dennis went outside for lunch once a week, when his hours at the office were from eight to five, rather than his usual hours of three p m to midnight.
one day when he got back, he got out of the elevator and stepped to the front door of the office with his hand raised to enter the security code, when he noticed bob slumped on the ground beside the door.
dennis bent down and looked more closely at bob. he did not appear to be breathing.
dennis checked bob’s heart, and his pulse, in both his wrist and his neck. there was no movement anywhere.
there could be no doubt about it - bob was dead!
with trembling hand, dennis managed to enter the security code and get through the front door. he hurried to the human resources office.
adele, the human resources manager, had a corner office with a glass door. the door was closed, and dennis could see adele behind her desk, talking to merry, the junior projects coordinator, who was seated with her back to the door. they seemed to be having quite a friendly and animated chat, so dennis assumed that merry was not being fired, as was often the case when a person was summoned to adele’s office.
dennis knocked on the door and adele looked up with an annoyed look on her face. she got up and opened the door.
“yes, dennis, what is it that can’t wait?” she asked in a mildly annoyed tone.
“bob is dead.”
“well, that is unfortunate. which bob? there is more than one in the office.”
“um - i think he works in the e c department. he works for the guy with red hair that hangs out with the in crowd.”
“thank you, dennis. i will notify security. you can return to your area.”
“will security want to talk to me?”
“i wouldn’t be surprised. but that is up to them.” with that, adele closed the door in dennis’s face.
dennis went to his area, in the special products department. marcie and annie were waiting for him. the three of them were working on a project together, for phil johnson, the stout, unyielding special projects manager who was a passionate mets fan and had a picture of keith hernandez in his work area.
“is something wrong?’ marcie asked dennis. “ you look a bit discoordinated. did something you eat at lunch not agree with you? i thought you said you were going to that new haitian place on the corner of washington street and jefferson avenue.
“that is true,” dennis replied, “i did eat there.”
“and the food didn’t agree with you? that surprises me. i heard a lot of good things about it”
“the last time i walked by it,” annie said, “there was a long line halfway down jefferson avenue waiting to get served.”
“the food was excellent,” dennis said. “ithat’s not what disturbed me.”
“then what has?” marcie answered. “if i may be so intrusive as to ask.”
“it was bob - bob who i think works in the edirorail content department. he was lying on the ground outside the office - and he was dead!”
“bob in the e c department?” marcie shook her head . she looked at annie, but annie just shrugged. “i can’t place him. but they have a big turnover in that department, it is mismanaged if you ask me. and are you sure he was dead?”
“positive. security will probably want to talk to me. that’s what adele said.”
“huh. i don’t think there really is any security. they just say there is.”
dennis was surprised by this statement of marcie’s but he just said, “you think?”
“be that as it may, dead bob or no dead bob, we better get going on phil’s project.”
“true that, “ dennis agreed.
and without further ado, the afternoon passed quickly.
when five o’clock rolled around, dennis had almost forgotten about bob.
the project for phil johnson was not quite finished, so of course there was no question of dennis or marcie or annie leaving, even though their hours were listed as eight to five, with a forty-five minute lunch hour.
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