“I need you fully present in that boardroom tomorrow,” Carla said.

She passed the signed schedule back to him.

“This is your last chance to show me you can focus.”

“I understand that,” Michael said.

Carla turned and walked off down the hall.

Michael took his coffee back to his cubicle.

He dropped into his gray desk chair.

He pushed a few coffee-stained quarterly budget sheets out of the way.