Billy Six Gun

The sweet smell of high-quality alcoholic beverages coupled with light music and upbeat conversation swirled in the background of the Marriot. Men and women in business attire had taken over the popular high-end restaurant at about 7 p.m. That was simply too late for William. He was there promptly at 6 p.m. with his wife Rhonda to ensure that the stage was set perfectly for his client, just like he did every time. This client, a Google representative, potentially held the contractual price of 13 million in billable hours for William and his team if the contract was signed. Not the largest contract, but a significant one. William always made sure every detail of the dinner or event was planned and took nothing to chance. That’s how he got this far. William Tunnicliff, the president and CEO of TCB Accounting, founded the company with his friends Bryan Clifton and Arman Bautista. He had since bought them out and joked with customers that the TCB meant “Taking Care of Business.” The company had grown to 40 employees and doing very well. Rhonda Tunnicliff, his wife, was sitting at the table priming and checking the silverware and linens to ensure they were presentable. She knew her role in these meetings. Make the clients and their wives comfortable. William’s intensity with numbers could be a little boring for some clients. William checked each prong of the forks and made sure each lined up to a 90-degree angle. Each wine glass was precisely three inches to the right of each plate, and he started to line up the butter in the center of the table when he saw his client walk in. He looked down at the table and checked to make sure the candles with a lotus flower were lit, the wine glasses, and all the presentable utensils looked perfect, and stood up. Rhonda followed, standing next to him as he stood, and he waved the man over from the concierge. Ronnie Yee was the representative from Google and had his wife and 5-year-old daughter with him. Tonight wasn’t about signing the contract, and it was to make an excellent impression. Ronnie was 39 years old and an accounting wizard, and that was why Google hired him on full-time. William met Ronnie when they recently went to a forensic accounting course to stop fraud from getting to their clients. Ronnie was the one who brought up contracting with TCB Accounting to take care of a significant portion of mundane work so that Ronnie’s team could focus on venture capitalist projects for the company. Ronnie waved and walked over wearing a suit with no tie. His wife, Julie, was behind him wearing a blue dress, and their daughter Sierra was wearing pajamas with SpongeBob. The couples shook hands and sat down. “Sorry about Sierra, and she threw a fit about coming to dinner. The PJ’s were a compromise,” Ronnie said, pulling in his chair. “Well, I personally prefer SpongeBob PJ’s over a suit. I think we should get your dad a matching pair. What do you think, Sierra?” William asked, smiling in her direction. Sierra let out a big smile and nodded. William pointed to the coloring book and crayons that he had the staff set up beforehand and a tablet for Sierra to play with. Rhonda and Julie complimented each other on their dresses and started small talk. “Glad you could make it, Ronnie,” William said, pouring a glass of red wine for the wives first, then the husbands. “Well, you did make the reservations in the hotel we’re staying in, so it would be a little weird to say no.” Ronnie laughed. It was true, and William had planned it that way after all. Always calculated, always prepared. “Look, William, I know you didn’t want to talk business tonight. However.” Ronnie said, taking a sip of his wine. “After what you did for the company, I was very impressed. Not only was I impressed, but the CFO was ecstatic. Rhonda, did William tell you what he did during our class together?” Ronnie asked. Rhonda shook her head and looked at him. She knew exactly what her husband did, he told her, but she wanted to hear it from Ronnie. “Well, during our course for forensic accounting, we shared some of our own ideas and a little on how we organize our numbers. Now, without even showing William any sensitive information, just information that is releasable to the public, he caught an algorithm within the number sets that even I missed. I brought it back to corporate, who contracted William right away as a consultant and allowed him to look at our records. I’ll be damned if I missed another one. Fantastic work, indeed. William, I put your bid in with the company, and the bosses immediately signed it. You saved us over 17 million in errors, and we wouldn’t have caught it. The bosses signed off on it right away on one condition that you be kept on as a consultant if the company is sold or, you know, you separate from it. The documents are being couriered over to your legal team in the morning. So, congrats!” Ronnie said, holding up his wine glass. William was taken by surprise. He knew he had a good chance of getting the contract but thought it would take a lot more schmoozing and time. William held up his glass and clinked it to Ronnie. Both drank from the glasses, and William held his glass up and looked over at Rhonda, who gave a congratulatory nod. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you, Ronnie! I didn’t expect this.” William said, genuinely meaning it. “I know you didn’t. That’s part of what I like about it. You’re always ready and prepared. I got you on this one! I mean, come on, William, you tidy up your desk before you stand up for God's sake and saved us millions for free. Why wouldn’t we sign on? Plus, you’re just a good guy, and we like to have good people working with us rather than corporate sharks.” Ronnie said, pulling out the menu. The rest of the dinner went well, all of them ordering from the menu, and, of course, William had the staff prepare the Macaroni and Cheese from Sierra’s cookbook that her dad had given William. As the couples parted ways, Ronnie expressed his gratitude for catching the algorithm. “William, seriously, thank you. Not for just saving us money, but for bringing my head out of the clouds. I was considered the guru of numbers, and it got to my head. I missed it, and you caught it. I’m glad to have you on board. So, see you Monday?” Ronnie finished. “See you Monday,” William said, waving at the Yee family. They walked to the elevator and pushed the button. “Well, is there anything you can’t do? Land a contract, save companies millions, and sweep a lady off her feet by getting the door….” Rhonda said, swishing her hair back slightly. “Keep it up, and you might get lucky.” Rhonda finished and sat in the car. She pulled her feet in and put on her seat belt. As William began to push the door a pain, he’d never felt shot up from his groin, and it went all the way through his stomach and up to his chest. William buckled over in pain and fell to his knees. The valet jumped up and ran over while Rhonda unbuckled and got out. “WILLIAM! What happened? What’s wrong?” Rhonda asked. William was dazed from the pain, and then a second round hit, and he curled into a fetal position. “CALL AN AMBULANCE!” Rhonda shouted. William didn’t remember the ride over to the hospital. He just remembered doctors shining things in his eyes, and he woke up to see Rhonda in the hospital room along with his assistant Tony. Tony was his protégé. 29 years old and a degree from MIT, he was going to rise fast with the company. But why was he here? “What happened?” William asked. Rhonda looked over at Tony. “Hey boss, I’m going to be right out here if you need anything,” Tony said, stepping out. “You’ve been out for two days. Doctors…well, they found something.” Rhonda started as the doctor came into the room and closed the door. Closed-door….that’s never a good thing. William thought.