Overhead the sky trembled with a threat of icy rain, maybe snow. The man shivered with each blast of cold that pierced the armor of his smile.

There were a full dozen appointments he had managed to squeeze into his coming day. They included meetings on three continents, seven Powerpoint presentations, four lunches, two dinners, and ended with what he took for granted would be a great lay. This last appointment he'd made himself with his current lady in confirmation of a message she'd sent to his iPhone.

"What's this final note?" his secretary had asked.

"Personal," he said. But he noted it into his schedule with the others.