Chance of a Lifetime

Chapter 13

You didn't sleep well. What could he possibly have to ask you? You just couldn't imagine it. He didn't seem upset at all, so he couldn't be mad at you. And you didn't think you'd done anything wrong. What could it be? These questions plagued your mind well into the night and early morning. Unfortunately, today was the day of the deadline and you needed to be fully focused and on top of your game. You needed to be able to deliver the project with your boss and his boss and going in with dark circles under your eyes wouldn't do.

Finally at 5, your alarm went off. You had gotten a total of 2 hours sleep, but you got up and worked out anyway. You weren't going to let a sleepless night deter you from your goals, so you shut off your alarm and walked sleepily into the bathroom to get ready. You decided to give yourself a little break by shortening the workout given your fatigue, but you still pushed as hard as you could.

Once it was done, you hopped in the shower and then put on your best business suit. Had to dress to impress and this suit would do the trick. It was a little big for you now that you had lost some weight, but it still looked great on you. As soon as you were ready, you gathered up your things and headed to the car.

It was a short ride to the office and when you got to your desk, you unpacked your bag, turned on your computer and dug into the final preparations for the presentation. It wasn't long before your boss came to check on you to see if you were ready.

"All set?" He asked, peeking his head in the doorway. You weren't expecting him just yet so you jumped a little at his voice. You turned to look at him and smiled.

"Just about!" He walked over to your desk to see you putting the finishing touches on the PowerPoint presentation. "I just have to add a slide and we are good to go. My laptop at home was giving me issues or I would have done this last night." You explained.

"Well, it looks great and I know it's going to be great," he said, smiling down at you. "You've always done great work and there was no one better for this project than you." He leaned down slightly and lowered his voice. "And if all goes well, you can expect a promotion out of this." He winked before straightening and heading out the door. Your jaw dropped as you watched him walk away.

Promotion? You didn't even know that one was on the table, let alone that you would get it. You had to hide your scream of delight and your little happy dance in your seat. This would be a huge deal if you could get a promotion out of it. Then again, the promotion would most likely require a lot more hours. But maybe it would be worth it. More money, logically, and perhaps more responsibility. You enjoyed your job, but wanted more. Maybe this would be it.

The meeting was scheduled for 9am so you had an hour to go over everything and make sure it was all set. You went into the board room to make sure the PowerPoint would work and began to set up the boards holding the project. You had gotten the handouts, slideshow, boards and bottles of water set out by the time the first of the people began to arrive.

Once everyone was seated, your boss and his boss made introductions and started the presentation. Then they turned it over to you. No one would have ever known you had only had 2 hours of sleep by the way it went. You spoke well, answered their questions and even cracked a joke or two. By the time it was done, you had them eating out of the palm of your hand.

As they left, you shook their hands and thanked them for coming in to hear your proposal. When the last person left the room, you collapsed in one of the chairs and heaved a big sigh. Your boss came up to you and smiled.

"You were amazing. That was one of the best presentations I've seen. Well done." He said and sat down next to you. You smiled back.

"Thanks. It's easy when you're passionate about something." You replied, taking a big drink from the bottle of water next to you.