Story-A-Day #265: Tabled

TABLED

Outdoor business meetings always seem like a good idea, but they never end well. This is a perfect example.

I planned it just right, a patio basked in warm sunshine, a few cold beers, and a couple of hot servers taking care of our every need and whim.

Maybe on home turf it would have been different, but I am in a whole new world, and apparently well out of my league.

I showed up early to scout the location I had chosen. Another big mistake. The place is a dump. The "scenic patio with beautiful downtown views" turned out to be a pair of broken picnic tables overlooking a parking lot.

There are plants growing up through the shattered plank tops.

This is not good.

This meeting could be a make it or break it deal for me and all the people counting on me. And I chose a dump with two broken tables and a crappy view of a crappier parking lot.

A quick glance at my watch shows that there is no time to regroup.

I still have the pitch, so there is that at least, but it is going to be all uphill.

At this point, I can only hope that the tab will be on them. They can surely afford it.

The waitress shows up with a menu and I decide to order a quick drink to numb the pain. That's when I notice the name on the menu.

"Excuse me," I begin, "where would I find The Overlook?"

The waitress points across the road. "It's on the top floor."

I look over at the tall building, framing my head back to take in the upper floors. "That is a relief," I reply. "What do I owe you?"

I throw a bill on the table and quickly set out. Today of all days will be a good one to be fashionably late.

I cross the street, enter the building, dart across the lobby and punch the elevator button.

I feel like a bit of a idiot, but not as much of an idiot as I would have felt like. As the elevator lurches into motion, I realize things are finally looking up.

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