Taking a Chance

Taking a Chance

None of the Above

Over our lives, many of the direction and paths we take are the result of random chance. We may choose to turn to the right, instead of left. We may leave one place five minuets earlier than we normally would, or five minuets later. These somewhat random factors can cause many small interactions that will have a major effect on our lives over our life times. Being delayed getting to an airport to catch a plane may cause you to miss it. You missing your flight, then may allow a passenger on standby to take your place. If the plane crashes, with everyone on board killed, you missing that plane may start out as a bit of what you had at first considered a bit of bad luck for you, quickly turns out for you, better luck than winning the lottery. The person who gained your seat through your original misfortune, may have been thinking how lucky they were getting a seat on a plane that they were not looking like being able to get on, was not the good fortune they thought it was. missing the plane may have also been down to a series of small random factors that worked against being on time.

Michael Williams, as he seemed to always be, since his older brother James was killed in a tragic accident, was getting grumpy and grumpier as the day wore on. A few short years ago, before the death of his brother, Michael was hardly ever grumpy. Before the tragic death of James, who at the time was the CEO, Michael was happy. He was working as an architect, a job he enjoyed and one that suited his personality. Michael was a bit of an introvert. He was at his most happiest and contented when left alone to quietly work away on a building project. Being forced, by his father, into the CEO position, to replace James, was not something he was comfortable with. Michael hated being the center of attention, always being in the limelight, as the CEO always is. His father, Andrew Williams, the Company Chairman, helped somewhat, but would not allow Michael to step away from the role he hated and go back to the job he enjoyed. An unhappy Michael was getting a reputation for his bad moods. he was particularly hard on the persons who ended up being his PA. At first these young ladies would be quite pleased with being appointed to this role. Michael was young, a bachelor, rich and handsome. Many who had been appointed to this position saw it as an opportunity to snatch themselves a good looking and wealthy husband. This type would never last long as the CEO’s PA as all Michael demanded from a PA was hard and mistake free work. Any that flirted and attempted to catch his eye would not last long.

It was now mid afternoon and Michael was now approaching maximum grumpy. He had been across town from his office attending a meeting that proved to be exactly as he thought it would, a complete waste of his time. His PA had also been in attendance to take notes. This particular PA was most likely to not be going to last much longer as along with not being much of a PA she had tried to flirt with him when she first started. Looking at her CV on paper she looked a great candidate, college business degree along with a couple of years of office experience. The paper qualifications are sometimes not a good indication of one’s actual abilities to perform at a particular job. He must go and have a few words with the HR department before they select a replacement. He suspects that well fitted clothes and a short skirt worn at the HR selection interview may have influenced their decision.

Today was proving to be one of those days that was not going as planed. A series of random choices that Michael had made, along with fate had conspired against him. The first choice was Michael making the decision to drive him and his PA to the meeting. Normally he would use a company driver, but today the driver he normally uses was off work. More than one driver was away from work today and as this was a simple drive on the cross town motorway it was easier for him to do the driving. Again the hand of fate steps in. The meeting should have been a quick and simple affair, as one of the other party involved wanted to be difficult and argue about everything, so it all took longer than it should. This all accelerated Michael’s grump and he was now in a bad mood. In the end he just up and left. He should have done this ten minutes earlier and he then would have missed what fate dealt him next. A pileup on the cross town motorway. On the way back to the office ten minutes earlier, and it would all have been behind him. but no such luck. Now they are being diverted off the motorway so the mess can all be cleared. His normal driver would know the best way to return to the office, but he did not. Now they are stuck in traffic in one of the rougher parts of town, for over an hour. Ms Jones, his PA is becoming desperate to make use of a restroom so Michael pulls into the car park of a nearby fast food outlet

To keep the fast food management happy, Michael grabs a couple of coffees and doughnuts while Ms Jones rushes off to make use of the restroom. Out of the corner of his eye, Michael sees a group of loud young men hassling one of the waitresses. One of the men grabs a boob, another pinches her butt, then the tray of food and drinks goes everywhere. The manager comes over and starts screaming at the waitress. At this point the waitress rushes off to the restroom and Michael heads over to inform the manager what he witnessed, sending Ms Jones back into the restroom to give the waitress one of his cards and to take down her contact details in case she needs a witness for her side of the story. Random chance had played the hand of fate yet again. The waitress, Mary Adams, without the random hand of fate would never to be likely to even pass Michael Williams in the street, but fate has now made a small connection between them. Ms Jones, being careless and not very good at her job has inadvertently made this connection stronger than it should be. The paper that she wrote down Mary Adams’s contact was not blank, it was a list.