The Biggest Contract of My Life (continued)

…

There were threats and counter threats. A fight to the death. And, I’d walked into the middle of it. Totally ignorant, I plowed on.

I used MercurySays with each email interaction and got some unexpected insights and great recommendations. It certainly got me through this toughest of all negotiations but, after a while, it was clear that his messages, particularly, were … peculiar. I think MercurySays was a bit shocked, if a computer program can be.

I truly worked myself to a point of madness on that contract. It was a lifeline for me and a chance to really make a name for myself.

Anyway, it seemed that my final proposal suited both of them and, after she called me, I drove over to their home, contract in hand.

When I arrived, I noticed there were lots of cars parked around their house. And, I mean, lots. They were all police cars. Lights flashing. People yelling. Sirens wailing in the distance.

Tentatively, I walked towards the house. The cops stopped me and started asking questions. They soon figured why I was there, took my name and address, and that was the end of it.

The full story came out during the trial. The guy with the weird eyes had hired 5 thugs to kidnap his wife. Unfortunately, their van had struck a pedestrian a block or so from the house when they panicked and tried to make a run for it. They were arrested, the kidnapping plot was quickly uncovered, and, as I stood outside the house, contract in hand, the cops brought him out: cuffed, scuffed, and his life definitely stuffed. I plaintively held up the document as he walked by, and I still remember the look on his face. He glanced at the contract. He looked eager. I knew he wanted to sign. But, unfortunately, mine wasn’t the only contract he’d been working on at the time. His eyes were still weird.

The TV news reported a few months later that he would spend from here to eternity in prison.

A week or so later, I got a call. It was from that strange woman who, by now, was the convict’s ex-wife. She asked if the deal was alive. Did I have a copy of the contract? Was the other party still willing?

She signed it the next day. Before I left, I plucked up the courage to ask what happened to the five thugs who tried to abduct her. With thin lips, she grimaced in a blank, pitiless way, sending chills to my heart. Looking into the distance, she said: “I promised them a good lawyer and they’re all out now. They’re happy. And, I’ve signed the deal, so I’m happy. And, you’ve got your commission. So, I guess you’re happy, too. So, everyone’s happy.”

I thought, well, not everyone.