People rush past and I duck by them, making my way in the crush of getting in and settled. I remember to check my peripheral vision every other second to see who is passing in the narrow hall so I won't run over them. I walk slower than most others even when I am in a hurry. I have learned that otherwise I get into accidents. I keep my eyes out for anyone carrying donuts, because that will probably be Brian, as I remembered he volunteered to do that.

Actually, though, he could be just walking, and not carrying anything. He could have dropped the donuts off, so that won't help all that much. I rack my brain. Does Brian have brown hair or reddish brown? It's dark, I think. Not light. Is he tall or short? Tall, I think. Yes, I look up at him, so tall. But which one is tall? Is one of them in front of the other, or is one short? What does his face look like? I try to remember, but all I can think about is the bright red plaid shirt he wore last week. No, he isn't going to wear that to an important meeting, particularly not with lawyers and Washington folks there. He'll wear a white shirt, maybe a suit, but maybe not. He could keep his jacket in his cube, so many guys do...breaking out the tie and jacket only for a special occasion. The only clues to recognize him are going to be hair and height and facial expressions. Quick, try to remember. But I can't, and I just call out, because maybe one of them is Brian.

"Hey Brian, do you have a second to fix this hydrograph right here? We can do it before the meeting..."

They shake their heads and look at me as they rush down through the hall to escape this madwoman. Wrong people, and worse, they know it. They know who each other are, and none of them is Brian. I should know who they were, but I didn't get a close look at their badges, with the tiny names. Someone will probably get back to me later about my mistake. Meantime, I don't see Brian, I don't see anyone, and I quickly hurry on to the meeting room. I think about just announcing the mistakes in front of everyone, and shudder at the fall out from that.

Well, maybe Ken, the head of the California legal team, won't look too closely at those hydrographs. I hope not, because the errors are in not in our favor and it will be hard to explain a backpedalling later.