It was a little after eight o’clock. I’d already had two drinks at the board’s reception, and they were just about to be seated in the private dining room of the hotel’s five-star restaurant. The chef had a special menu prepared. I had gone back and forth with Eleanor six times on the phone making sure the sommelier had the wine pairings just right. But Mary and I had agreed that I would not stay to enjoy it. I had duties elsewhere. Now I turned to her for help, not knowing how to respond when the board chair put up a fuss.
“Eleanor, they’re setting up the registration desk tonight,” Mary explained. “Alan needs to check-in and make sure everything is going smoothly. It opens first thing in the morning.”
“Oh, poo,” Eleanor said petulantly, swirling her wine and pouting like a little girl. “Aren’t there other people who can do that?”
No, I thought immediately. We didn’t send any extra staff, remember? And the cost of my meal has already bought you another two hours in that suite of yours.
“There are other people working on it,” Mary said reassuringly. “But Alan needs to make sure things are on schedule.”
Eleanor looked unsatisfied with the explanation, but Mary rapidly switched gears.
“Besides, once the crew is finished setting up, Alan is taking them all out to dinner. Kind of a celebration for a job well done getting us ready for this conference.”
“Excellent!” Eleanor suddenly beamed, grasping me firmly by the hand. “Give them my personal regards, Alan. Everyone has done such a fine job. They deserve a night out before all our plans start coming together tomorrow. You’re taking them somewhere special, I hope?”
I had no idea where I was taking them. Until that moment I had made no plans to take anyone anywhere. I was pretty sure Mary wasn’t serious, just using the staff dinner as a handy excuse—or a lie, another lie—to get out of having to buy me a hundred and fifty dollar dinner. I gave her a questioning look and she confirmed my suspicion with a stern face and a shake of her head.
“Wherever they want to go, Eleanor,” I said, smiling. “For them, the sky’s the limit!”
+ + +
“Dragons” is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. For more information, go here.
This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.
Image Source
http://lres.com/heres-why-amcs-need-to-pay-close-attention-to-looming-regulatory-changes/businessman-in-the-middle-of-a-labyrinth/
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