The Taxi

By James Provenzano

George Lessing is a skilled, high-level financial consultant. He travels to New York City from his home in California, to meet with a potential client, an export company. This is a good opportunity for interesting and profitable work, and a potential long-term relationship. A series of negative events ruin the trip. The meeting is a failure-a dangerous winter storm accelerates, and there is an uninvited passenger in the taxi ride to the airport. However, surprises continue and an impromptu diversion to Chicago has the potential to salvage the trip in a dramatic way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Oct 14, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483510095

Book preview

9781483510095

George Lessing stepped out of a midtown Manhattan building and hailed a taxi. He was going to the airport earlier than expected, since his meeting was unsuccessful and unpleasant. George recently turned 50 years of age and has been a financial consultant for nearly 30 years. Most of this experience was in the corporate world, but the last eight years he has been on his own. His trip to New York for this meeting came together unexpectedly, and he incurred all travel expenses, since a good outcome would be very beneficial for his future. That made the results even more depressing. His way of handling setbacks was to move on quickly.

Since it was a weekday around noon, traffic was horrendous and made worse by the weather, as remnants of a nor’easter made it cold, windy and wet. As he stepped into the taxi from the left side, a man in a business suit abruptly opened the door on the right side, and bellowed to the driver, take me to LaGuardia airport as quickly as possible.

George could not handle this, considering how the day had gone so far, and he confronted the stranger, close the door and get out, this is my ride! George thought this was a little risky to confront a stranger who seemed out of control, but his mood and the risk of reasoning with him, overcame any other option. The taxi driver was silent, and the stranger did not say anything as he closed the door and left.

The stranger appeared to be in his early 40’s. He was dressed in a dark suit with a