Luckily most of the Executive Committee members were busy people, and they appreciated brevity. I hoped it would be a short meeting, and at least I had no catastrophes to report, no crises to resolve. Just business as usual, as we slid into the new calendar year. I had just gotten my head back into report mode when Eric called out, “Ms. Heffernan is on the phone for you.” “Thanks, Eric. I’ll pick up.” I lifted my handset. “Hi, Arabella. Is everything all right?” “No new disasters, if that’s what you mean. Can you come out and play for a little while?” For a moment I wondered if I’d heard her correctly. “What are you suggesting?” “I’m just so tired of dust and paint smells and noise, and I need to get out of my office because the pesky phone keeps ringing. How does lunch at the Reading Terminal Market sound?” My mouth started watering immediately. I was torn, but I knew that the reports would still be sitting here after lunch. “Wonderful. Can I meet you there?”
