Twelve Angry Librarians

“I know it’s embarrassing, Charlie, and we didn’t help by laughing.” Stewart appeared contrite. “But Haskell’s right. I don’t imagine Forrest is going to fire you over this. Admonish you, maybe, but once you tell him the background to all this, I think he’ll be understanding. He’s not a jerk himself.”

“No, you’re right,” I said, feeling a bit relieved. “Still, I should have had better control of my temper. There’s just something about that guy that really gets under my skin.”

“Yeah, I know the type,” Haskell said. “Guys like that don’t have a clue how obnoxious they are. Nothing is ever their fault. Somebody’s always got it in for them because they’re smarter than everyone else.”

“That’s Gavin all right.” I shook my head. “I’ll be happy when this conference is over, and he’s gone back to Podunk, Alabama. Well, thanks, guys, for looking after Diesel. I need to get going.”

Diesel and Dante had curled up together near the stove to keep a close watch on Stewart. I gave them both a few head scratches before I left. Diesel meowed when I headed for the back door but otherwise didn’t appear overly upset at being left with his buddy Dante and the two human cat-sitters.

During the drive back to the Farrington House for the reception I counseled myself to steer clear of Gavin Fong this evening. Surely in a crowd of a couple hundred people I could manage that. Surely he would be as eager to stay away from me.

I found a spot for my car in the parking lot behind the hotel and made my way inside through a back entrance. As I approached the foyer to the ballroom I spotted Lisa Krause in conversation with a tall woman with light brown hair. I recognized her as Donna Evans, the catering manager at the hotel. As I neared them, Donna nodded and moved toward the closed ballroom doors. She opened one and slipped inside. Lisa turned in my direction. She came toward me with a tired smile.

“Hi, Charlie, you just getting here?”

I nodded. “I went home to freshen up and change after the opening ceremony. How are things going?”

“As far as the food and the service for the reception, everything is fine. You know how efficient and well organized Donna is.” Lisa sounded pleased, but she suddenly frowned.

“Yes, I do know,” I said. “But something seems to be bothering you. What is it?”

“I’ll give you one guess.” Lisa sighed.

“Gavin Fong.”

She nodded. “He’s a gigantic pain in the derriere, that’s for sure. He tracked me down about thirty minutes ago with a couple of complaints. The refrigerator in his room wasn’t working properly, and one of the lights was on the fritz and kept blinking on and off. I think he expected me to attend to them personally.”

“Instead of simply notifying someone at the front desk?”

“Yes. I told him that’s what he should have done because I am neither an electrician nor a refrigerator repair person. Then he had the nerve to tell me it was my job to deal with menials like repairmen, that he had far more important things to do. Then he just turned and walked off.” She made a growling sound. “If I’d had something to hit him over the head with, I swear I would have done it right then and there.”

“I’ve tried it, and it doesn’t work,” I said in a rueful tone.

“What do you mean?” Lisa asked.

I told her briefly about the incident earlier in the afternoon. She giggled when I finished. “Oh, Charlie, I’d give anything to have seen that. I may end up doing it myself before this conference is over.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” I said. “I’ve been called to a meeting first thing in the morning with Forrest Wyatt, and I have no doubt what it’s about.”

“He’s certainly not going to fire you over this,” Lisa said. “At least, I don’t think he would. I’ll be happy to tell Dr. Wyatt what an absolute jerk Gavin Fong is.”

“I don’t know that Forrest would consider that a mitigating factor,” I replied. “And, really, it isn’t. I am the one at fault, and I’ll simply have to deal with the consequences.” I shrugged. “Now, enough about that. How is everything else going, these annoyances aside?”

“Fine as far as I can tell,” Lisa said. “Of course there really isn’t much going on this evening other than the reception. When the presentations and everything start tomorrow, that will be the test. I’m always sure I’ve overlooked something, but the committee is great, and everyone is working hard to make sure things run smoothly.”

While Lisa and I were talking, people continued to come into the ballroom foyer. The noise level rose steadily as people chatted, and the room grew more and more crowded.

“I’m sure it will be a great conference.” I checked my watch. A few minutes before seven. “I guess the doors will be opening soon.”

Lisa nodded. “Donna went in to have a last check. She’s a stickler for the schedule, so I don’t have to worry about complaints that the reception started late. You know how librarians are about their free food.”