Day 3: Meeting

'TEAM MEETING! BOARDROOM, NOW!"

Instant look of panic and fear in everyone's eyes. Michael is in one of his moods.

I scoop bits of trace paper scattered on my desk, doodles that might come in handy if I'm put on the spot. You never know which sketch will save your job.

I take a seat on an Aeron chair in the boardroom. That's something that always bothered me. Why does the "boardroom" (let's face it, we have no board, it's a glorified meeting room/lunch table) get the expensive, ergonomical chairs, while we minions sit on Ikea swivel chairs? Mystery.

Tom sits next to me with his head down, like we're about to get the electric chair.

‘How are the towers going to meet the sky? HOW??’

Michael is shouting. Michael is always shouting. Rumor is his wife is leaving him, making him nastier than ever, but there's also a rumor that he's always been this angry.

‘Can somebody explain WHO came up with this scheme?’. He takes a pause to stare us down. He came up with the concept, but I'm not going to point that out. I think it's what we call a rhetorical question.

‘I want INTENT! I want CONTEXT! I want MEANING!’

Michael keeps barking architectural terms at random until he throws his 6B pencil on the table and angrily exits, shutting the sliding door behind him (I bet he's wishing there was a regular door to slam).

I look at Tom. All the blood is drained from his face. We have another night of work ahead.