adam had been very annoyed by the sudden summons of the human resources department. it meant he would have to postpone his lunch until at least two o’clock.
he had made a date with phoebe to have lunch at the new chilean place on nineteenth street at twelve thirty. he texted her to tell her he would not be able to make it.
phoebe was as much a creature of the street as he was, so he knew she would understand. the problem was, when would he get a chance to see her again? he had been so looking forward to their meeting - the first time he would have seen her without other of their friends present.
he hoped she would quickly text him back to tell him how sorry she was to have to miss him. but she had not done so when he entered the conference room at five minutes to two.
adam switched his phone off. he did not want to forget to do so when the meeting started. having your phone on when the meeting was in progress was a major demerit.
he was surprised at how few people were in attendance, just carlos, janet, ashleigh, david, and himself, and roger daniels from h r who sat at the head of the table with some folders in front of him and was apparently in charge. roger was not at all a highly placed person in h r.
it did not look like anything very important. adam felt a renewed annoyance. for this i had to miss lunch, he thought.
would you mind closing the door, adam? roger asked. we are all here, we may as well get started.
carlos and ashleigh turned their phones off.
a seagull alighted on the window ledge, stared at the conference for a few seconds, and flew off.
you folks have been selected to take a questionnaire, roger announced. he handed the pile of folders to ashleigh, who was seated on his right. start passing these around, please. if anybody needs a pen or pencil, i have some.
the folders were quickly passed around. adam thought they looked a little thicker than they had, when viewed from the end of the table.
what is this about? janet asked.
roger laughed. hard to say. i just glanced at it, it seems to be all over the place.
so you didn’t make it yourself? janet asked.
oh, no, no. it came down from on high.
did the mother ship do it themselves or did they get it from an outside consultant? carlos asked roger.
i do not know, roger answered with a just-do-it tone in his voice.
about how long will it take? ashleigh asked.
as long as it takes you to do it. but i would advise you to take it seriously.
will everybody have to do it, or just us? ashleigh asked.
i don’t know that either. i think it is just you guys as a sample, but i can’t say for sure.
adam was flipping through the questionnaire. can we change our answers after we do them?
it does not say you can’t. i suppose you can if you have a pencil with an eraser. it is not a test, just a man in the street type thing, sampling people’s opinions. there are no right or wrong answers.
sort of. just longer.
i have one last question, ashleigh said.
and what might that be?
can we get some donuts? i didn’t have lunch yet, and i am starving.
of course. i will get them myself. and some coffee too, if anybody wants any.
for the first time adam noticed that no coffee and pastries had been provided. and apparently roger was not going to watch them to make sure they did not cheat. so how big a deal could it be? still annoyed, he relaxed a little.
of course, adam did not believe for one second roger’s assertion that “there are no right or wrong answers”. nor had he believed any such assertions since he first starting taking tests and answering questionnaires as a small child.
“they” were watching you every minute, and wanting to know what you were thinking, and ready to pounce on you for the least little thing. no right or wrong answers, yeah, right.
you might as well get started, roger said,. i will go get the coffee and donuts and you can have them when i get back.
approximately how long is this going to take? carlos asked.
as long as it takes, roger replied promptly.
suppose we are not finished by five o’clock? adam asked.
you will be finished by five o’clock, roger said. he got up and headed for the door.
but what if we are not? janet asked.
you will have to stay until you finish it.
roger left.
carlos flipped through the pages of questionnaire. this should not take that long, he told janet, with a hopeful smile.
