Persuasion

Persuasion

Dave was a businessman. He didn't understand why, as a Corporate
Executive he had to
attend this silly "All boys together, lets build moral" course. It was
a mixture of
Psychology workshops, and outward bound activities. Still the ordeal
was drawing to it's
conclusion, he still disliked the people he worked with, as much as
when he started the
course, and for some unfathomable reason, even after enduring all the
bonhomie of the
last sickly five days, he still had no desire at all to give his
colleagues a friendly hug.

He was gazing out of the window, trapped within his own thoughts, when
he heard his
name drifting through his consciousness.

"Dave come on out to the front mate, your turn"

He grudgingly left his seat and went to involve himself in another
silly and pointless
exerscise.

"Right" said Rob, the tutor, "You and I are up in a hot air balloon,
when suddenly
disaster strikes, The balloons in big trouble and is going to go down
at the speed of
gravity. Unless, one of the two of US does. You have to persuade me,
without using any
form of physical violence to jump. This will secure your safety. If you
can't persuade me
then we both die ...You have three minutes"

Dave squirmed as he felt everybody's eyes upon him. still the quicker
he got this over
with, the quicker he could sit back down.

"Okay. Well that sounds quite easy ..." He thought for a couple of
seconds "Right I have
full blown Aids, and if you don't jump out of the balloon I'm going to
bite you, and you
will die a slow and painful death"

Rob shook his head and smiled. "No good dave, these days Aids is a
perfectly
controllable disease, I may go on to have years and years of reasonable
health.. I'll take
my chances with the Aids. Also there's a damned good chance that you
are bluffing, and
are in perfect health".

"Okay, I'm the leader of a weird religious sect, and if you jump, I'll
have a word with
The Boss" Dave raised his eyes to the ceiling "and secure you a five
star room in
paradise".

"Well Dave, if you consider your own sect to be weird, then I'm not
going to subscribe
to it thanks, and anyway as a fervent religious fanatic, surely you'd
be leading the jump to
the gates of paradise ...Nope, I'm not buying into that one
thanks".

Dave wracked his brain, this trumped up, psychobabbling fool was
beginning to make
him look stupid in front of his colleagues. "Got it. You jump now, or
I'll track you down
and kill your wife and kids,and this time it's not your life at stake,
so can you afford to
take the risk that I might be bluffing?"
"If I don't Jump, You and I are both going to be dead in ..." Rob
looked at his watch
dramatically "Twenty seconds, how are you going to kill my family, when
you are a
strawberry jam stain on the road".

The class laughed as Rob continued, "You could have got me to jump so
easily, all you
had to say was ...."I'm the Balloon controller, so YOU take the
parachute mate, and I'll
guide this thing down safety" ... lateral thinking Dave, gets you every
time."

"Smart arsed git", thought Dave as he returned to his seat.

Soon he was driving home, he stopped off at the jewelers to pick up
the emerald
bracelet he'd bought for Marie his wife. It was their eighteenth
wedding anniversary
today, and he knew she had something special planned.

That evening, they had a romantic, candlelight meal, with lots of wine
and soft music.
eighteen years, and the old magic was still there. They danced slow and
close. Marie
looked wonderful in a long dress of sparkling indigo, when Dave nuzzled
her neck, he
became intoxicated with the heady smell of her, he began to feel the
familiar stirrings of
passsion.

They made love on the rug by the fire, naked, bar the bracelet on
Maries slim wrist, that
shone with green luster, in the light of the fire. They'd had a
fantastic evening, and Marie
had gone to a lot of trouble to make everything perfect. She had bought
him a lovely card,
had taken hours of time on her appearance, and had cooked a creative
meal, and yet Dave
felt a little tinge of disappointment. This was the first year she
hadn't bought him a gift.

Dave came out of the bathroom, and Marie was already waiting for him
in bed, she had
on, that cheeky pixie smile of hers, and her eyes glinted playfully, as
he walked to the bed.
On his pillow was an envelope; it read simply "Fly me baby, you know
you can".

Dave read the details of his "Present" and smiled: A Champagne and
Strawberry
breakfast for two, flying over the Solent ..... in a Hot Air
Balloon!