Worst of all, most of them would likely see it as a huge insult, since nothing on Earth is more valuable to a wealthy person than his time.
I spent a good part of the day glad-handing and milling about the resort, chatting with the attendees I did know and doing my best to acquaint myself with the ones I didn’t.
Many had taken the opportunity to turn it into a family getaway, so in some cases at least, I’d been able to keep the conversations devoid of business chat. In instances where I couldn’t, I assured them that the evening ahead would be worth waiting for and begged off divulging any details. There was only one person I was concerned about when it came to coming clean about Fiona. And just after lunch that day, he approached me poolside after arriving on the island.
“Don,” I began, as I shook the hand of my Chief Financial Officer, Don Cabot. “How was the flight?”
Don’s pale skin shined under the bright glow of the tropical sun overhead. Squinting at me, he replied, “Flight was good, Gabe. How are things going here so far?”
Before I got into it with him, I gestured with my chin for him to follow me to a secluded area away from the poolside festivities.
“What’s with all the cloak and dagger stuff?” he asked, as we walked.
Without turning back to face him, I said, “I’ll explain everything, Don. This is not information that I want getting out at the moment.”
“Oh hell… I don’t like the sound of that one bit, Gabe.”
“I know, Don. Believe me I know.”
There was no getting around the truth with him about what happened with the clinical trials, and as a result, why it meant Fiona had to leave the island. Don’s face communicated an escalating mix of frustration and bewilderment, as I explained the situation to him.
“So, what the hell does this mean for the presentation, Gabe?”
Reaching up, I wrapped my hand around the back of my neck and rubbed it. Squeezing the sore muscles of it between my fingers, I looked back at him and said, “I’m not sure about that, Don. I’m making this up as I go.”
Don shook his head in disbelief. Looking past me, he gestured towards the gathering of investors as they and their families relaxed and enjoyed themselves at the pool.
“Making it up as you go?” he said, with an exhale of disgust. “That’s insanity. Point to any one of those men and women, and tell me which one of them is going to be satisfied with this situation.”
“Well, Don, if you’ve got any ideas, feel free to share them. As of right now, I don’t have much choice, other than to beg for forgiveness here.”
“Shit, Gabe. I hate to say I told you so but…”
“No,” I began, as I shook my head. “What you said was Fiona wouldn’t be ready for the presentation. That’s not what happened here, Don.”
He narrowed his gaze at me. With a tone of suspicion in his voice, he reached up and stroked his chin for a moment or two before trying to pin me down with his probing question.
“Was she ready, Gabe?”
It wasn’t hard to tell from his body language and the cadence of his voice Don still harbored deep suspicion about whether or not Fiona could’ve pulled it off. The last thing I needed to do, however, was to tell him he was right. I’d find a way to get Fiona past whatever it was holding her back, but for now, I needed Don and his team to help me keep things under wraps here on the island.
So I lied.
“Yes, Don, she was more than ready, but because the data is flawed there’s no way we can go ahead with things as they are.”
Unblinking, Don just looked at me and shook his head for several seconds.
“All right, Gabe. Um, it sounds to me like we need to do a bit of damage control then, don’t we?”
I nodded and reached towards my longtime employee, wrapping my fingers around his shoulder.
Looking him in the eye with as much conviction as I could muster, I replied, “That we do Don. So let’s not waste any more time standing here talking to each other about it. We’ve got work to do.”
Hours later, everything was set to go that evening as we gathered in the resort’s ballroom. There was no question why we were all there and what was to come.
Fortunately, none of them knew of Fiona’s role in the presentation, so when I took the podium, it didn’t raise any suspicions. Shuffling a bit of paper around in front of me, I waited for a few moments as the attendees turned their focus in my direction. Not since I started my business years ago had I been in a position where I literally had no idea what the next word out of my mouth would be. In a situation like this, all you can do is trust your instincts.