“Well,”said the executive at the conclusion of our pitch, flipping shut his notebook, “give me a minute to talk to my people and I’ll get back to you.”
And with that, he got up and left the room. We briefly exchanged looks, me, my producing partner Vanessa, and author Craig Davidson, then somewhat reluctantly rose and followed him out of the conference room. Of course, by the time we hit the lobby, he was nowhere in sight. Vanessa got her parking validated and we started for the elevators.
“Hold up,”said Craig. And then, stepping in close and whispering conspiratorially: “Shouldn’t we wait?”
Off our uncertain looks: “He said give me a minute to talk to his people.”
I wasn’t sure if he was kidding or not but, all the same, assured him that when the executive said “Give me a minute” he didn’t literally mean “give a minute”. “It’s a figure of speech,”I said.
And, with that, and a shrug from Craig, we headed to the elevators.
Moments later, we were standing outside, waiting for our Uber. I could tell Craig was fit to burst. And, sure enough, he exploded: “Give me a minute?! Who says that?!”
I admitted that it was an odd turn of phrase, but all the same found it extremely unlikely that we would get a decision that quickly. Seemingly satisfied, Craig caught his Uber to the airport, leaving me to figure out how the hell to call a second Uber on your apps (Spoiler alert: You can’t!).
Fast forward to this morning when I woke up to find an email sitting in my inbox with the subject heading: Give me a minute to talk to my people. And the message: “… I’m still thinking about that. Give me a minute, as he was getting up. Who says that, unless he’s actually going out to talk to his people? About what? We shall never know, perhaps. Then we all got up like the meeting was over and we’re out, we’re leaving. That line is gonna haunt me for awhile. Why didn’t we give him a minute to talk to his people, Joe? Why? Oh good lord in heaven, why? WHY???”
I laughed at the thought and then paused to consider the possibility: The executive stepping back into the lobby moments later, glancing about bewildered, and asking the receptionist where we’d disappeared to. He’d taken the brief moment to consult with his people and all had unanimously decided to green light the series. Except that we hadn’t even seen fit to honor his request by giving him that damn minute!
From now on, I’m lingering until security throws me out.
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