CHAPTER ONE
Dan woke up to the annoying sound of the alarm clock that was sitting on the night table next to his bed. He reached up and turned it off. Dan checked the clock. It was 7:30 a.m. He swung his legs out of bed and sat up. Oh, what a terrible hangover he had. Dan felt his head spin. The last thing he remembered was having a drink with his college friends. He had no recollection of how he had gotten home. Why had he agreed to meet up with them at the bar the night before when he had to make a compelling presentation at work today? There was a promotion coming up, and he stood a good chance of getting it if he played his cards right. Now he wasn’t sure anymore.
I hope I didn’t blow my chance.
For the past three years, Danny Collins, or “Dan,” was a brilliant account executive at a New York–based advertising firm. He knew he couldn’t afford to mess up. Dan had been working hard to get that coveted promotion, as he planned to propose to his girlfriend, Tessie. He knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
He put two Alka-Seltzer tabs in a glass of water and drank it while it was fizzing, a hangover cure he swore by. Dan walked into the bathroom and took a quick shower. He got dressed and bolted into the kitchen for a quick bite of breakfast—cold pizza and soda he found in the refrigerator. Dan struggled to fit the door key into the lock until he closed it. Oh, how he wished his headache would go away. He dropped his briefcase on the ground and sat on the pavement for a moment to rest.
“Taxi!” he shouted, raising his hand as a fleet of yellow cabs rolled past. Almost at once, a cab stopped. Dan opened the door, threw his bag in, and got into the cab.
“Take me to Fifth Avenue at the Plaza and please hurry,” he said.
The driver pressed the accelerator, and the taxi took off. There was no traffic, and Dan arrived at work a few minutes before eight. He had hardly sat down at his desk when he got a call from Bradley Moore, the chief executive of Tate’s Advertising Agency, to come into his office. Dan sighed as he entered Mr. Moore’s room.
“Sir?” he asked.
“Are you ready for your presentation?” Mr. Moore asked.
“Um, yes, sir,” Dan answered as he adjusted his tie and combed his hair with his fingers.
“Good, then make sure you are clear on your point.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll do my best,” Dan said, feeling uneasy.
Suddenly, Mr. Moore sniffed. He smelled the pungent reek of alcohol on Dan’s breath.
“For goodness’ sake. Why don’t you drink coffee and sober up?”
“I’m sorry, sir. I had a visit from my college buddies last night, and I couldn’t refuse their invitation to meet up for a drink.”
“I need not emphasize to you how important this presentation is. I don’t mind you socializing with your friends, but you need to prioritize things and do them in their order of importance. If you screw this up, you will go back to being a sales rep. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir. I understand,” Dan answered.
Henry, an ambitious advertising assistant, passed Mr. Moore’s office and overheard their conversation. A wicked smile crossed his face, seeing it as his chance to get even with Dan. They’d been friends since Dan worked at Tate’s Advertising Agency as a sales representative. They used to go to lunch together and hang out at a bar to play pool after work. However, when Dan was promoted to account executive instead of him, Henry resented it and considered Dan his mortal enemy. They’d been feuding since Mr. Moore assigned Dan to handle Harmony Food, a million-dollar account their company was trying to land. Henry thought Mr. Moore would give him a shot at it because he had ten years of seniority with the firm. He perceived Dan’s popularity as a direct threat to him. Henry was angry and vengeful, and he wanted to get even. He sounded bitter, but in his mind, Dan sabotaged him, maybe by talking about him with the management behind his back. It would have been a tough thing to prove, but he was determined to ruin Dan, no matter what it took. Henry wanted him to get fired. He didn’t enjoy playing second fiddle to anyone, especially to someone like Dan.
Henry was heading to the mailroom when he passed Dan’s office and spotted his briefcase on top of his desk. He looked around, trying to focus on his surroundings. Seeing no one, he stepped inside Dan’s office and knocked the briefcase off the table onto the floor. He looked around once more. There was no one in sight. He went down on one
Dan woke up to the annoying sound of the alarm clock sitting on the night table next to his bed. He reached up and turned it off. Dan checked the clock. It was 7:30 a.m. He swung his legs out of bed and sat up. Oh, what a terrible hangover he had. Dan felt his head spin. The last thing he remembered was having a drink with his college friends. He had no idea how he had gotten home. Why had he agreed to meet with them at the bar the night before, when he had to make a compelling presentation at work today? There was a promotion coming up, and he stood a good chance of getting it if he played his cards right. Now he wasn’t sure anymore.
I hope I didn’t blow my chance.
For the past three years, Danny Collins, or “Dan,” was a brilliant account executive at a New York–based advertising firm. He knew he couldn’t afford to mess up. Dan had been working hard to get that coveted promotion, as he planned to propose to his girlfriend, Tessie. He knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
He put two Alka-Seltzer tabs in a glass of water and drank it while it was fizzing, a hangover cure he swore by. Dan stepped into the bathroom and took a quick shower. He got dressed and bolted into the kitchen for a quick bite of breakfast—cold pizza and soda he found in the refrigerator. Dan struggled to fit the door key into the lock until he closed it. Oh, how he wished his headache would go away. He dropped his briefcase on the ground and sat on the pavement for a moment to rest.
“Taxi!” he shouted, raising his hand as a fleet of yellow cabs rolled past. Almost at once, a cab stopped. Dan opened the door, threw his bag in, and got into the cab.
“Take me to Fifth Avenue at the Plaza, and please hurry,” he said.
The driver pressed the accelerator, and the taxi took off. There was no traffic, and Dan arrived at work a few minutes before eight. He had hardly sat down at his desk when he got a call from Bradley Moore, the chief executive of Tate’s Advertising Agency, to come into his office. Dan sighed as he entered Mr. Moore’s room.
“Sir?” he asked.
“Are you ready for your presentation?” Mr. Moore asked.
“Yes, sir,” Dan answered as he adjusted his tie and combed his hair with his fingers.
“Good, then make sure you are clear on your point.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll do my best,” Dan said, feeling uneasy.
Suddenly, Mr. Moore sniffed. He smelled the pungent reek of alcohol on Dan’s breath.
“For goodness’ sake. Why don’t you drink coffee and sober up?”
“I’m sorry, sir. I had a visit from my college buddies last night, and I couldn’t refuse their invitation to meet up for a drink.”
“I need not emphasize how important this presentation is. I don’t mind you socializing with your friends, but you need to prioritize things and do them in their order of importance. If you screw this up, you will return to being a sales rep. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir. I understand,” Dan answered.
Henry, an ambitious advertising assistant, passed Mr. Moore’s office and overheard their conversation. A wicked smile crossed his face, seeing it as his chance to get even with Dan. They’d been friends since Dan worked as a sales representative at Tate’s Advertising Agency. They used to go to lunch together and hang out at a bar to play pool after work. However, when Dan was promoted to account executive instead of him, Henry resented it and considered Dan his mortal enemy. They’d been feuding since Mr. Moore assigned Dan to handle Harmony Food, a million-dollar account their company was trying to land. Henry thought Mr. Moore would give him a shot at it, because he had ten years of seniority with the firm. He perceived Dan’s popularity as a direct threat to him. Henry was angry and vengeful, and he wanted to get even. He sounded bitter, but in his mind, Dan sabotaged him, maybe by talking about him with the management behind his back. It would have been a tough thing to prove, but he was determined to ruin Dan, no matter what it took. Henry wanted him fired. He didn’t enjoy playing second fiddle to anyone, especially to someone like Dan.
Henry was heading to the mailroom when he passed Dan’s office and spotted his briefcase on top of his desk. He looked around, trying to focus on his surroundings. Seeing no one, he stepped inside Dan’s office and knocked the briefcase off the table onto the floor. He looked around again. There was no one in sight. He went down on one knee to tie his shoes, all the while opening the bag and taking a few pages from it. He rolled them up and put them in his inside coat pocket, before placing the briefcase back on top of the desk. Henry had a sly smile on his face as he left Dan’s office.
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