What Game?
Ever wondered what it would be like to see your favorite team play at the Super Bowl?
You’re not alone!
Here we have “Harris,” a HUGE Niners fan. He frequently immersed himself in electrifying tailgate parties that lasted all day long, all to show support for his number one team. Seeing his favorite team play at the Super Bowl was nothing short of a lifelong dream for him.
Just a few years ago, after a season of triumph, the Niners saw their way to the Super Bowl. At the time, Harris worked for a consulting firm where he managed a decent amount of accounts and maintained positive relationships with even more clients.
As a token of appreciation, a close client of Harris bought him the gift of a lifetime. To keep it a surprise, the client passed on the gift to Harris’ boss, “Travis.”
Travis assured Harris’ client he would be sure to pass the surprise along when the time was just right. However, Harris knew nothing about the surprise until it was far too late. Harris’ emotions upon finding out the disappointing truth were nearly impossible to hide. Instead, with the help of a trusted client and friend, Harris orchestrated a plan like no other to teach his no-good boss a lesson that he won’t soon forget.
What’s done in the dark, always comes into the light.
~
Through The Grapevine
One day Harris met with his client over drinks. Excitedly, Harris asked, “Did you happen to catch the Superbowl? It sucks that my Niners lost but it was one hell of a game!”
Harris’ client smiled as he set down his drink. “Speaking of that, what made you not want to go to the game? I heard from a colleague of mine that someone else was in your seats.”
Harris swore he heard an invisible record scratch.
“Game?” Harris repeated.
That’s when his client raised his eyebrows and said, “Yeah, man! I thought you would have loved the tickets I got you to see the Niners play at the Superbowl!”
That’s when the disappointing truth set in.
Harris’ client took another swig of his drink before placing the cup back on the table. Then, he proceeded to tell Harris about how he gave his boss, Travis, a pair of company-bought tickets meant for him so he could attend the Superbowl.
As his client continued explaining his incredible act of kindness, Harris felt numb. He knew nothing about the tickets. Once his client finished talking, Harris couldn’t hide the frog in his throat as he sat back in his chair and announced that Travis never even mentioned the tickets.
His client recoiled in his seat. The two of them spent the rest of the evening talking about all the possible things that could have happened, but they both knew how unlikely it was that Travis “forgot” to give Harris ten thousand dollar Super Bowl tickets.
To add insult to injury, Harris’ seats were on the thirty-yard line, probably some of the best seats in the house. It didn’t take long for Harris’ disappointment to quickly evolve into a rage like no other.
“Here’s what I want you to do,” his client said thoughtfully. “When you go back to the office on Monday, ask around quietly to see if anyone knows what’s up. Give me a ring if you find out anything.”
Harris agreed.
After the weekend came to an end, Harris walked into the firm bright and early at the start of his shift. He asked around the breakroom and poked his head in different offices where his other colleagues worked, but it seemed as though no one heard anything. Finally, he found out after speaking to one of the secretaries in the firm that Travis gave his precious Super Bowl tickets to one of his own clients from the company.
Harris couldn’t believe his ears. It took all his might not to march right to Travis’ office and give him a piece of his mind. However, Harris quickly remembered the conversation he had with his client just before the weekend. Once he was able to get away, Harris pulled out his phone and texted his client about what happened:
“Hey, I just wanted to thank you for thinking of me with those seats to the Super Bowl. It would appear that my boss gave those tickets to another one of our firm’s clients.”
It didn’t take long for Harris’ phone to start buzzing like crazy.
Once Harris opened the text, he was met with his client’s response in all caps:
“ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?!”
Before Harris could respond, he took note of the three dots flickering at the bottom of the text message thread, indicating the client was typing away. Harris completely understood his frustration. He was just as upset because he had been deprived of a once-in-a-lifetime event all because Travis wanted to play “suck-up” for a totally different client.
A light buzzing brought Harris back to reality. He promptly opened his text messages and read the following:
“Pretend I never told you about the tickets. Let me handle this. I have a plan.”
~
Do I Know You?
A few days later, Harris’ client requested he fly out to the main office for a meeting. The client also requested for Travis to accompany him. Once Travis knew about the incoming meeting, Harris noticed how comfortable he was traveling with someone he practically stole from. Nonetheless, such a request wasn’t exactly atypical. Travis making the journey with Harris was all part of the brilliant plan his client formulated to bust him.
After an awkward plane ride, Travis and Harris wound up walking into the conference room of Harris’ client. Front and center his client awaited their entry. Standing on his right side was a woman who looked to be in her thirties. Harris didn’t recognize her but kept quiet so he wouldn’t miss anything.
“Ah! Harris and Travis!” The client began. “So great to see you two. Please allow me to introduce, Stephanie. She’s our Vice President and will be joining us today for the meeting.”
Stephanie smiled as she shook Travis’ hand. Once Harris made eye contact with her, his client spoke up.
“Oh, that’s right! Harris, you two must already know each other from the Super Bowl!”
Stephanie went in for a handshake with Harris then paused. “I don’t believe so. I can’t remember if I saw you there. Sorry if I forgot.” Stephanie’s eyebrows were knitted as she shook hands with Harris. She looked him up and down before pursing her lips a little then returned her gaze to Harris’ client.
“Jeez, Stephanie!” The client chuckled. “How much did you have to drink? Harris was sitting right next to you!”
That’s when the client gave Harris a glance and a wink. Recalling their conversation before the flight, Harris jumped into character.
“Sorry, but I actually wasn’t at the Super Bowl. You must be thinking of someone else.”
The silence in the room that followed was so thick not even a knife could penetrate it.
But the client was just getting started.
~
The Hot Seat
Harris swore he heard Travis’ heart beating a mile a minute as the silence in the room lingered.
Everyone was now seated around the table, with Travis staring out into space. His smile quickly faded away and was replaced with the awkward look of someone that took a bite out of a lemon. Suddenly Travis shifted in his chair and let out a bleak, “Uhh…” but was cut off by Stephanie.
“No,” Stephanie said. “There was someone who introduced himself from a totally different company that was sitting next to me at the Super Bowl.” She paused for a moment then canted her head. “By the way, I was wondering why we gave company seats to that guy and his friend. Is there some sort of project we’re working on with them that I don’t know about?”
Harris shook his head. Her inquiry wasn’t likely. Harris vaguely knew about the client that ended up with his tickets. Their industry was drastically different from Harris’ client.
“Uh,” Travis wiped the pool of sweat that formed in the dip of his lip. “Uhh…”
This time, Harris’ client cut him off. “Travis? I thought you gave those tickets to Harris.”
At that moment, all eyes were on Travis. His face turned beet red as he awkwardly checked his watch, found an interesting invisible object on the table, then stared off into space again. Harris knew Travis was trying to summon an excuse of some kind to cover himself.
His next words only added fuel to the fire.
“Well, you see…uh,” Travis stammered. “Harris wasn’t able to make it, so he must have given the seats to someone else.” That’s when Travis turned to Harris with a pleading look in his eyes. Harris couldn’t believe it.
Travis wanted Harris to cover for him.
Travis gave away his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and wanted Harris to cover for him. Harris shot Travis a fake sympathetic look before it quickly vanished and was replaced by a look of confusion.
“You gave me tickets to the Super Bowl? I had no idea! “
Harris’ client smirked at him before his face hardened.
“Travis,” the client’s voice amped. “I specifically told you those tickets were a personal thank-you gift from me to Harris. Did you give them away to another one of your clients?”
Travis furiously shook his head. “No, no! Of course not! I think maybe something got mixed up in the office is all.”
Right then and there, everyone knew that Travis was full of crap.
Once again, an uncomfortable silence took over the room.
Suddenly, Harris’ client looked down, grabbed his portfolio and tablet, and carefully placed them in his briefcase before rising from the table.
“This meeting is over. Harris, it seems like I owe you another thank-you gift. How about you come and have lunch with me? Stephanie, you can come along.” The client gave Travis an annoyed look. “Travis, I’m going to need to spend some time evaluating our relationship. Please fly back home. You can expect to hear back from us in about a week.”
“Right, sir!” Travis jumped up to shake the client’s hand but he turned his back on Travis as he made his way to the door. “Why don’t I join you all so we can discuss-“
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” the client said sternly. “Our front desk attendant will kindly see you out.”
Harris watched as Travis’ face drooped before he collected his things and slowly stepped out into the hallway. As Harris stood next to his client and Stephanie, Travis could be seen entering the elevator. Once the elevator doors closed, Harris, his client, and Stephanie immediately burst out laughing.
All three of them laughed so hard they had tears in their eyes. Once they pulled themselves together, the client re-introduced Stephanie. Not as the Vice President, but as a well-known employee of the company whom Harris’ client recruited to play the part in the skit he orchestrated to put Travis on blast.
“Now,” the client beamed. “How’s about I get you some lunch? I know it isn’t Super Bowl tickets…”
“Sounds good to me,” Harris laughed.
As they made their way down to the parking lot floor, Harris felt his phone buzzing like crazy. At first, he tried to ignore it, but after his phone buzzed for the eighth time, Harris reluctantly retrieved it from his pocket to see who was trying to get in contact with him.
It was Travis.
~
Imagine That
Harris and the others were already on their way out to eat when he finally took a look at his phone. Travis desperately texted him and demanded he “cover for the firm” while out to lunch with his client.
Harris thought for a moment, completely stunned at the sheer boldness Travis had for asking him to vouch for his poor judgment. Thinking carefully, Harris typed out:
“We need to talk once I get back. As for the firm, I’ll see what I can do.”
Harris read the text message over and over before he showed it to his client. Both of them had a good laugh before Harris put his phone away to enjoy lunch with his favorite client and Stephanie.
Much later during lunch, Harris’ client instructed him to wait a couple of hours before sending Travis another series of texts on his behalf. At first, Harris was confused about what else his client had in mind, but he didn’t question it and enjoyed his much-deserved, paid-for lunch.
After some more time passed, Harris’ client gave him a list of expectations to send to Travis.
One of the expectations was for Travis to look out for invoices of the resale value of the Super Bowl Tickets. This shocked Harris because the resale price for the tickets was way more expensive than the face value.
Harris’ client also instructed Travis to tend to the invoice for the lunch they were having, which also wasn’t cheap. His client chose one of the fanciest eateries in the city to make up for Harris’ missed opportunity all thanks to Travis. In the text message, Harris’ client also told him to emphasize the immediate payout of the invoices.
Another expectation Harris’ client had, was for Harris to receive a direct apology. Missing the Super Bowl was a precious moment Harris would never get back. The least Travis could do was apologize, not coerce Harris into covering for his failure to be a decent person.
Lastly, Harris’ client declared that he no longer wanted anything to do with Travis. Should he continue business with the firm, Harris’ client only desired to do business with Harris himself or any other representative as long as it wasn’t Travis.
Once Harris sent everything over to Travis, he didn’t await a response. He put his phone away and enjoyed the rest of his trip before he flew back to the firm.
Little did he know, Travis’ actions would have far worse consequences than he could ever imagine.
~
Fall Like Dominoes
Word spread quickly about Travis’ actions.
Harris reflected on the very moment he found out and how he had to resist the urge to confront Travis. Because he was patient, things worked out remarkably in his favor.
Once Travis’ dark deed was brought into the light, partner after partner of the firm was quite disgusted by the situation. Harris, on the other hand, came off as a star employee that made a ‘good faith’ effort to save his client for the firm despite being the victim.
Ultimately, Harris’ client ended up switching to another partner, which meant Travis lost profit share on any projects with them.
And the invoices?
Travis was forced to pay them all from his salary.
Harris still couldn’t believe Travis thought he would get away with it, let alone have him vouch for his despicable actions.
Unfortunately, all the tension afterward made things difficult between Travis and Harris professionally. Months later, Harris ended up leaving the firm altogether. He scored a much better position with higher pay.
He will always be disappointed about missing his chance to cheer on his favorite team at the Super Bowl, but with his new income, Harris looks forward to the next time the Niners make their way back so he can buy tickets of his own.
~