Crisis averted, I guided her as close to the ledge as she would come. She finally stopped within a couple of feet, and as she did, I pressed my free hand into the small of her back, steadying her.
“You all right?”
The ashen look on Fiona’s face stood in direct contrast to the words that came from her lips. “Yes, I’m fine.”
I smiled a bit and nodded, before I turned my attention once more to what lay beyond the building’s ledge.
“See Fiona, the problem is when I asked you what you saw… you named things on the ground. You looked down, instead of up. That’s the biggest difference between you and me. You only see what’s right in front of you because you don’t have the confidence to look into the distance and not worry about stumbling. You know, fucking up.”
“Well, Gabe, we really don’t have the luxury to ‘fuck up’ in this business.”
“Yes, but we do,” I replied. “All the time. Science is all about trial and error.”
“Okay, well, be that as it may… I don’t have that luxury.”
Removing my hand from her back, I bent my arm at the elbow and wagged my index finger at her. “Hmm, see that’s where you’re wrong. In fact, you’re about to get your first shot at it. Fucking up on a grand scale that is.”
Fiona broke her gaze in the distance and snapped it in my direction. “What are you talking about?”
I felt a broad smile come to my face and stretch the edges of my mouth tight. Afterward, I spent the next few minutes explaining the discussion I’d had with Don. I laid out the plans I had in store, all leading up to the true reason I’d brought her up to the roof in the first place.
“You…” I began, as I looked down at her. “…are going to be giving the presentation, Fiona. To the investors.”
Fiona stared back at me in disbelief for several seconds before she started to shake her head back and forth. “I-I can’t Gabe, there’s no way. I…”
As she stammered and stuttered, Fiona began to lose her balance right in front of my eyes. Stepping off the ledge in the nick of time, I reached down and grabbed her in my arms just as it looked as if she might fall to the ground. I held her up as her body went limp in my grasp. Her eyes glazed over, her lids flickered and fluttered.
“Fiona…” I said, as I patted against her cheeks with light taps of my hand. “Hey, hey.”
Consciousness threatened to leave her for a few more seconds until she finally steadied herself. She shook her head back and forth, and I felt strength return to her torso as she stood upright once more. I helped her to the ground to rest for a moment and took a seat next to her. I wouldn’t say her reaction caught me completely off guard, but she would have to find a way to handle it. There was no alternative.
“Thank you, Gabe,” she began, as she looked up at me.
As she spoke, a warm breeze passed between us, rustling loose strands of her blonde hair. Several of them draped across her face and partially obscured her eyes from me.
“There must be someone else, Gabe, anyone,” she said, with a hard swallow. Fiona reached up with her small hand and brushed her hair aside. “Why can’t you do it?”
I leaned away from her and rested my hands on top of my bent knees. “Because you’re the best choice, Fiona. And because I said so.”
“Gabe,” she muttered. “You don’t understand. I literally cannot do it. If I do, I’ll have a panic attack, and you’ll have a repeat of this near-fainting incident on your hands. Is that what you want?”
“No. Of course it isn’t.”
“Well, that’s what you’re going to get. I can promise you.”
I shook my head. “That’s not true. Fiona, you just lack the skill to do it. That’s all. Speaking in front of people, it’s all about practice and being confident in your subject matter. Look, understand that ninety-nine percent of the people watching you speak are just as terrified as you are. Trust me when I tell you that they are pulling for you. No one wants to watch you go down in flames.”
Fiona sucked in her lower lip for a moment as she considered my advice. I studied her as she did her thing in silence… thinking, worrying, and fretting.
“I can’t, Gabe. Please I’ll… I-I’ll do anything else you ask of me, please. Please don’t make me do this. I’m scared to death right now.”
The mind is a powerful thing. And for the moment anyway, Fiona’s had convinced her that what I wanted her to do would lead to a horrific outcome. Even so, she was going to do this, whether she liked it or not.