Read The Dane Commission (The Dane Chronicles) for Free Online Page A

excited about. Waiting for the deepening silence to end,
Ryan took a stab at breaking the ice.
     
    “Well today’s my third day, and I
really appreciate all of you taking the time to visit with me. Who here has
actually worked on the project?”

“Hi, I’m Chris. I’ve matched over 40,000 data clusters and observed nothing out
of the ordinary.”
    “I’m Les, same here.”
The man in the cubicle next to David stood up. Ryan thought he looked more like
a soap star than a programmer. He shook Ryan’s hand, “I’m Jim and I’ve looked
at it too; there’s a lot of data to consider. We should talk about it in more
detail when you’re up to speed.”
    “I would like that Jim, thank you.”
    There were two others, peeking over their cubicle walls that didn’t respond at
all.
     
    Ryan looked at David and said, “Well,
thank you very much David. I’m looking forward to working with all of you, and
I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other soon. As Jim said, I need to look
at what’s involved and get more information before I can even start to ask the
right questions. Thanks everyone!”

Ryan took David’s hand and gave it a hearty shake before leaving.
    Walking back to his own desk, he knew
he would have to build a relationship with this group if he was going to make
any progress. He didn’t think this would present any problems. They reminded
him of some of the smart and quirky information techs that he’d worked with for
years.
     
    Later that the afternoon, he went to
the 82nd floor for his meeting with Dorothy Allen. It was the executive portion
of the Hospital Patient Research Division. Ms. Allen’s office was near the
center, not far from the front lobby area. As he approached, a secretary with a
stern expression appeared to bar the way.
“Excuse me, may I help you?” she said in an overly dry voice. Older than Ryan,
she still looked wiry and springy and ready to wrestle him to the ground if
need be. He didn’t want to test her.
     
    “Yes of course, my name is Ryan Dane.
I’m a new hire, and I believe I am scheduled to meet with Ms. Allen at two
o’clock,” he said.
    “Please have a seat while I check.”
She led Ryan to a reception area not far from the elevators. She began
aggressively pressing buttons on the keyboard at the edge of her desk.

“Ah yes Mr. Dane, I have your appointment,” she said, “I’ll let her know you
are here.”
     
    Not a fan of this overly formal
atmosphere, he surveyed the floor. The detailed arrangement of furniture and
plants obsessively wanted one to feel comfortable, but the result was a rigid
stiffness that made you afraid to touch anything. A Zen garden made of broken
glass and barbwire. Restless, he looked forward to returning downstairs.
     
    A few minutes later, Cynthia returned,
“Ms. Allen will see you now, right this way.”
     
    Ryan followed her to Ms. Allen’s
office, where they found her pouring water from a large crystal pitcher into an
intricately cut glass. He could hear the slight tink as they came into contact.
    “Good afternoon, Mr. Dane, may I call
you Ryan?” she said as she put the pitcher down and approached to shake hands.
    “Yes please do, it’s really wonderful to see you again. I wanted to thank you
for this opportunity.”
    “Well, please call me Dorothy, and it’s
very nice to have you here. I understand you met with Ben James this morning. I
sincerely hope he was helpful in getting you started.”
    He could hear the urgency in her voice.
    “That’s correct, I’ve met with Mr.
James, and with the team of programmers he has made available.”
    “And what do you understand of the
problem now?” she said.
    Ryan had years of experience reading personalities, and he knew when to take someone
seriously. Ryan was an excellent communicator because he had always been able
to gauge what the other person needed to hear. Right now, Dorothy needed to
perceive that he shared her perspective on the problem. It was important