Don't Tempt Fate

Don't Tempt Fate

Chapter 1

The Man Who Didn't Believe in Bad Luck

Daniel Parker had a problem.

Actually, Daniel Parker had several problems, but he didn't consider most of them problems.

He considered them inconveniences.

There was a difference.

For example, the fact that his apartment looked like a storage unit that had recently experienced an earthquake wasn't a problem. It was a temporary organizational situation.

The fact that he hadn't done laundry in eleven days wasn't a problem. He still had clean socks.

Well, mostly clean.

And the fact that his refrigerator contained half a bottle of mustard, three questionable eggs, and a container of Chinese takeout that had been there long enough to qualify as a historical artifact wasn't a problem either.

He was a single, thirty-four-year-old man.

He was independent.

He was free.

And, according to Daniel, he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself.

His mother disagreed.

She disagreed about practically everything.

"Daniel, you really need to start being more careful."

It was Tuesday morning, and Daniel was on the phone with her while attempting to butter a piece of toast.

"Mom, I'm thirty-four."

"I know how old you are."

"Then why do you keep talking to me like I'm twelve?"

"Because you behave like you're twelve."

Daniel sighed.

This was how most conversations with his mother began.

She worried about everything. The weather. His eating habits. His finances. His driving. His dating life.

Especially his dating life.

"When was the last time you went on a date?" she asked.

Daniel paused.

He looked at the ceiling.

He looked at the toast.

He looked at absolutely nothing in particular.

"Recently."

"How recently?"

"Define recently."

"Daniel."

"Okay, fine. Six months."

"Six months?"

"Time flies."

His mother sighed.

"You can't spend your entire life alone."

"Sure I can. I have excellent company."

"Who?"

"Me."

"That's exactly what worries me."

Daniel grinned.

He loved his mother, but sometimes he suspected she had made worrying about him her full-time occupation.

After ending the call, he finally sat down with his toast.

It was then that he noticed the television.

A morning news presenter was discussing an upcoming Friday the thirteenth.

Daniel rolled his eyes.

"People actually believe that nonsense?"

He took a bite.

The presenter continued talking about common superstitions.

Walking under ladders.

Breaking mirrors.

Opening umbrellas indoors.

Daniel chuckled.

He had never understood why people were so afraid of things like that.

Bad luck wasn't something you attracted by walking under a ladder.

Bad luck was just life happening.

Sometimes things went wrong.

Sometimes things went right.

And sometimes you got stuck behind someone driving thirty miles per hour in a fifty-five-mile-per-hour zone.

That was life.

Nothing more.

Daniel swallowed his toast.

"Honestly," he muttered, "if fate exists, it needs to get a hobby."

He stood up, grabbed his coffee, and headed toward the kitchen.

Unfortunately, his elbow caught the edge of the table.

His coffee tipped.

The entire contents spilled across his shirt.

Daniel froze.

He looked down.

Then he looked toward the ceiling.

"Okay. Very funny."

He grabbed a paper towel.

"That's your big move?"

He cleaned up the mess, changed his shirt, and checked the time.

7:42 a.m.

He was already running late.

Wonderful.

By 8:15, Daniel was sitting in traffic, listening to the radio and wondering why every other driver seemed to have obtained their license through a cereal box promotion.

A car ahead of him suddenly braked.

Daniel slammed his foot down.

His coffee cup flew forward.

Fortunately, the lid was secure.

Unfortunately, the cup landed upside down in the passenger seat.

He stared at it.

"Fantastic."

He reached over and picked it up.

Then he noticed the traffic light turning green.

The car behind him honked.

Daniel waved apologetically and drove forward.

A few minutes later, he finally reached the office parking lot.

He parked, grabbed his bag, and stepped out.

Then he heard it.

A sharp ripping sound.

Daniel looked down.

His trousers had caught on something inside the car door.

A small tear had appeared near the pocket.

He stared at it.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then he laughed.

Not because it was funny.

Because sometimes the alternative was screaming.

"Well, that's just lovely."

He pulled his jacket down to cover the damage and hurried toward the building.

At the entrance, his coworker Melissa was standing with a cup of tea.

She looked at him.

Then at his shirt.

Then at his jacket.

"Rough morning?"

Daniel straightened.

"Not particularly."

"You look like you lost a fight with a washing machine."

"That's just my natural appearance."

Melissa smiled.

"Sure it is."

They walked inside together.

Daniel dropped his bag beside his desk and switched on his computer.

Melissa leaned against the partition.

"So, are you ready for Friday?"

"What's Friday?"

"The company presentation."

Daniel stopped typing.

He slowly turned toward her.

"What presentation?"

Melissa blinked.

"The presentation you've been assigned to give."

Daniel stared.

There was a long silence.

Then he smiled.

"Right. That presentation."

"Daniel, you remember agreeing to it, don't you?"

"Of course."

He absolutely did not.

Melissa gave him a suspicious look.

"Well, it's going to be interesting."

Daniel leaned back in his chair.

"Don't worry. I've got everything under control."

Melissa shook her head.

"That's what worries me."

She walked away.

Daniel turned toward his computer.

He had three days to prepare a presentation he had apparently forgotten about.

He also had a coffee stain on his shirt, a tear in his trousers, and absolutely no idea what the presentation was supposed to be about.

Still, he wasn't worried.

Not even slightly.

He had survived worse.

Probably.

He opened his email.

A new message appeared at the top of his inbox.

Subject: URGENT — Presentation Requirements

Daniel clicked it.

He read the first paragraph.

Then the second.

Then the third.

His smile slowly disappeared.

Apparently, the presentation was being delivered to the company's regional director.

And it was worth a considerable amount of money to the department.

Daniel leaned back.

"Well..."

He stared at the screen.

Then, with the confidence of a man who had learned absolutely nothing from his morning, he said the words that would eventually become his greatest personal downfall.

"What could possibly go wrong?"

Somewhere in the ordinary, completely predictable machinery of everyday life, Friday was already looking interesting.

And Daniel Parker?

He had absolutely no idea what was coming.

End of Chapter 1