“Good morning, Langley.”
It was Mr. Johnson, one of the vice presidents and one of my immediate bosses. I said good morning and after a couple pleasantries he asked me to come to his office. I didn’t think I was in any trouble but I did wonder what it was all about.
“Have a seat, Langley.”
Ah oh, I knew something was up. Most of the time Johnson just had you stand in front of his desk while he tells you what he wants, then he dismisses you. It’s a rarity for him to invite someone to sit down.
“Langley, how would like a little vacation?”
“A vacation? Ah, not really, Mr. Johnson. My vacation is scheduled for August. We already have a family trip all planned.”
“Well, this is more like a working vacation, although there’s no REAL work involved. Corporate is having a seminar on international management techniques next week. All the offices have to send two representatives. I had slated Bruebaker to go but the blooming idiot got up in the middle of the night, fell down the stairs, and broke his leg.”
“Oh my gosh, is he going to be okay?”
“Yeah, but he’ll be out of commission for a while. He sure can’t get on a plane right now. What about it? I really need you to go. The flight leaves Sunday night at six-forty. You have reservations at the Manhattan Hilton. It’s right down the street from Times Square and three blocks from corporate headquarters. They’re having the seminars in one of the large banquet rooms on the main floor. It’s only for three days. Your return flight is Wednesday night.”
“Ah—well, I guess I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
“Not really.”
“Okay,” I said while standing, “where are the tickets?”
“Right here,” Johnson said, pulling them from his desk drawer. “I really appreciate this, Langley. I’ll figure out some way to repay you when you get back; maybe put you up for a romantic weekend with Nelson somewhere.”
“I’ll take you up on that,” I replied. I had just reached the doorway when I thought of something. “Mr. Johnson, you said two people from each office? Who else will be there?”
“Stoney—but he won’t be on the same plane. He’s heading out Saturday. He wants to knock around New York over the weekend.”
When Mr. Johnson mentioned Stoney’s name my knees nearly gave out. Three nights in New York with Stoney; this was too good to be true, my one and only chance to make my fantasies a reality. I felt the moisture between my legs before I even got back to my desk. My head was spinning. It’s really going to happen…and Nelson will never know a thing.
It was near to impossible to keep my mind from wandering for the rest of the day. I kept alternating between my fantasies and how I was going to tell Nelson about the trip. He’d never met Stoney so I had no worries about him being jealous or having any suspicions; hell he trusted me to a fault, but I rarely have to travel and I had to make sure I didn’t sound too excited when I told him. I was trying to decide just how much righteous indignation I should display for the short notice. I didn’t want to go overboard but I didn’t want him thinking I was happy to leave either. I had to play it cool.