had the best ham and mayo sandwich on rye, this side of the river and since it was going to be the closest thing I was going to get for breakfast, I ducked in there on the way to the office. As usual, it was as crowded as you would expect for a place that did such good food. I took a step back, away from the counter and tripped over some woman, causing me to lose the lid on my coffee and practically take a bath in it.

"Lady, I wish you would look where you're going."

The whole place stopped, as if frozen in time. I was still trying to keep the coffee that had spilled onto my shirt from making contact with my skin. That's when the silence made me pause.

"Thank you for your suggestion. I will make an effort not to get in your way again."

Her voice danced in my head. There was an air of confidence about her that made me turn to look at her rather than leave. That's when I noticed everybody in the place looking at me. If the sunglasses didn't give anything away, the folded white stick in her hand sure did. The woman holding her arm showed no emotion at all, I hadn't felt this embarrassed, since asking Becky Steiner what a French kiss was. She laughed so much she just couldn't wait to tell the rest of the sixth graders.

"Ma'am, my apologies for my rudeness, doesn't even come close to how big an ass I feel right about now."

I was met with silence, from the room and both the women as well. Figuring anything else I had to say would be futile, I nodded to Mani and left, walking past the limo sitting curbside.

Thankful for the full on bedlam at the office, my mind soon dispatched this morning's incident to history and my team got busy for the presentation in an hour. My boss noticed the coffee stain and I was grateful that I kept a spare shirt in my office. I changed while my boss once again, reiterated how important this account would be to them.

The temptation to say 'no shit' was only silenced out, because the promotion was still being dangled in front of me. The clock inched its way towards ten and downstairs had already sent word up that Victoria van der Vaart herself was heading the team.

Victoria was camera shy, paparazzi never got shots of her and other than the fact that she was the head of Petterson's Jewelry Company, no one knew much else. People did know this about her, when she speaks, people listen and if they didn't you could, well, kiss your career goodbye. She was shrewd and had steered Petterson's through some very difficult waters to become one of the biggest jewelry stores in the country. Victoria had always sent other executives and their wives to events that her company had to be seen at. The rumor mill would have you believe anything from; the woman didn't exist to she was the biggest bitch in history.

It seemed we would find out, once the big bosses had finished sucking up to her and the people in her entourage. By my best guess, we had about forty minutes before we would be graced with their presence. That was, until Harry got a call from upstairs. Victoria van der Vaart had wanted nothing to do with the sucking up process and had only come here for the presentation. That threw us all into panic mode. Harry left to meet the entourage at the elevator, while my team fussed over nothing, just to look busy.

Harry came in first, the confused look he had on his face, left me wondering what the hell could go wrong at this late stage. Then Victoria van der Vaart walked in on the arm of the same woman that held her arm at the deli. I've never had to exert so much bladder control in my life before. The whole room just froze for a moment before Harry's voice filled the void by announcing our guest and held a seat for her. The rest of my team finished fussing and I took the podium, thankful that Harry kept Victoria and her friend busy long enough for me to compose myself and to calm the voice in my head telling me, I was so screwed.

She knew who I was, ten seconds into my preliminary speech. Her lips moved and she said something to her friend, in a language I didn't understand and had never even heard before. It took me ten minutes to set the pitch and then I gave the nod to one of my team and the tape started on the presentation. All I could do was stand to one side of the screen and watch Victoria, as the woman next to her gave her a run down on what was happening on the screen and stopped when the lights came back on.

That old cliché about cutting the atmosphere with a knife, held true at that moment. Both women sat and spoke in that language again for a good two minutes and then stood up. Harry panicked and quickly left his seat to stand next to Victoria ready to answer any question she may ask. I'm sure even he was ready for what came next. They both simply left with her own people in tow, leaving the twenty people in that room confused and in a state of uncertainty. Harry followed them out of the room and returned a few moments later looking just as 'bewildered' as we were.

Trying to keep my team busy, I had them strip the room down and take a break, reminding them that we still had work to do on the Ferrier's raincoats account. That had to be our next focal point. It didn't stop any of them from turning to look at each other, wondering what had just happened. I made it to Harry's office as he was putting the phone down.

At least he waited until I sat down before he told me the news, it was clear the bosses upstairs were not pleased, but since Victoria didn't say she liked or disliked the add campaign, they would keep my team together for another two weeks while they made some tentative noises to Petterson's.

It was ten days later that Harry once again broached the subject of Petterson's. Word had come from upstairs that every avenue of getting Petterson's or even one of there spokes people to talk to them had been met with 'we will be in touch' and yet nothing came back. The bosses were going to stick with keeping my team together for the remaining few days and then merge some into other areas but the rest were going to have to be let go.

I had to do something, these people didn't deserve being let go, so I asked Harry to get upstairs to arrange for me to see someone at Petterson's. Even Harry had doubts; but the one ray of hope was that neither Victoria nor anyone else for that matter had gone to any other agencies since they left us. Harry came to me the next morning with a piece of paper in his hands.

"I didn't realize your shit smelled sweeter than any of those upstairs. This came from their boss."

The slip of paper Harry handed me was the address of the Marriott Hotel, over on seventh. The time on the paper was seven this evening.

Harry then chuckled and said, "The boss already had his coat on and was going himself when he got another call saying, the appointment was for you alone."

Even when I headed for the door Harry told me to go home, get my head straight and go to the Marriott from my place. There seemed little point in arguing with him, so I thanked him and left. Even on the walk home and grabbing, a quick bite to eat left me at a loss on what I was going to do. Pacing my apartment didn't help all that much, either. The phone call from Harry and one from the boss an hour after that, reminded me how vital this above all other accounts truly was, didn't help do much more than dump more pressure on me.

*******

I recognized the woman standing next to the reception desk as the one who held onto Victoria van der Vaart's arm. We shook hands and I followed her to the elevator, the silence between us felt like the way this was going to play out all evening. The two gorillas that stood on either side of her door didn't put me at ease either. One of them patted me down before he nodded to the woman once again. She knocked and opened the door, gesturing me inside while she followed behind.

The woman pointed to a seat and watched until I sat, before she moved across the room and knocked on a door and entered. A few moments later Victoria and the woman came out. She walked over to a seat across from me while the woman crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

"Your company asked to see me, to talk to me, why?"

Well, that got us straight to the point I suppose.

"Ma'am my company, hell my people, worked hard on that campaign. I have no need to brag, you know as well as I do, that it's the best out there."

"I'll ask you once more Mr. Ellington, why do you wish to talk to me?"

Some may think her brash, rude even. I actually found her directness refreshing, especially in this city. Where I came from, folks called a spade a spade, but I was left to wonder, if she could handle hearing the directness she shows to others. Even as I gathered my thoughts and wondered where to start, I instinctively stood. The woman leaning against the wall instantly stood straight, shoved her hand into her pocket for a moment and quickly joined Victoria before sitting on the arm of her chair.

"Sit down Mr. Ellington."

It wasn't a suggestion. Being so wrapped up in trying to figure out a starting point, I hadn't noticed the unease Victoria had, of a man now pacing her room. Even as my mouth opened to say something, the door to her room opened and one of the gorillas entered, closed the door behind him and then stood a few feet from the door looking directly at me.

"Ma'am, I think better on my feet and please stop calling me Mr. Ellington, every time you do that, I look around to see if my father is in the room."

Well, at least she smiled, the tension between both women eased a little. The gorilla just stared right back at me.

"First off, my name's Doug, but I do answer to 'hey'. So feel free to choose which ever to use."

I took one more deep breath and thought to myself, here goes nothing.

"When your company started looking for a new ad agency, ours grasped the nettle. I was selected to get a team together and come up with something that would hook your account, ma'am. Those folks are the best I've worked with and I truly believe that keeping that team together and working exclusively on your account would pay dividends for your company and ours."

Her head followed the sound of my pacing, I was clearly irritating her, since she now had to divide her concentration.

"So your motive for being here is driven by money?"

Those words made me stop.

"No ma'am, my motive for being here is to stop one of the best teams there is in this city from being broken up and some being let go. Just because you are still pissed at me, for stumbling into you at the deli. Even though I apologized, ma'am if you're going to nail anyone to the wall, then pick me, but don't take this out on a bunch of folks that have nothing to do with this. They're all good folks and deserve the break that your account will give them."

Victoria turned to her friend and once again spoke that language that I didn't understand. Even I had stopped as I listened, not understanding a damn word. Other than shrugging her shoulders from time to time, and looking towards me as she spoke to Victoria, her friend finally nodded her head. The pause was longer this time, just as the feeling 'decision time' had finally come.

"Mr. Ellington, it's clear to see that you have a fierce loyalty to your team. I'm left to wonder if that same loyalty is shown to your company. I will have my people sign the contract tomorrow afternoon."

Both women stood and started to walk back to the room Victoria had emerged from. Once the silent one held onto her arm, Victoria stopped and turned her head toward me.

"Before my people sign anything, I expect you to resign as the head of the team. Goodnight Mr. Ellington."

It was plain to see from every one in the room, that this meeting was now over. Both women continued towards the far door, talking to each other in that language that I had never heard before and to be honest, never wanted to hear, ever again. The gorilla from the hall gave a polite cough, reminding me, he was still behind me and my presence was no longer needed, in this room. The hand on my shoulder also let me know, I had taken a second longer than he believed acceptable to come to that conclusion.

Even the walk back to my apartment felt like a condemned man, walking toward the gallows. Seventeen times I was bumped into, as I walked back to my apartment, six of those I was told to mind where I was going, four told me to get the fuck out of the way and two asked me if I could spare some change for a drink to keep the cold out. It still took me until my key entered the lock of my apartment and the door slowly swinging open to find my apartment had been burglarized, before I decided that enough was enough.

I packed what little they had left behind, dropped the key off at the 'so called' doorman's desk and headed home. Happy in one aspect, my old team still had jobs, even if I was told; I had to fall on my sword to do it.

*******

The phone call from my sister Connie came as a surprise, she asked me to swing by the 'Easy Chair' for a drink. At first, I tried to get out of it, but then being told that she was the oldest and could still bully me around even though I was thirty one, did lead to some family banter passing down the line. Curiosity did eventually get the better of me and I washed up and joined her an hour later.

We met at the bar and decided to slide into a booth for some privacy, after we ordered drinks. The TV in the corner was playing a commercial for Petterson's Jewelry, which alone gave me a rye smile. That whole episode in my life was a year ago, now. Once I came home, I lived with my folks back on the farm for a while before converting one of the barns into a workshop and going back to what I knew best, getting my hands dirty.

"Do you miss it?"

We both looked away from the TV and back to each other, when the commercial had finished. Connie was the mother hen of the family and even though she only had three years on me, she still clung to those years and used them to beat us all like a big stick if she thought one of us was taking a liberty. Family was everything to Connie, she had it drummed into her from both our parents and she in turn kept us all close, more so when Mom died eight months ago.

"Not any more. The big city held a charm for a while and I gave it my best shot, it just wasn't meant to be so I came home and I haven't looked back since. Why do you ask?"

This time Connie looked harder at me, I met her stare.

"I got a call from one of our cousins over in Locust Grove. He claims someone was sniffing around looking for information on him. Turns out they knocked on his door, scared Jenny to death, she thought he was in trouble when two mean looking 'suits' stood at the door asking for him. Once they realized they had the wrong guy, they thanked him and left."

Once again we just stared at each other, Connie obviously had more to say, she just wanted this conversation to go at her own pace.

"Our cousin told me what they looked like and figured they may well head over here, some time real soon. We all thought it was funny when Uncle George called his first-born son Dougie Ellington. When the suits left, he called me and asked what you had been up to; I had to tell him I had no idea, so now I'm asking."

Shrugging my shoulders brought Connie close to boiling point.

"You have Lou-Lou staying with you Doug. If these guys mean business, I want my niece out of the way and I want to know what you did up in the city?"

Again, I shrugged my shoulders. Not to piss Connie off, God knows it never seems to take much to do that, but it was plain to see she was concerned, not only for me but Lou-Lou as well as dad, if the two 'suits' that I knew nothing about, came out to the farm.

"Connie, I broke no laws in the city, I swear. As for the 'suits' Dougie told you about, they're a mystery to me, just as much as they are to you."

She wasn't convinced, yet I couldn't think of anything else to tell her. When I left that night, I shut everything down; the doorman to my apartment block was given my keys and told I wouldn't be back. Even my security deposit was left behind, with me telling him to get the owners to use it to improve security in the building. I'm sure the cops were never called since no one was hurt and other than the lock on the door, there was no damage to the apartment.

Once the banks opened, I emptied my account and with a goodbye call to Harry, I closed my cell down and dropped it over the next bridge I passed, on the way home. Even that journey took me three days of asking myself, if I had done the right thing.

My dad told me once, that we all have our own code, morals we live by, that to others would seem stupid and pointless, yet when you get to know those same folks, you find they live by their own code, and they just don't realize it. To me, the folks that now had a job deserved the opportunity that the Petterson account would give them.

I personally didn't give a damn, about my bosses getting rich off it. The real folks that worked hard on that project deserved to have that account on their resume. If they chose to move on later, they can reap the benefits of knowing it made a difference in their lives. A hard thing to say about the advertising business I know, but this was the human side of it, not the slick money grabbing side that the top floor guys and girls lived for. We drank up and with Connie's warning still ringing in my ears; I headed back home for dinner.

*******

It was another three days before things changed more dramatically for me and everyone else for that matter. The doors to the workshop were wide open so I watched the Hummer crawl past the house and stop outside the barn. It may have been a year, but I still recognized one of the gorillas that climbed out of the front, the dark windows giving nothing away about whom, if anyone was in the back.

I was still wiping my hands on some rags, when they both started to walk towards me. Both recognized the sound of a pump action shotgun being made ready and stopped instantly, their hands half way to the folds in their suits. My dad came around the side of the Hummer, being careful not to get near any of the doors, in case they swung open.