Dan Presents

“And this is our money slide” Dan gestured to the image projected on the wall behind him. “After Javier runs through the proposed designs and scope of the project, we’ll show them how with the right team this project can be completed under their budget and well within their timeframe.”

His colleagues, packed into the small conference room were all nodding their heads. Dan was had put a lot of work into this pitch deck and it seemed to be going over really well with his colleagues and new boss. He had done dozens of these at his last company and was a seasoned veteran when it came to —-

Bzzzt Bzzzt

What was that noise? He looked around the room for the source of the sound. With the projector on, the lights were dimmed so he couldn’t get a good look.

“And we are sure these numbers are airtight?” Dan’s boss Walter wore a neutral look on his face. Dan had a hard time getting a read on him but he knew what he was doing.

“We double and triple-checked them. It will still come down to which contractor they decide to go with but we can make recommendations. We’re confident it can be done.”

Unlike most other people at the firm, Dan didn’t falter when Walt asked him hard questions.

“Alright I like where this is going, lets's see –” Walter looked behind him and across the table.

Bzzt Bzzt Bzzt

He was distracted by the same sound Dan had heard earlier. “Jesse, can you please turn your phone off”

The colleague who brought almost nothing to the table, Jesse looked up like a deer in the headlights. He obviously hadn’t been paying attention to anything Dan was presenting. Why was he even here today?

“It's not mine Walter, it's Dan’s” he pointed at the phone sitting in front of the empty chair next to him. Shit, it was his phone all along.

Bzzt Bzzt Bzzt

“Okay sorry, Jesse. Please can you mute it or something? Dan let's continue so we can all get on the same page for Monday.” Walter turned his attention back to Dan’s presentation.

Dan watched as Jesse reached to mute his phone. “As I was saying, this is the money slide. The numbers are good. From here we can move into slides that spur discussion…”

Jesse still had Dan’s phone in his hands. Still not paying attention to the presentation but looking down. All you need to do is click the mute button on the side of the phone dummy. “We’ll ask about their past projects, what they found worked well and what didn’t, and see if they have any preferential vendors. We can also explore if their project has any sustainability goals we haven’t accounted for.”

Jesse finally looked up and seemed to be paying attention to Dan’s presentation. Good, maybe he wasn’t a complete lost cause.

And then he smirked and put Dan’s phone back in its original spot.