Contagious

Contagious

He rushed into the building, jogging towards the elevators, just as it started to close.

“Hold the elevator, please!” he called out, desperate.

Just before it shut, a hand shot out and forced it back open. He stepped in and off to the right, nodding to the man; he was older, in an expensive suit, relaxed and smiling.

“Thank you for that,” he said, breathless.

“Of course, what floor?”

“The top, 13… oh,” he responded, noticing the button was already lit. “I, uh, guess we’re going the same way,”

“So it appears,” the man said, holding out his hand. “I’m Bob.”

“Tim,” he said, shaking Bob’s hand with his own, sweaty and red-faced. “Sorry.”

“Oh, no problem,” Bob said, wiping his hand on his trousers. “You seem to be in a hurry. Anything wrong?”

Tim sighed, shaking his head and saying, “You name it, it’s gone wrong today: car wouldn’t start; missed the bus; taxi took a wrong turn and got stuck in traffic. I got out and hoofed it the rest of the way, but I’m still late for an important meeting. I guess it could be worse though.”

“While that’s usually a true statement, I don’t particularly like that sentiment. I prefer ‘it could be better’ personally. A much more novel idea, don’t you think?”

Tim frowned, asking, “What do you mean?”

“Well, consider this,” he explained. “Your statement is negative. It considers that worse things could be happening. Mine is positive. It considers that good things could be happening instead. It’s about hope. All of these things that happened today were outside of your control. But you control the attitude with which you approach them. This delay allowed you more time to mentally prepare yourself for the presentation.” He smiled warmly, adding, “A friendly stranger held the elevator doors for you. Positives. And, if you meet the world with a good attitude and a smile, things don’t seem so bad. Consider what else could go well today, instead of what could go wrong. Maybe, none of it will happen. Or maybe, you’ll find ways to make those little things happen that could make someone else’s day go better.”

“What are you, a motivational speaker?” Tim asked with a smirk. “Glass half full and all that nonsense? I mean really -”

Just as he was about to elaborate on that, a sudden jerk brought the elevator to a halt, the number stating that they were still one floor away from their destination. Then, the lights shut off and an alarm began ringing somewhere.

“No, no, no!” he huffed, panicking.

He picked up the emergency telephone, but there was nothing. “Hello?” he called into it anyway, but received no response. He slammed it back onto its cradle, muttering, “This isn’t happening, this whole day has just been a nightmare, I’ll wake up soon.” He even closed his eyes and pinched himself, but upon opening his eyes, he slammed his fist against the elevator door, yelling, “No!”

“It’s all good,” Bob said. “We’re just gonna get a little break.”

“A little break?” Tim exclaimed, hyperventilating. “I don’t need a little break. I need to be out there! Doing my presentation.” He began to pace the small space, gesturing wildly with his hands as he spoke, “Do you have any idea how much time and energy I’ve invested into this project? What I’ve given up? If we don’t get this next round of funding, it was all for nothing. Years of research, late nights, broken relationships, missed meals… all just done and gone, for nothing!”

Bob loosened his tie and began unbuttoning his jacket, saying, “Slow down. Breathe. Let’s talk about this,” he said soothingly, as he sat down, motioning for Tim to do the same. “Everything will work out, I assure you.” At Tim’s look, he held up his hand, stopping him, and continued, “You were saying something about glass half full earlier? Well, I say bollocks! That glass isn’t half full or half empty, it’s just as full as it needs to be. It all happens for a reason, even when we can’t figure it out. Calm down, take a seat, and allow me a chance to prove it.” Tim finally relented, setting his case down and sitting next to it, pulling his knees up to his chest, as Bob continued, “So, you’re a little late. It happens, anybody can understand that things go wrong, such as a faulty elevator. They can’t blame you for that, can they?”

“Well,” Tim said, frowning and shaking his head. “I guess not.”

“Exactly! Instead of looking at what we’re losing by being here, let’s look at what we’re gaining. You say you’ve invested a big portion of your life into your work, that will all be for nothing if you lose out on this funding? Bollocks! The knowledge is still there. If it’s truly worthwhile, nobody is going to just let it drop or fire you for being a bit late. You’re an asset. Now, I myself am also late for a meeting. Nothing so interesting as how yours sounds, but something I am required to do, none-the-less. But, it was such a beautiful day that I chose to walk, which resulted in multiple friendly encounters, including holding an elevator for a rushed gentleman. We just have to try our best to accept what is, not what we believe should be. And then turn that into a positive.”

“That’s easy to say when you aren’t currently looking at your future going down the drain,” Tim snapped.

“So, I have to wonder. You did all this research and prepared this presentation all by yourself? Without you, this project disappears?”

“No,” Tim said slowly. “I have two assistants. They’re actually really good,” he conceded, his hands finally still. “The idea and implementation are all mine, but they know this project inside and out, just like me.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about. They are already securing your funding,” Bob reasoned. “This is the why. It was time to let your assistants step up and take more of the burden from you. Their time to shine. Do you trust them?”

“Of course,” he replied instantly. “They have proven themselves time and again - Okay. Maybe you could be right,” he said slowly, relaxing his hold on his legs a bit.

“Of course I am. Take a deep breath and let it clear your mind,” he said, demonstrating. “And, let’s be honest. Even if it is all going to hell right now, they are crashing and burning, what can you do about it? How does worry and stress help? It doesn’t!” Bob declared, as Tim prepared to respond. “It just makes you miserable and negative. That’s why we ask, ‘How could this be better?’ Then we set out to do that, with calm and positivity and confidence. And you know what happens next? All of those things begin to spread out from us, rolling out like a wave from a rock dropped in a lake.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Tim said slowly. “I can’t do anything from here. So, instead I should think about what I can do now?”

“Yes! Like meeting a new friend. It’s good to see such dedication, diligence and zeal in someone. But, overdoing it can turn into obsession, which leads down a dark road. Think about all that time you spent, and instead of looking at what you ‘lost,’ or ‘gave up,’ instead look at what you accomplished. I bet it’s pretty impressive. Sure, you could have gone another way and be married with kids and lots of friends… but you chose this path, because it matters to you. Don’t disparage it at the first hint of trouble.”

“Yes sir,” Tim responded.

The elevator jerked, the lights coming on and gears coming to life, resuming its ascent.

“Well, would you look at that,” Bob said. “Just on time.”

Tim laughed, collecting his things, and said, “Indeed. You know, Bob, I’m glad I got stuck in this elevator with you today.

Bob laughed in response, standing and brushing himself off, responding, “Oh, I agree. And I’m sure this day will get even better from here.”

“Thank you for this,” Tim said, as he walked out, He paused, turning back just as Bob started out, and held his hand out, saying, “Sincerely. Thank you.”

Bob smiled, shaking his hand and replied, “The pleasure was mine.”

Tim turned, seeing his investor emerge from the hallway and make a beeline for the stairs. Alarmed at the lack of reaction or usual greeting, he headed down towards the conference room. He walked in, finding only his two assistants in the room. They looked up at him, shock and fear on their faces.

“What happened?” Tim asked.

“It wasn’t our fault,” Amanda blurted. “The presentation was good, but he didn’t care and we just -”

Tim held up a hand, stopping her and said, “Slow down. Breathe. Let’s talk about this.”

Danny stepped forward shaking his head, but calmly said, “Everything went wrong, but we don’t know why. When you didn’t show up, we covered for you and were ready to present… but then the investor didn’t even want to see it. His mind had already been decided before he got here. Pam blamed us, started yelling about how we were done here and… it doesn’t matter what she said. She stalked off, looking for you, talking about some other meeting.”

“So, Jim didn’t hear any of our presentation? Nothing about our progress or the prototypes?” Tim asked, his mood falling.

“No,” Amanda said. “We went to start, but he just said he had seen enough and then told Pam he wasn’t interested in investing further.”

“Okay, well don’t worry about it,” Tim said, taking a deep breath. “I’ll find Pam, see what’s going on. There’s no way this just came out of the blue.”

“What happened to you?” Danny asked. “Last we heard, you were gonna be late, then…”

“Yeah,” Tim said. “Sorry about that. I left my phone in the cab when I jumped out to walk the rest of the way. Hey, this isn’t your fault guys. We did everything right.”

“Okay, boss,” they said in unison with surprise on their faces.

He took a deep breath, then walked back out, heading to Pam’s office. He found her secretary there.

“I heard Pam was looking for me,” Tim said. “She around?”

“She’s in with the Board,” Tess said. “I’ll text her.”

“Okay, well, I’m gonna go back to my team and help clean up, tell her where to find me.”

He walked away without waiting for a response, breathing deeply along the walk. When he got back, he found Amanda crying and Danny stacking papers.

“Hey guys, I told you. Don’t worry. It’s gonna be okay. This happened for a reason, I’m sure of it,” he explained, as much for himself as for them. “We don’t know the reason yet, but it’s there.”

“But I need this job,” Amanda said. “I can’t -”

“They’re not gonna chop the program. It shows too much promise for profit. They’ll rant and rave, then find someone new to invest,” he explained. “And you guys are part of the package. They can’t do this without us.”

“You really mean that, boss?” Danny asked, a curious look on his face.

“Of course, I couldn’t have done all this without you.”

The door slammed open, Pam coming in, a severe look on her face. Tim turned and looked at her, forcing a smile.

“Pam, I heard Jim didn’t have any intention of re-investing. I assume you have some back up plan for funding? Or should I start looking myself?” Tim asked calmly.

Pam stopped, taking a step back in surprise, then responded, “Well, I didn’t know for sure. He had been making comments that alluded to him not being able to offer up more money, but I thought it was just his way of making sure we had something to offer. I hoped your presentation would change his mind. But, as I just learned in my other meeting, he has taken a major hit, and doesn’t have the money to back the project anymore.”

“I see, that makes sense, from what my team told me. We’ll just have to bide our time I guess, hold off on any expenditures until we can line up a new source.”

“Well… yes, that makes sense. We will have to cut spending for sure,” she agreed, unsure. “How will that affect the timeline?”

“It will just have to be pushed back. I didn’t want to, but there’s no choice I can see to get the money we need.”

Pam glanced at the two assistants briefly, then back at him, saying, “That’s true, if the money can’t be pulled from somewhere else in the remaining budget, it will have to be put on hold.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do. Amanda, Danny, take all this back to the lab and figure out what we can salvage to work on with the limits of the rest of our budget. Just as it is now, no changes,” he confirmed.

They scurried away, as Pam leaned up against the wall, saying, “I was almost positive you would cut them both to get your money.”

“I thought about it, but we wouldn’t be where we are without them. And it would only be a short stall. We would still need more funding.”

“I’ll have to talk to the board about what they want to do, we’ve kept this project under wraps, so it will take some time and a lot of effort to bring in new interested parties, I think -”

She stopped as Bob walked into the room.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he said.

“Bob,” Tim greeted. “What can we do for you?”

Pam looked at Tim with surprise, asking, “You know Robert?” Then she recovered, looking at Bob and saying, “Robert, sorry I left the meeting, I needed to address this -”

He waved her words away, cutting her off, “Oh it’s no problem. I’m here because I heard of Tim’s predicament. So, I’ve decided to take over the funding of his project.”

“You know about my project?” Tim asked, taken aback.

“Not at all,” Bob said, smiling.

“Then… why?” he asked, despite Pam's incredulous look.

“I’m investing in you. After our meeting earlier, you inspired me. Your dedication, your grit, but most of all, your ability to learn. I just wanted to stop by before I left, so I could shake your hand and say, keep up the good work!”

He grabbed and shook Tim’s hand, nodded to Pam, then walked away, as if it was all nothing. Which, if Tim knew anything about him, it probably was nothing to him.

“Well, that was certainly a fortuitous turn of events,” Pam remarked, still off kilter.

Tim laughed and, smiling, said, “Yeah. But it could be better.”

Pam just blinked at him, as he continued to laugh.