Tim returned to the office after his quick trip home to shower and change before resuming his careful review of his backup materials. Bianca arrived shortly before 8:00. She was dressed in the same dark gray suit with smoky gray hose she wore on her first day of work sans the push up bra. She used the high speed copier to copy and assemble the massive amount of material Tim had prepared -- three 3" binders for each of the attendees. She rushed into his office after placing the binders at the seats of each guest. "We're one set short!" she exclaimed. "Everyone has a copy but you!"
"Not to worry" Tim said. "It's my material so I should know it all by heart. That's what I worked on over half the night."
When the entourage arrived, Tim's boss quickly pulled him aside. "Are you ready?" he whispered. "Henderson really has a hard on for you!"
"I'm ready!" Tim assured him.
"Really ready or as ready as time permitted?"
"I'm REALLY ready!" Tim proclaimed.
"Okay then take no prisoners champ!" his boss encouraged.
Tim started the meeting at the appointed time, quickly dispensed with the niceties and began his lengthy presentation. Most of the members had a few questions which Tim handled deftly. Only Henderson had no questions. After a couple of hours they took a bathroom break. Tim remained at the head of the table poring over his PowerPoint slides. Bianca was worried because of the expression on Tim's face whenever she went into the conference room. He seemed intense and hyper-focused.
It wasn't until noon that the sullen Henderson said his first words. Pulling a sheaf of paper from his briefcase he said "That was a nice presentation son but there were a lot of things that you didn't cover. Here's the list of questions that I need clear answers to before you'll get my vote."
Tim glanced through the pages and recognized that many of the questions were probably written by Henderson's son -- his archrival. Tim's boss objected to the sneak attack. "It would have been better, or fair, to have provided your questions in advance, especially given the short notice!"
"That's OK!" Tim assured the group. "After lunch we'll address each one of these IN DETAIL! I've had lunch catered by your favorite restaurant Mr. Henderson complete with your favorites. It's ready in the dining room. "
Tim's boss smiled a knowing smile -- his guy was indeed ready.
He seemed to be slightly more relaxed to Bianca when they broke for lunch. "How's it going? she asked.
"The easy part is done. After lunch we're going to plow through the backup material."
"Are you sure you don't need a copy?"
"Nope! Just make copies of these questions for each of the visitors and we're good to go. "And" he said handing her a thumb drive, "email the document on here to Corporate Legal." He then joined the others for lunch.
"I'm surprised you're joining us!" Henderson huffed. "Don't you need some time to get answers to my questions?"
"No sir, I'm ready to address them after lunch."
He smiled slightly at the approving nod from his boss.
When they reconvened Tim resumed his post at the head of the table. "Gentlemen I suggest we get started on Mr. Henderson's list of questions now. We can take a break at 3:00 and then, hopefully, finish in time for you to arrive back home at a reasonable hour. If that's OK?"
A few heads nodded and Tim began. "With respect to Question #1, please open Book 2 and turn to Page 63. Rather than my reading that page and the two following aloud, I'll let you review the notes."
After allowing about ten minutes for each attendee to look up from the books, Tim asked "Is further elaboration needed for Question #1 or has it been sufficiently addressed?"
Only Henderson had any comment. "It says here that your breakeven point is only three years out but is dependent on getting the $100 million Anderson contract. We can't run a company on wild speculation like that!" A couple of heads around the table nodded in agreement.
"I agree wholeheartedly!" Tim offered. "We received the contract which has been sent to Corporate Legal for review and approval." He then turned to his boss and whispered "Sorry I didn't give you a heads up but it arrived while your flight was in the air. I emailed you a copy." Tim's boss tried vainly to mask his glee.
And so went the afternoon with Henderson thrusting and Tim parrying each and every attempt by citing from memory numerous pages from the thick binders. Only his boss was aware of his almost photographic memory. For the questions that Tim was sure were "traps" written by Henderson's son he gave especially detailed responses and cited not only the written material but also gave synopses of his own successful experience in each area.
By 5:00 Tim had covered each question in detail and was asked to leave the room for the visiting executives to confer. He took the opportunity to chat with his team and Bianca who were all on pins and needles. "Go on home folks." Tim said. "They're locked away making their decision now which I suspect will take a while. I'll call each of you whenever they give me their verdict." The team left with the exception of Bianca. "Win, lose or draw boss -- I know you gave it your best shot! Can you give me at least a half hour's notice before you head in my direction?"
"Thanks and will do! I appreciate your help!"
By 6:00 the votes had been taken and the die was cast. Tim received the news from his boss and he walked to the elevator to bid a gentlemanly goodbye to the board members, including his nemesis Henderson. He then began the chore of calling each of his direct reports. He called Bianca first and then chatted briefly with each team member. They took the news well.
He pulled into Bianca's parking lot a little after dark. He'd been there twice now and, confident that he could locate her place, didn't call with his usual "five minutes" notice. He knocked softly and waited a moment. When she didn't answer the door he knocked a bit more firmly. She quickly opened the door and let him in. "I heard you knock the first time but I wanted to light the candles before I answered." The entire place, the living room, the kitchen and (he suspected the bedroom) was aglow in soft flickering candlelight. He took her into his arms and kissed her softly and then noticed that she was still dressed in her smart gray suit, matching hose and even her heels.
"I guess I didn't give you enough time to change?" he asked.