“Okay Rhanna,” Perry said, pushing his way out of the revolving door of the skyscraper. “I’ll take a look at the spreadsheet when I get back from lunch. You want anything?”
“No, thanks. Too many calories… I’m headed to the gym—bikini season you know!” she said, squeezing through the crowd gathered on the street.
“Please! This better not be another protest. Don’t people have jobs?” he shouted to her over upturned heads.
“I don’t know, but my trainer won’t wait, I’m late! See you after lunch. Try and eat a few veggies. You know, those green things!” she shouted back over the crowd before disappearing in a sea of on-lookers.
Perry had had enough of these protestors. Every project was run in the most economical green fashion possible. He may have grown up a baby boomer, but he wasn’t blind to what the human race was doing to the planet. Technology came at a price and it wasn’t money. How much more business could they dictate. It hardly seemed fair. Running a billion dollar corporation was difficult enough, but how could you stay focused on the business running lean and green with weekly protests?
He’d settled last week with the protestor’s representative on the Tech-Com project. It was the biggest on taking in the company’s existence. He’d pooled all the corporation’s funds and assets just to stay compliant with the GTA. It was so green even Kermit would be envious. He could have played it safe and saved a ton by cutting some of the non regulatory costs involved in greenery, but the payoff would be twice fold when word got out that Perry Industries righted a wrong; cutting no expense in doing so. The company was slated to make billions on this project.
Enough was enough. He’d shoo these people away himself and didn’t care about legalities! He was about to start shouting when he spotted Jack from accounting staring up the skyscraper’s curtain wall. What’s he looking at? “Hey Jack. What gives another pro—” he said, cutting it short when he found the end of Jack’s gaze at the top of the hundred and ten story skyscraper. “Is that—that’s not…” squinting he said, “Is that Larry?” Larry was the company’s top lawyer.
“Yeah, I guess he finally cracked,” Jack said rubbing the back of his neck.
“What happened? Did someone call the police? His wife? Oh my god, his wife and kids…” Perry said shielding his eyes from the noonday sun.
“I called 911, they’re on their way.”
“This can’t be happening. Not in my company!” Perry said sprinting back through the revolving door, just barely making it into the elevator.
When the stainless steel doors opened, Larry was just about to jump as he turned and saw Perry. “Wait! Larry, buddy! Stop! Don’t do this. Think of your wife and kids! What ever is wrong, we can fix it—it’s not worth your life,” he pleaded.
“You haven’t seen the spreadsheet?”
“What? Huh? Buddy, just come down. Let’s talk about it. We’ll work it out together,” he said holding Larry’s stare.
“Tech-Com is a flop. The manufacturer we were negotiating with went bust. I went over the numbers. We can’t even break even, we’re done.”
A pigeon flew overhead as Perry looked through him, the slightest twitch at the corner of his eye. Larry hopped back down from the wall just in time as Perry bolted past him, forming the most perfect swan dive in the air. His body arced like a dolphin in the ocean against the noonday sun before it went limp and fell out of sight.
Dean Kutzler 