I heard a man’s voice as I walked down the hall. It came from an office up on the right.
“This decision was made after much careful, and thoughtful consideration.”
The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. There was something slightly robotic about it.
“The company has taken great pains to make sure your departure, and transition to a new exciting opportunity elsewhere, go as smoothly as possible.”
Wilson came into my office carrying what appeared to be a large, flat screen TV monitor. He struggled to get in the door with it, and set it down gently on the carpet next to the chair that he sat down in across from me.
“What do you think?” he asked. “Pretty cool, huh?”
“I guess so,” I said, not wanting to hurt his feelings, or diminish his enthusiasm. “Got a deal on a TV at one of the neighborhood places?” I asked.
The members of the East Podunk City Council filed into the meeting room, and immediately looked around for the coffee and doughnuts. It didn’t take long for panic to set in.
“Hey, who was supposed to pick up the coffee?” Barry Miller asked. “I got it last time.”
“I got it two times ago,” Deidre Russo said, taking her usual seat behind the table where the Council members sat.
The blue Mercedes van had been circling the block for ten minutes, it was time to act. I jumped into my battered Taurus and slowly tailed it. It was all out war now, the Battle of the Last Mile. The enemy had to be stopped.
As owner of Chuck’s Choice Meats and Market, I had a corner on the local grocery delivery market. That was until Amazon decided it would be fun to deliver groceries from Whole Foods right to your door. Now Walmart was partnering with some delivery service to have its damn groceries delivered right to your home.