Katherine flinched at hearing her surname. She had never introduced herself, and for an instant the unexpected familiarity broke her confidence. Then she noticed the corporate directory displayed on a wall panel behind the bench and seemed to decide that explained everything. She walked away, shaking her head, without asking why Madison might have been looking at the directory in the first place.
Thomas crossed the lobby with a glass of water. He set it on the side table beside Madison without making a show of it. "Long morning," he said quietly, keeping his voice low enough not to attract attention.
"It has been," she answered.
"There is a working visitor verification line on the security desk. Reception sometimes doesn't have access when the system changes. If you'd like, I can ask Sarah to try it."
Madison looked up at him. "Please do. And thank you for the water."
Thomas nodded and returned to his station. He felt no particular sense of heroism, only the ordinary discomfort of watching a visitor treated badly when a simple procedure might solve the problem. In his own notebook, which he kept for shift reports, he noted the time and the request to verify a visitor. He had no idea that those few factual lines would matter almost as much as Madison's notes before the day ended.
Sarah tried the line he suggested. It connected to a security coordinator who confirmed that a confidential guest authorization existed for the morning, but the coordinator had no permission to release the guest's name to reception. He offered to contact the executive floor and request that someone come down. Sarah thanked him so intensely that Thomas looked away to avoid embarrassing her.
At ten thirty-six, Gregory Whitman finally appeared. His navy suit fitted him perfectly, and the silver cufflinks at his wrists carried the family crest that had decorated Whitman stationery for generations. He walked as if every person in the lobby had arrived there to serve his schedule. Two younger employees moved out of his way before he reached the elevators, and he acknowledged neither.
Sarah saw him and stood quickly. "Mr. Whitman, I'm sorry to interrupt, but Ms. Parker has been waiting since nine forty-eight. She says she has a ten thirty appointment with you and the leadership team. The system isn't displaying--"
Gregory looked past her. His gaze fell on Madison, and he made a small sound of disbelief. "With me? That? Sarah, get her out of here. Our new chairwoman is expected any minute, and I will not have the lobby looking like a public assistance office when she arrives."
"Her name is Madison Parker," Sarah repeated, the words coming faster now. "Could you please just--"
"Give her a voucher for the deli downstairs," Gregory said. "That should be enough to make this problem disappear. I need you to start managing your desk instead of involving me in every person who walks through the door."
He pressed the elevator button. The doors opened, and Bradley, Katherine, Helena, Victoria, and Richard came toward him from different parts of the lobby. Madison watched six executives assemble into a small, laughing audience around her. She looked once at the framed declaration of respect on the wall, then closed her notebook and clicked the cap onto her pen.