"Did you call for me?" Jack asked, stepping into his boss's office.
"Yes," the manager nodded, not looking up from his desk. "I need you to head to D.C. immediately. You're presenting at the board of directors meeting tomorrow morning. Get the transcript from the secretary on your way out."
"Why me again?" Jack exclaimed, his voice rising in frustration. "I'm not an executive, and this isn't in my job description. Besides, I have tickets for the Rangers game tomorrow night. It's the home opener!"
"Too bad," the boss smirked. "Work comes before hockey. Consider it an order. Understood?"
"Fine..." Jack sighed, his shoulders sagging. "What about the ticket?"
"Just sell it online and be done with it!"
"I mean the plane ticket, sir. Who's paying for it? I don't exactly have a company card."
"Who said anything about a plane?" the boss chuckled. "You're taking the Amtrak, like usual. Coach seat. The secretary has your reservation."
"Coach? Again? It's an overnight trip! I'm heading to a high-level meeting representing you, for God's sake. I should at least have a sleeper car."
"Don't get greedy," the boss smiled thinly. "Besides, being single, you're better off in coach. It's easier to meet girls. If you were married, I'd have sent Miller, but his wife is pregnant again. All you have is a hockey game. Now go, get your speech, and memorize it. I don't want you making the firm look bad."
***
That evening, dressed in a sharp suit and a crisp white shirt, Jack sat in his cramped coach seat on the overnight train to the capital.
The train made its usual scheduled stop in Philadelphia. Jack was passed the time sipping a coffee he'd bought from the cafe car. He was planning to settle in, try to get some sleep, and change into a fresh undershirt later.
But then, at the worst possible moment—just as he lifted the cup to his lips—the train lurched violently. It was such a sudden jolt that a young woman walking down the aisle lost her balance and tumbled right onto him.
"Whoa! Hey, watch out!" he yelled.
To be honest, Jack didn't yell because the girl had fallen on him; he yelled because she had sent the entire cup of hot coffee splashing across his snow-white shirt. For him, this was a genuine catastrophe.
"Oh my gosh! I am so, so sorry!" the girl stammered, scrambling to find her footing while Jack looked like he was about to burst into tears.
The sudden jerk of the train had woken up half the carriage, and the other passengers immediately started grumbling.
"What the hell was that?"
"We could have been killed!"
"What's wrong with the conductor? Can't they start the train smoothly?"
"What am I supposed to do now?" Jack groaned, looking with pathetic indignation at the girl, who stood there guiltily, realizing the extent of the damage. "I have a massive presentation at 8:00 AM. How am I supposed to walk in looking like this? They'll fire me on the spot."
Hearing this, several passengers leaned in to get a better look at the drama.
"Hey, kid, call the attendant over," suggested a sharp-tongued woman nearby. "Make her take that shirt and get it cleaned. They should be drying it with an iron all night since they don't know how to drive a train."
"Alright, alright, what's the commotion?" The attendant appeared in the aisle, looking annoyed. "Why is everyone crowded around? What happened?"
"Look at this! Because of that jerk, this girl fell on the poor guy," the woman barked. "Spilled coffee all over him. He's got a huge meeting in the morning."
The attendant gave Jack a long, unimpressed look.
"He should be glad a pretty girl fell on him instead of some linebacker. And who drinks coffee in a white dress shirt on a train? Smart people change into sweats the minute they board."
"He's going to file an official complaint if you don't fix that shirt!" the woman countered.
"Let him file it. I'm an attendant, not a dry cleaner. It's not my fault we have a trainee in the engine room tonight. Alright, folks, move along. Let's get some sleep!"
Slowly, the crowd dispersed, the lights were dimmed, and the carriage fell silent.
Jack didn't sleep a wink. He lay back in his seat, his mind racing, trying to figure out how to escape this disaster. He considered trying to find a 24-hour department store near Union Station, even though he knew the odds were slim.
***
At 6:00 AM, the train pulled into the station.
The moment Jack stepped onto the platform, the same girl who had spilled the coffee appeared beside him.
"Excuse me," she said timidly. "Please, come with me."
"Go where?" Jack asked, bewildered. "I need to go find a shirt, I don't have time for this."
"I have plenty of white shirts at my place."
"A 'plenty'?" Jack stared at her. "From an ex-husband? Or do you run a men's warehouse?"
"No," she smiled. "They belong to my brother. He just got married and moved out of our apartment. My mom and I haven't cleared out his closet yet."
"Really?" Jack's face lit up. "What size?"
"They'll fit you. He left some suits, too. There's a bit of a stain on your jacket, now that I look at it. I didn't sleep all night worrying about you. I felt so terrible."
"It wasn't your fault," Jack said, offering a weak smile. "Do you live far? I have to be at the Capitol Hill office by 8:00."
"We'll make it."
P.S. Jack's presentation was a total success. However, he only showed up back at his old office a week later—and only then to hand in his resignation. He moved back to the city to be with the girl who fell into his arms thanks to a trainee engineer. Or, to be more precise, thanks to fate.
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