I had dressed in my navy blue suit today and I had practiced my pitch in the mirror at least a dozen times before leaving the house. I was ready. I was confident and I was going to fix this.

The manager was a lean man wearing black rimmed glasses. He listened to me speak for about ten minutes, nodding politely at me in between. I laid out all the documents, explained the situation with my father's company, showed him the projections that proved we could turn things around if we just had a little more time.