today I followed a lead
On my desk, when I started my new job recently, was an assortment of clutter from my predecessor. Among this assortment was a sticky pad. A sticky pad that had been cut - as one cuts a deck of cards - and had a sticky note (possibly from the top of the deck) inserted into the 'cut'. And on that beat-up, inserted, secret note?
A phone number.
For weeks it taunted me. Could this be a message from the person who held my position for the three months that lasted between when I first was interviewed and when I was eventually hired? Could it hold the secrets to some big mystery? Was it the lost number of a girl, still pining for the fellow who'd last held my chair?
Today I called it. It was a florist. The woman who answered had an east Indian accent. My predecessor had an east Indian name. I told her why I was calling, but she didn't seem to pick up on what I was telling her. For the sakes ofa) discretion (yes, believe it)b) not making an ass out of myself (ditto)c) not wanting to attempt at pronouncing the unusual name...
I simply thanked her and hung up. Yes, I let the trail grow cold.