She was desperate to get her taxes done. It was Sunday, April 15, 2007 and she was not going to make it.
She'd called H&R Block and all those tax preparation places but they wanted too much money. She'd picked up the forms from the library but they made no sense to her... Taxes, after all, were like that. She had investigated every possible avenue she could think of. Granted, she had gotten a late start as some of her forms were sent to Michigan, and some to California, but she new she was out of time. She was desperate.
Her last resort was to call a local accountant recommended by a friend. Her friend had gone to school with this guy and was confident he'd be able to help. Although he didn't think he really did taxes for a living, he was an accountant and did his own taxes so it couldn't hurt to try. But at this late date, with only hours to go, her concern and anxieties increased by the minute. Shortly after 9:00 am on that Sunday, she gave him a call.
"Hello? Is this Steve?" She asked as he picked up the phone.
"Yeah, this is Steve."
"You don't know me, but I'm a friend of Peter and he suggested you might be able to help me. See, I just moved here from Michigan and I got some of my forms late and I'm not really good with numbers, and I was wondering... would you be able to help me with my taxes?" she explained to the voice on the other end of the line.
"Oh, well, see, I don't really do taxes. All that liability and I don't really keep up on it every year like the pros do. I do my own using TurboTax but that's about it. I just don't do taxes." Steve had seen this before, just never so close to the deadline. He made it a rule to avoid taxes because he didn't like the rules of the game changing every year. He took the classes in college, and knew how to do his own, but he avoided doing others like the plague.
"Oh, please, I'll do anything. I can't really pay you much but I could make you dinner or something. Please, please, please???"
Her desperation resonated in his ears. He didn't DO taxes, but maybe he could at least help. They're a pain but he had some level of confidence he could at least do that much. "Okay, let me ask you some questions."
He proceeded to ask some basic questions about owning a home, and children, and moving expenses, and investments. Some of those things can complicate the matter to the point he wouldn't touch them with a very long pole. Hers, however, seemed relatively straight-forward.
"Okay, well, these don't seem too bad. I suppose I can help but I'm not going to sign-off on them." Steve submitted to the voice on the other end of the line. "I think its probably best if you just come over to my home office and we'll drop this into TurboTax. It should probably take a couple of hours."
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!!! You're a life-saver. I'll be there in an hour." She was almost giddy. Here she was absolutely desperate and this stranger was going to help. How could she make it up to him? She'd have to think of something.
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She arrived an hour later, after stopping by the store. She had picked up some food for lunch and some beer to thank this mysterious accountant who was going to make her day. Steve met her at the door.
Her immediate impression was that Steve as a handsome man of maybe 35. He had some grey in his hair and looked to have a bit of a belly. Maybe 5'10", 220 pounds, but he had a kind smile and a look of respectability. Yep, this was the accountant.
He was actually a bit stunned by the beautiful little girl who had shown up on his doorstep. She had long black hair, a very cute face (particularly with the sunglasses she was wearing), and an adorable little figure. He was in his business mode and initially just wanted to get this done and move on with his Sunday activities (watching TV and then maybe going out for drinks later). But then he remembered what she'd said; he remembered that this beautiful little creature was desperate, and she would do anything. He couldn't escape this thought.
He invited her in and gave her the quick tour. He showed her to his home-office and fired-up his computer for the task at hand. He invited her to make herself at home and took a beer, thanking her. He really didn't think this was a big deal but she insisted on making some lunch while he dropped in numbers and asked questions about details on this and that.