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I apologize, I thought you were Jeannie.” Jason rose from his chair to shake his boss’s hand.
    “No offense taken. I was on my way in, and told her I would bring it for her.”
    Jeffrey Coleman was sixty-two and, by all accounts, still in the prime of his life. Jason didn’t think he would ever see the day when he would retire. One day they would walk into his office and he would have passed away silently at his desk, completing some project. At one point seven years ago, when he had first begun to work for Coleman and Weary, Mr. Coleman had been a micro-manager. Every decision and idea had to go through him first. Three years ago he’d had a heart attack, and since then he had changed his life around. He learned to delegate, which Jason was happy about, because it gave him and the other department heads a chance to run their own division with minimal input or interference from the president.
    “Please, have a seat, sir.” Jason resumed his seat moments after the older, gray-templed man.
    “So, how are you feeling?” Mr. Coleman asked as he unbuttoned his suit coat to get more comfortable.
    A sign Jason knew meant this wasn’t a brief visit.
    “I’m feeling better all the time. If it wasn’t for the slight tenderness I feel in my thigh, I could forget it even happened.”
    “Take it from me, son...you don’t want to forget.” Mr. Coleman placed an idle hand on the center of his chest. “Eight years ago I sat where you are—two angioplasties and a number of collapsed stints later I had open heart surgery. I wish I’d learned the first time.”
    “Well, I don’t want to go back into a hospital ever again, if I don’t have to.”
    “Hear, hear.” Mr. Coleman took a slow breath before continuing. “Sometimes things will happen to us in our lives, completely out of our control, but it happens just the same. When it does happen, it makes us stop and look at what we have. It allows us to take stock of our lives.”
    When he paused, Jason didn’t say anything. He was getting the impression that Mr. Coleman was leading up to something, but he just didn’t know what.
    “Jason, I’m going to be frank with you.”
    He looked directly at Jason, as if trying to weigh his words.
    “You did a fine job in my absence assisting David Weary with the company. He was impressed and so was I with the great work you did and your work ethics.”
    Jason could not help the smile that crossed his face. “Thank you, sir. I wanted to do a good job.”
    “And you did. You know that David will be gone soon and I need to replace my vice-president.”
    Jason nodded. No answer was needed. The information was common knowledge in the whole company.
    “What you don’t know is that I’m leaning heavily in your direction.”
    Jason’s heart leaped and he felt like jumping out of his chair and yelling, Yes!
    “Now, that doesn’t mean that I’ve made my decision. So, before you go buying business cards, I do have a very big concern.”
    Jason’s heart didn’t even flutter; he held the confidence that whatever Mr. Coleman’s concern was he could put it to rest. “What’s your concern, sir?”
    “Your life outside of the company.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “Jason, you have no life outside of this office. You spend all of your hours at the office and as much as I’m thrilled by your enthusiasm, it concerns me.”
    Jason’s heart was making a slow descent from its high. “Sir, I’ve known I’ve wanted to do this all of my life. The position I’m in proves that it’s paid off. The fact that you’re leaning toward me is proof that I’m headed in the right direction.”
    “I couldn’t agree with you more, Jason. When I started this company twenty-four years ago, I believed that you had to sacrifice everything in order to make it in business. I don’t see things the same way. It cost me a heart attack and David a stroke.” Mr. Coleman raised an eyebrow in his direction, “I don’t want this job to cost you your