I was on contract at Sync Creative for a while, back when I was still living in Columbus. That was more than a year ago now, if you can believe it. I think about that time sometimes and realize that I was never really thinking straight most of the time. I was living on my own for the first time in years, and I think the solitude and the impact of my sudden change in circumstances took a toll on me that I could not measure at the time. But now I have perspective. I can view my actions more thoughtfully, and with a certain sense of detachment.

In any event, the work I did at Sync was mostly mundane. You know, you tell people that you're in a creative field, and they get ideas in their field that don't reflect the reality of the work in any way whatsoever. I remember we had a meeting about colors once that lasted nearly the entire afternoon. It wasn't like there anything in the way of passionate debate or manic brainstorming, however. It was a dreary affair in which we had to decide on a certain set of standards which were to be applied to all past and present work. It was work, just like the kind of work everyone else does.

We had a guy named Romano who had been with the company since it was founded, but wasn't one of the actual founders. What I mean is that they hired him right off the bat, and he knew everything that was to know about the place. "They wanted me to go to Charleston when they opened up that office, " he said to me once in the break room. "But I told them that I wasn't going anywhere."

"I'd probably work there, if I was asked, " I told him.

"You don't want to have anything to do with that place, " he said. "It's a mess. That's something that they won't tell you. But trust me."

"I had to call up someone there once, " I said. "He seemed fine to me."

"Who was it?" Romano asked me.

I had to think about that one for a while. "Carrigan, I think, " I finally said.

"I could tell you a thing or two about Carrigan, " Romano said. "He used to work here. Not that long ago."

"Well, I barely spoke to him, so I don't know, " I said.

"Carrigan one time showed up here and went crazy, " Romano said. "Let me tell you this story. He turns up at about two in the afternoon and he's asking everybody where Theresa is. Theresa doesn't work here anymore, but she was his manager."

"I've seen the name on some of the old files, " I said.

"She's doing well, " Romano said. "She's an executive with some new start-up. I should go work there instead. But anyway, Carrigan's asking everyone where Theresa is, and finally somebody tells him that his team is having a meeting. You know, they'd been working on this one project for maybe nine months. It was the client. He was one of the big Chevrolet dealers in town. Probably you'd know the name if I told you. Anyway, he didn't like anything they were doing. It happens sometimes."

"With the dealerships especially, " I said. "They've been having a hard time."

"But there was something else going on, " Romano told me. "What I mean is that Carrigan just didn't like Theresa. He hated her, I should say. You know, he told me right out a few weeks before this happened. He called her things I won't repeat here. You know, an unhappy client is no big deal. It happens. We've lost a few. Whatever."

Romano took a long sip from his coffee before continuing. "So Carrigan goes to the big meeting room and opens the door and starts screaming. I mean, the whole office could hear it. And he's telling at Theresa and telling her that she was wasting everyone's time and that she had no idea what she was doing and that the client was never going to be happy with her work. You know, he blamed her for the whole mess. But let me tell you the craziest part. Are you ready?"

"I suppose, " I said.

"So he screams for a while and then he goes back to his desk. And then you know what he does? He erases all the files that they've been working on up to that point. What I mean is that he cleaned the project out. Got rid of the archives and everything. It was all gone. I mean, they salvaged some stuff in the end. People had stuff on their own machines that they could work with. But he blew a big hole in that operation."

Romano rapped on the table, as if to indicate that his anecdote was over. "I can't believe he still works here, " I said.

"That's the South Carolina office for you, " Romano said. "You know, he got a lawyer and said that the stress was getting to him. But they still could have fired him if they wanted to. But he knew one of the managers in the South Carolina office. He was pals with this guy. So he was hired after he took some time off because of the stress. Carrigan, you know, he didn't even give them a chance to hire him. He got himself a good excuse and a lawyer and a new job far away from here."

I didn't see much of Romano, really. I remember that one conversation quite well, of course. And then there was a time when he was standing outside in the parking lot with Ross, in front of Ross' car. I was heading out to take a walk. I used to take long walks in the afternoon towards the end of my tenure with Sync. It was something I shouldn't have been doing, but, as I said, I wasn't clear-minded in those days. Anyway, before I could get very far I ran into the two them. "Ross' car is dead, " Romano told me.

"I can give you a charge, if you want to try that, " I told him.

"We just tried that, " Ross told me. "Romano pulled up here and we gave it a shot."

"Where's your car now?" I asked Romano.

"I just put it back and came back here, " he told me. "You missed the whole show."

"Why do I get the feeling you're joking around with me?" I asked them both.

"You tell us, " Ross said. "Try starting my car. It's not working. This isn't an elaborate prank."

"You're thinking about this too hard, " Romano said. "It was just funny timing. You happened to show up about five minutes too late."

It was a warm day, for March in Columbus. I had put on my coat for my walk, but I didn't even need it.

"Where are you heading, anyway?" Romano asked me.

"I needed some air, " I told him.

"You disappear sometimes, " he said. "I've noticed. You're gone, but nobody says anything."

"That's the best part, " I said. "That nobody says anything."

"How much longer are you sticking around?" Ross asked me.

"Are you getting tired of having me around?" I said.

"It's nothing like that, " Ross said. "We've had contract people here before. Usually they last a few months and then they're gone. But you've been here for nearly a year."

"We've talked about that, " I said. "I've talked with Lawrence about that, I mean. I was supposed to be here for a few months. But they asked me to stay on a couple of times now."

"They're so secretive about these things, " Ross said.

"They always have been, " Romano told him.

"I was just wondering, " Ross said. "I thought maybe you were ready to move on."

"Why would you say that?" I asked him.

"This place doesn't seem to suit you, " Romano said. "We can all see that."

"I didn't know anyone was watching, " I said.

"You disappear, " Romano told me. "People notice, even if they don't say anything."

"I thought you were just waiting out the rest of your time here, " Ross said.
"I didn't realize I was making such a bad impression, " I said.

"Well, what you do is up to you, " Romano told me.

"I might stay on, if they'll have me, " I said. "I think I'm suited to this place. If they asked me again, I think I'd keep going. I know I would."