The Streets Are Lined With Gold But I Can’t Spend It

A business man doing business, that’s what I enjoy most about my job. I don’t like the people I have to talk to and the pay is hilarious. But just the feeling of being a business man, going around from one end of the city to the other is such a warm feeling. But no time for that, a client awaits. It was my 47^th^ day and I had clawed and fought (in some cases literally) to get this position and I didn’t want to lose it on a failed deal. Wait what do I actually do?

Walking around a crowded city in your off hours, or at least back when I had off hours, was fun. But when you’re walking around said crowded city while also working? Magical. I met my client about halfway through the journey, It is customary to not talk until we reach our meeting point, for fear of diluting each other’s opinions and ideas with each other. But finally, we sat down at the nice restaurant. Nothing too fancy, I more need the sale for the sale itself and not how much I’m selling for. It’s company property anyway, so who cares? I’m a business man doing business.

“I have had a great walk here, I walked with you and I got to look at some of the concrete skyscrapers of the city.”

He smiled and nodded, “Unbelievable, I did the exact same thing. As much as I like chit chat I need to give you my offer before we become friends and that taints my desired offer.”

“As you wish, what are you looking for?” I asked, as I began snacking on my fried squid.

“I need a way out of here.”

I cocked my head and jerked back, “Excuse me? You need ‘a way out of here’?” It was confusing. He was the head of one of the largest firms in the city, the reason I was with him now was because I pestered him and his assistant and exploited my connections so hard I burnt those bridges. How would this man be unhappy, he was a businessman doing business. In fact, I would say he is the best business man who ever did business. “But I thought you enjoyed your job. What’s the problem?” I asked, genuinely concerned about this sad business man.

“You think I enjoy this? I may be quantifiably successful, I have money in the bank and a job. But that doesn’t mean squat when anything you spend it on is tainted by this idea that I will have to keep doing more business to get more. When does it end? I enjoyed building myself up but now there’s nowhere left to go. I’m not going to fail, I’m too big to fail and all my coworkers will forcibly bail me out. What I want is to disappear forever. Go into the unknown.”

From what I could tell this was the rantings of a crazy person, “But, why aren’t you happy doing business. It’s the most fun thing anyone can do, I spend twenty years of my life to get this job. I work at a skyscraper, one of the big ones too. Are you telling me it’s all for naught?”

A slight beeping went off in my ear, I almost forgot about my contract. Thoughts of self doubt set off an alarm, anything more serious than that and I would be terminated immediately. Termination was not a fate befitting a business man of my moderate stature and I chose to block out the thoughts.

“Well, if you want I could try and wrangle up a few favours. I have a few people who would be more than happy for a man of your power status to live in their apartments and lakehouses and the like.”

“No!’ he said, getting quite irritated at this point, “I don’t want to get off the grid and onto someone else’s grid. I want to go away, stop becoming a problem for everyone, alive and happy but gone forever.”

I struggled to fit together the pieces of what he was saying, but such a concept was so alien I had never heard of such ideas. “Sir, I do have company real estate for you but I don’t know what else to do for you.”

“Forget it, I’ll work something out for myself,” he said as he shot up, sending cutlery flying around, and began walking out of the restaurant. I got up and chased after him, no way was I going to let this deal slip away. Even if I had to follow this guy on whatever weird mission he was going on.