Paul (Saul) most certainly did meet Jesus.... he appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus. Jesus told Saul that he was to go and wait to be shown what he must do....
Paul was contemporary with the apostles, and had interactions with Peter (Cephas), James, John, and others....
From Paul's letter to the Galatians....
9 and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, [
f]James and [
g]Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right [
h]hand of fellowship, so that we
might go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. 10
They only
asked us to remember the poor—the very thing I also was eager to do.
Peter (Cephas) Opposed by Paul
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he [
i]stood condemned. 12 For prior to the coming of some men from [
j]James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he
began to withdraw and separate himself, fearing those from the circumcision. 13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not [
k]straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how
is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?[
l]