Mr. Rodney Pierce, Accounting Supervisor, propped up his feet on the desk as he perused a pair of Mediterranean and Caribbean cruise brochures.

Tommy, one of Pierce’s direct reports, tapped on the window to his office. Pierce motioned for Tommy to come in.

“Going on a cruise, Mr. Pierce?”

“No, sirree. Just dreaming. When – not if – but when I hit that MegaZillion jackpot, you’ll need to find yourself a new boss. Plus, I actually may own one of these cruise lines. Jackpot’s at 421 million, buddy. 421 big ones. If you’re nice to me, I may even let you come on a free cruise.”

“Gotcha. Best of luck with those odds though. Aren’t they like 272 million to one?”

“277 million, close enough but what’s five million among friends. You can’t win if you don’t play, if you know what I mean. It only takes one to win it. Enough about that.” Pierce tossed the brochures aside and dropped his feet. “What can I help you with, Tommy, my friend?”

“I was just going over these numbers and…wait a second, you’re not good with numbers, are you, Mr. Pierce?”

“Sure I am. I’ve got a masters in finance.”

“That’s what I thought,” Tommy said looking down at the travel brochures. “That’s what I thought.”

Just as Tommy turned to leave, Pierce said to him, “I see what you did there, Tommy. And yet, one of those people who is not good at numbers will win it all. Eventually. If it’s any consolation, though, I was great at accounting but terrible at statistics.”

Three Minute Fiction

Numbers