“That may be too late. Some things break quickly.”
After a pause, the man sighed. “All right. I’ll be there in half an hour.”
“Come straight to my office. And Karl...” Joby gave a short hesitation, then injected a trace of Pitiful Little Girl into her voice. “I ... I want you to know how much I appreciate this. I’ve always thought you were the most helpful man on the staff; this confirms it. I’ll make it up to you for the inconvenience, I promise.”
After hanging up, she quickly began straightening her appearance, adjusting her makeup so she would seem harried but not panicked, needy but not desperate. As she worked, she thought of the story she would tell him: that there were some misplaced funds she’d been trying to track down for ages, and she didn’t want to bother Budget because she
