AN UNEXPECTED ASSIGNMENT
The morning began the way all my mornings at Dallas Enterprises began.
I arrived before most of the executive floor — the specific early arrival of someone who had learned that the thirty minutes before the building filled were the most useful thirty minutes of the day. I unlocked my office, placed my bag under my desk, and proceeded with morning preparation with the practiced efficiency of someone who had made this routine so automatic that it no longer required thought.
Rain tapped against the windows overlooking downtown Chicago — steady, the kind of rain that had decided to stay for the day and was not apologizing for it. I organized his schedule. Sorted the morning correspondence. Reviewed the files for the Harper and Whitmore acquisition meeting scheduled
