Quite Quitting

An Unfortunate Event

I opened my eyes so wide that they started tearing, making me more sleepy than I already was. The clock ticking on the size slowly moved from 6 am to 6:05 as I sat in this freezing conference room listening to Alex drone on and on about how VR is the new up-and-coming technology. Why was VR so special to him anyways? Whatever those guys showed us a few weeks back was crap.

"What's the date today?" Alex asked me.

"October 24th," I said automatically.

"Oops... I knew that!" Alex smiled at me. Of course, he knew. He knew it was my actual birthday today, but he was still making me work. "Dad, I guarantee you that we will have something by Christmas. This gives us two months. After that, we will be ready with a protocol, maybe even for a beta test."

"Tha..t a..ll, great. Wh..at...point," Alex's father's, also named Alexander, broken feed hummed. He was already in his pajamas, from what I could tell from the blurry video that was being displayed on the big conference TV.

"I think he is trying to say, what's the point?" Alex whispered.

"Mr.Tribecc. I understand your hesitation." I interjected. "VR in the past has been a hit or a miss for many tech companies, but these guys are trying to do something new. They are taking real people and creating 3D VR versions of them," What a stupid fucking idea, I internally thought, "Even if it doesn't work for our users, having a stake in an up-and-coming idea can always benefit LongD."

"Oh god, please don't say that stupid fucking name," Alexander requested.

"Okay, sorry, LD. Happy?" I complied. "So, what are your thoughts?"

"This is exactly what I've been telling him for the past few months. But, unfortunately, I don't think he will go for it," Alex again whispered to me.

"Okay fine. I saw the initial product they showed us. It was not that great. It's bad enough I have to see your son with my eyes open. With their new VR thingy, I was seeing him in the dark." I started.

"What are you saying? Shut up!" Alex warned.

"But this was what they created a few days after talking to me. They turned a meet and greet into a demo. In nothing else, these guys' talents and thirst to innovate were refreshing. They are the exact type of people who would be an asset to the company." I continued.

"This was exactly why I recruited them, and we were both impressed!" Impressed was a bit of a stretch, but those guys were nice and nerdy. However, I did not doubt they were hard workers and deserved the funds this collaboration would provide. Even if this company went down, they were going to bounce back with a new idea, so I nodded in agreement.

"Okay, you know what, I am tired. Char, you made a lot of cohesive points. Alex, I trust you, kid, don't let me down. So send me the contract by email. I'll have my lawyer look it over...."

"Dad, I already had my legal team look at it...."

"No harm doing a second check, son," He advised.

"Fine," a dejected Alex said.

We all said our goodnights and good mornings, and finally, the screen went black.

"You're welcome!" I exclaimed.

"What for? I still have to send him the contract we drafted. He is going to scrutinize that to no end. More work for you to do," He commented.

"Good thing I only have till May to worry about it," I said, getting up and shutting my laptop lid. "For now, I am going to go enjoy my Sunday."

"We still have a few more things to discuss. So I thought we could go to Patty's, get a Bacon, egg, and cheese bagel, her famous scorching hot coffee, and review this weekend's deadlines," he suggested, also getting up.