Chapter Four
James couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It was simply too incredible to be real, but he’d been through the evidence and lab results several times and come to the same conclusion each time: he’d invented a cure for cancer, and a birth control pill for men in one swipe. It was one o’clock on a Friday afternoon, and he’d just solved two of the world’s greatest problems.
Not bad.
He went through the findings one last time, extra carefully, to make sure he hadn’t overlooked a silly error. It would be very embarrassing indeed to claim he had cured cancer, only to discover he’d forgotten to carry the one or something equally stupid. So he rechecked all the numbers a final time. So far as he could tell, everything was accurate.
James leapt to his feet and yelled “YES!”
He ran down to Jill’s office, carrying the folder full of findings. Her office door was open, and he walked right in, already talking.
“You aren’t going to believe this, Jill. I’m still not sure I believe it,” he said, and sat down. He put the folder on the desk in front of Jill and sat back in the chair. “We’ve found a cure for cancer.”
“You’re full of shit!” Jill said, then started reading the data James had brought. James waited while Jill examined the findings.
“You’re not full of shit. James, this is incredible,” she said.
“I know! Now we just need to secure funding to do some deeper testing. I’m going to call our investors and invite them to a meeting early next week,” James said.
“I just can’t believe this! I think a celebration is in order. You and I are going out tonight!” Jill said.
“Definitely!” James said.
This is turning out to be a fantastic day, James thought. He wandered back to his office and spent the rest of the afternoon in a pleasant daze.
#
James and Jill had just gotten their salad and wine at Olive Garden when Jill’s cell phone rang. She looked annoyed, and said “Sorry” as she pulled it out of her purse. She hit the button to ignore the call, and put her phone away again.
“Don’t people know better than to call at suppertime?” Jill remarked.
James shrugged and said, “Bad manners are rampant.”
“So, I can’t wait any longer; did the investors agree to meet with you next week?” Jill asked.
James finished chewing and said, “Yes, first thing on Monday, actually. I’m kind of surprised they were so eager to meet. I didn’t really give them much detail, other than to say they were going to be excited about what we’d learned.”
“That’s fantastic!” Jill said. “So what are you going to do with your share of the millions upon millions of dollars we make when we sell this drug?”
“I dunno,” James said thoughtfully. “Probably pay off my house, put sixty percent of what’s left in low-risk investments, thirty percent in diversified growth stocks and spend the last ten percent on frivolous stuff like cars and art.”
Jill looked at him as if he’d just told Santa Claus he’d really like socks, underwear and a case of canned beef stew for Christmas.
“Why, what are you going to do with your share?” James asked.
“I’m going to build a reclusive hideaway somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. The only way to reach my hideaway will be by boat or helicopter, and I’ll have ninja assassins patrolling the grounds. Anyone found on my property without an invitation will be captured and swiftly transported to eastern Idaho, where they will be left at a rural crossroads with twenty dollars and a coupon for the Sizzler.”
“Do they have the Sizzler in Idaho?” James asked.
“Who cares?” Jill replied.
“Good point,” James said.
“So do you want to revise your wish list?” Jill asked.
James thought about it for a moment.
“Well, you’ve already got dibs on the Northwest. Maybe I’ll set up my base of operations on the East coast. Then we’ll just have to find a trusted associate to keep the middle states in line and we’ll be well on our way to ruling the world,” James said.
Jill laughed. “That’s more like it!”
#
James stopped and parked his car just in front of Jill’s house. They got out, and he walked up to the front door with her. Before she opened the door, Jill turned to him.
“I’m not going to invite you in, but I had a wonderful time tonight.”
“Me too. Perhaps we could go out on a proper date with no business value sometime soon,” James said.
“That sounds like a wonderful idea.”
“Maybe next Friday? I know a great Indian place.”
“Sure, that sounds fun.”
“Great. Well, I guess I’ll see you on Monday.”
“See you then.”
They paused for a moment, and James leaned in, awkwardly, and kissed Jill. Fireworks went off in James’s mind, and he was disappointed when Jill broke the kiss.
“Good night, James.”
“Good night, Jill,” James said. He turned and walked back down the sidewalk to his car. As he opened the door, Jill turned and waved to him, then went into her house and shut the door.
It had turned out to be a very good day indeed.
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