14
The Big Day
When the alarm finally went off, Sam hoped that the team enjoyed a better night's sleep than he had. After all, today was the day they had anticipated for almost two months, and as a result he found himself staring at the ceiling in his hotel room much of the night. He never slept well in hotels, particularly on the first night, but this was worse than usual. But in spite of that restless night, he felt energized as he got ready for the big day.
From the time the initial RFP arrived, a big part of his day-to-day activities had focused on this opportunity. He knew that if they won the business, this would be the third biggest contract that his company was ever awarded. There was a lot on the line. Everybody from the CEO down knew that this was happening. He had received many encouraging e-mails from many executives over the past few days.
And today was the day when the team would finally participate in the finalist presentation. Today was when it all came to fruition.
The presentation was scheduled for 10:30 that morning. Sam's team was scheduled to present second; the first company was on at 8:30. Each had an hour and a half.
There were four finalists and he wasn't thrilled with being in the middle. “I would have loved to have been first or last, but there are things beyond your control so you play the cards you're dealt,” he sighed, as he said goodbye to his wife, Jessica, before he headed out the night before.
Everyone on the team planned to arrive that night ...
