Desperate Times (2nd Place)

“Do you know what you’re saying?” Manny asked.

“Yeah. It’s an old school trick, but what else do we have?” Jill responded.

“Isn’t that illegal? I mean what if we cause a panic?”

“It’s really not a big deal. We pull the fire alarm. Everyone exits. The fire department comes. After a few hours, no one is the wiser. You re-schedule, get the right presentation, and boom. We’re back in business. We can win this account.”

“Advertising is such a cutthroat business anymore. I can’t believe I brought the wrong laptop, and no one is back at the office to get it. Seems pretty risky.”

“Trust me. Besides… desperate times…” Jill’s eyebrows raised.

“Bradford is our main competition. We get our presentation and it’s even money. This is a three million dollar account.”

“Come on. Let’s do it.”

“All right. Where’s the fire alarm?”

She spotted a red pull switch near the exit door.

Manny sauntered down the hall when a man rushed past and entered the meeting room. His speech was frantic. Manny inched closer to eavesdrop. Jill urged him to pull the alarm. Manny held a finger in the air. That guy that ran past is with Bradford. He presented for them last week. Grrrrr. Lost that one.

“Look the laptop is crashed. Larry can’t send that big of file via email. We are dead. We are going to lose this account!”

A groan arose among the group of four.

Manny slipped into the doorway and leaned against the side.

“We have a similar problem.”

The same man looked at Manny. “Aren’t you with…”

“Yes. Roberts & Sullivan. Our presentation is back at our office. You guys ever pull a fire alarm?”

The men glanced from one to the other and shrugged.

“We’ll be right behind you.”


299 Words


Flash Story
Limited to 300 Words
Must contain the line: "We'll be right behind you."