Chapter 5

My alarm went off the next morning, and I awoke with a start. I had sworn I wouldn't be able to get to sleep, but apparently had managed to catch a few hours. My brain reeled a bit, and I felt a knot of depression form in my gut. It had all been a dream. A particularly vivid dream, but still just a dream. Just like the dreams where I walked through a shopping mall full of supermodels and make them all take turns orally servicing me, the winning lottery ticket was so much night fodder. I closed my eyes, willing my body to go back to sleep so that I could return to that wonderful feeling of freedom, but there was a knock on the door.

"So since you're rich and all, are you still going to work today, sweetie?"

My eyes popped open and I sat bolt upright.

"Say what?"

"I said, since you're a rich man now, are you going to bother going in to work today?"

I shook my head, hard, trying to clear my thoughts. Either this was reality, or I had been driven completely crazy at some point. I chose the former, and leapt out of bed. I threw on some shorts and opened the door. My mom stood there, smiling at me.

"It wasn't a dream?"

"Nope, hon. All real. And I heard your alarm go off, so I thought I would see what your plans for the day were."

"I guess I should go to work... they're counting on me to get a few jobs finished..."

"Are you going to tell them about the ticket?"

"... I don't think so. I'm still getting used to the idea, and I don't want to be trying to answer all the questions that would come with that. I think I'll just go in, as normal, and keep it a secret for now."

My mom grinned at me.

"And if anyone so much as sneezes at you, you'll buy the company and fire them, right?"

I grinned back.

"Well, naturally."

I walked into work a half an hour late, and Dino stood up from his desk and grinned at me over the top of the cubicle walls. My boss was at my desk, looking through some papers, and greeted me with a sour expression and a glance at his watch.

"Sorry I'm late, Ben. It's been a crazy couple of days. What's up?"

"We need to sit down later today and go over a few things, but for now can you print me out a set of the plans you've been working on?"

"... That doesn't sound so good, Ben... what's going on?"

He sighed and looked around over each shoulder before lowering his voice.

"Marty's pretty pissed with the way things have been going, and some heads are going to roll. You're probably going to be OK, but there are a few others around the office who are going to get laid off."

I gawked at him.

"Like who?"

"I don't know yet, but that's what the meeting this afternoon is about."

"Damn... that really sucks. Thanks for the heads up, though..."

"Don't spread it around, OK? Just get me those plans ASAP."

As soon as Ben walked away, I logged into my machine and sent a quick IM to Dino.

<HEARD ABOUT THE MEETING?>

<YEP. SUCKS SERIOUS ASS. WHAT'D BEN TELL YOU?>

<SAID I'M SAFE BUT OTHERS GONNA GET SCREWED.>

<NAMES?>

<NOPE.>

I was really bummed that the company was going to do something so drastic. Marty was the Big Boss, and a bit of a hothead. The rest of the crew were pretty solid, and had been with the company for a while. We were a young group, and always willing to put in extra hours, or whatever was needed. There were only ten of us, but we still managed to land a lot of the larger jobs because we performed so well. Now Marty was gonna blow a big hole in that.

I shrugged it away as best I could, though, and turned my brain to the task at hand. I had no clue what to do about the winning ticket. I needed to redeem it, but I wasn't sure what steps I had to take. I logged onto the internet and hit the state lottery page for information. While I was there, I checked on the jackpot amount, and a thrill ran through my body.

187.5 million dollars.

One hundred, Eighty Seven million dollars, with an extra five hundred thousand thrown in for good measure.

If I took the cash payout, that was 93.75 million. Lump sum. Cash in hand.

My brain and heart started to race. Where would I cash a check like that? Was it even possible? I figured any bank in the world would love a shot at that kind of money. Did I even want cash? What the hell was I going to do with all that cash? I did some furious mental math.

Say I took 10 million and bought an amazing mansion of a home. Then say I took 5 million and bought a fleet of top-end vehicles. Say I gave my parents each a million bucks. Say I put the rest in the bank somewhere at 10 percent interest. My monthly income, interest alone, would be...

640,000 dollars. A Month.

"Holy shit," I breathed. I did a bit more math.

If I spent 888 dollars an hour, every hour, even while asleep, that would almost spend my interest. I could sleep for 8 hours and wake up with 70k waiting to be spent.

My leg started to jump under my desk, and I had to bite my lip to keep my emotions bottled up. I clicked over to the redemption area and saw that I would need to go to the main office in the state capitol to redeem a ticket for such an amount. There were all kinds of warnings about protecting the ticket from damage or defacement, and warnings that it would be checked for authenticity upon redemption. I grinned and put my hand on the calculator case in my front pocket. All taken care of. Done, and done, I thought.

I closed down my internet browser and fired up the plan set Ben needed. I daydreamt the morning away, making more and more exotic plans, mentally spending my money over and over again. I have to say... that's the best morning at work I've ever had.

We all gathered in the conference room at 2 P.M., having been summoned by the PA system. I could tell from looking around that we all knew what was going on. We each took a seat and waited for Marty to arrive. He swept into the room and cast a baleful look at each of us. He laid down a manila envelope at the edge of the table and began to lecture.

"I'll get right to the point. Production has fallen way off, and it's time to make some changes. Ben and I have been reviewing each of your files, and comparing it to your recent work performance, and it's time to make some cuts. We need to tighten our belts until things get turned around. This wasn't an easy decision by any means, but it's necessary for the good of the company. Sometimes you have to prune a tree to get it to grow to its full potential."

I stared at this man, whose sneer belied the regret he tried to inject into his tone. He was never even in the office, and those of us who were knew how hard everyone worked. And here he was, about to fire some of us out of hand!

"I have here a list of names, and either Ben or I will be speaking with you privately immediately following this meeting to give you your severance pay. Good references will be given, and we wish those of you who are leaving us the best of luck."

I took a glance at Ben, standing to Marty's right, and noted the look of disgust on his face. Looking around the room, there was fear, confusion, and anger. Marty picked up his manila envelope and left the room, Ben trailing behind like a kicked dog. We each quietly stood, looking at each other and silently shaking heads. We knew this was wrong, but the die had been cast. Dino jerked his head towards the door, and I followed him out.

"Dude, this is seriously fucked up."

"Tell me about it. Do you think you're on that list of his?"

"I don't think it matters, dude... Not if you don't want it to, anyway."

We talked as we walked, and pushed through the back door of the building, into the parking lot. I gave him a long stare.

"That the hell are you talking about?"

"Dude, you're fucking Bill Gates now! You can keep this from happening..."

"WHAT? You want me to buy the company?!"

"Keep your voice down, man... all I'm saying is that money is power, and you got it now. You can stop this, if you really want to. Just think about it. That's all I'm sayin, Dude."

With that, he pulled the door open and made his way back inside, leaving me there with my thoughts.

My heart in my throat, I knocked on Marty's door.

"Come in," he called from behind the door.

I opened it and stepped in, tentatively closing the door behind me, then making my way to the visitor's chair, where I took a seat. I folded my hands, then unfolded them as I fidgeted, trying to get comfortable. Marty watched me as I got settled, then spoke.

"I'm sorry, but I can't confirm whether you're on the list or not at this point. If that's what this is about, then I can't help you."

"Ummmm... sort of, I guess, it is. I have... another option for you."

Marty's eyebrows went up at this and he sat back in his chair, his gut spilling across his beltline. He crossed his hands behind his head and nodded at me.

"This should be good. Let's hear it."

My carefully rehearsed words tumbled out of my mouth, and I kept my voice low and even, though I couldn't meet his eyes.