Frank got off the elevator on his floor of the hotel and pulled out his key card. He jammed the card into the lock twice before the hotel room door opened. He pushed his way in, dropped his suitcase near the door, and threw his computer case onto the bed. He quickly pulled his laptop out of the case and hit the start button as he opened the screen. It would be a few minutes before his system was up, so he fished some dollar bills out of his coat pocket, grabbed the ice bucket, and left the room, heading for the vending area. The humming sounds of the ice machine drew him down the hall and around the corner, where he found it. He knew he would be up late; caffeine was a necessity to combat the two martinis he had had with John earlier at the bar. Soon he had two sodas and a bucket of ice in his hands, and was on his way back to his room. There better be an email from Dave, he thought to himself, getting angrier and starting to walk more quickly.
Line after line of email scrolled up his screen. Most of it was junk. Finally, he saw it, an email from Dave. “Okay, let’s see what this is,” he muttered to himself as he opened Dave’s email. There was an attachment, a positive sign—the first in several long hours. Frank read the message:
Frank: I got your phone message; didn’t understand what you were talking about. I left the thumb drive on your desk Friday afternoon. Anyway, I went to the office and found it on the floor in your office. Figured you ran out with the folder, but it must have fallen out. Here it is. I also sent a copy to John in case you didn’t make it; you sounded upset.
“Left the drive in my office?” said Frank aloud. Like a person frantically trying to find a set of lost keys, Frank played back his steps from last Friday evening repeatedly in his mind. “. . . fell on the floor?” Frank was puzzled, but he had to stay focused. It was getting late and he still had to prepare for the next day’s meeting. He clicked on the email attachment and it opened to the first slide of the presentation. He slowly clicked his way through the presentation, stopping here and there to read the text. At the first chart, he lingered for quite a while and studied the figures. Frank opened the original file that he had picked up in his office and searched for the same chart. Or, was it the same? No, the charts were different, very different. In fact, except for some introductory material and graphics, the entire presentation was different from the one he had picked up from his desk late Friday. Frank’s mind was oscillating between attempts to answer the question what the hell happened? and focusing on what he was going to say during the meeting tomorrow.
Taking another gulp of soda, Frank continued to review the new presentation. He liked what he read. Eventually, a deep sense of calm overtook him. This is good; this is really good, Frank thought, smiling.
Having finished reviewing the presentation and writing notes for his talk, Frank packed up his computer and got ready for bed. The committee is really going to like this, he thought, getting under the covers and turning out the light. Dave came through.
The quiet in his mind did not last long. But, how could I have left it in the office? I put everything I found in my briefcase. Frank started doing the deep-breathing exercises he had learned in the stress management course. No wonder John was pleased: this is really a creative, well-thought-out plan, Frank sighed, smiling again, as he tried to refocus on the positives. Good thing I ran into John in the lobby and he raved about it. I may not have learned about it until the morning—what a nightmare—if Dave hadn’t found the thumb drive in my office. Or had he?
Frank’s eyes opened, paranoia starting to get the better of him.
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