She seemed ready to argue, so he took it a step further. He rolled his eyes, crumpled the unread note, and tossed it into the garbage can.

She watched, obviously interested, as the ball slipped downward and into the bin. But, after one last curious look at Jim, she shrugged and walked back to her desk, shaking her head.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye as he pretended to examine the contents of the soda machine.

As soon as she’d busied herself with a sales call, he retrieved the crumpled note and headed for the bathroom.