midtown Manhattan. Add to that, thirty Tucker Transportation employees were working with the convention center staff to assemble the components of the companyâs pavilion, with less organization than he would have expected.
Still he couldnât help but smile as he gazed across the chaos of lights, signs, scale models and scaffolding. Amber was at the opposite end of their allotted space, watching a forklift raise the main corporate sign into position. Her brunette hair was in a jaunty ponytail. She wore pink-and-black checkerboard sneakers, a pair of dark blue jeans and a dusky-blue pullover. It was as casual as heâd ever seen her.
âMr. Tucker?â A woman in a navy blazer with a convention center name tag on the lapel approached him through the jumble. âIâm Nancy Raines, assistant manager with catering and logistics.â
Tuck offered his hand. âNice to meet you, Nancy. Please call me Tuck.â
âThank you, sir.â She referred to the tablet in her hand. âWe have the east-side ballroom booked for Friday night, a customized appetizers and hors dâoeuvres menu with an open bar for six hundred.â
âThat sounds right,â said Tuck.
Heâd read through the companyâs final schedule on the plane and he understood the general outline of each event. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Amber coming their way.
âWe understand that there was a last-minute booking of a jazz trio, Three-Dimensional Moon,â said Nancy. âAre they by any chance an acoustic band?â
âAn acoustic band for six hundred people?â Tuck found the question rather absurd. How would anyone ever hear the music above the conversation?
âThe reason I ask,â said Nancy, âis we have no arrangement in place for a sound system.â
âThereâs no sound system?â
That was clearly a mistake. Aside from the music, there were three speeches on the event schedule and a ten-minute corporate video.
Amber arrived. âCan I help with something?â
âThis is Nancy. She says thereâs no sound system for the reception.â
âThere should be a sound system,â said Amber. âAnd three projection screens.â
But Nancy was shaking her head. âThere was no tech ordered at all.â
âSomeone from the marketing department should have handled that. Have you heard anything from Zachary?â Tuck asked Amber. He needed to get to the bottom of this right away.
âIâve texted, emailed and left a voice mail, but heâs not returning.â
Tuck withdrew his phone from his pocket. âWeâll need the tech setup,â he said to Nancy. âCan you take care of it?â
She made a few taps on her tablet. âI can try. It will have to be rush, and thatâll mean a significant surcharge.â She looked to Amber. âDo you have the specs?â
âIâll get them to you,â said Amber, pulling out her own phone. âIâll track someone down.â
Nancy handed her a business card. âYou can send them to my email. Iâll call a couple of local companies.â
âThanks,â said Amber.
Tuck pressed the speed dial for Zachary.
Once again, it rang through to his voice mail.
âMaybe his flight was delayed,â Tuck mused.
Amber held up her index finger. âMelanie? Itâs Amber. We need specs for a sound system for Three-Dimensional Moon. Can you find their web page and contact their manager?â She paused. âIn the next ten minutes if you can.â
Tuck checked his text messages, and then he moved to his email interface.
âIâve got a new message from Zachary.â He tapped the header.
He read for a minute and felt his jaw go lax.
âWhat?â Amber asked.
âItâs a letter of resignation.â
âNo way.â She moved to where she could see his small screen.
âIt says he turned in his keys to security