“Goodbye.” I frowned at the woman standing before my desk. “Yes, Ms. Copeland?”
“Your coffee, sir. I also have a list of the meetings you need to attend.”
“Meetings?” I stared at the stack of paperwork. I’d been under the impression I’d been called in to deal with that.
“And the undersecretary wants you to join him in the dining room for lunch at his usual time.”
“All right. Damn.” I gestured toward the files. “I don’t know when I’ll be able to get to these.”
“Oh, I can have someone take care of them for you, sir.”
“Can you?” Then why had the undersecretary insisted I come in today? This was getting even odder. “That’s very efficient of you. Thank you. Now, who am I supposed to see first?”
* * * *
Shortly after one, I excused myself from a meeting that was as futile as my week in B
