Three weeks ago today, Flannista finally had lunch with the Chief Financial Officer of all of TRM's companies. I had asked him in November if I could take him out to lunch; three months later, our schedules finally synched. His executive assistant told me that he preferred to eat lunch at the office and ordered what each of us wanted from the Panera Bread menu. She then arranged for us to meet in one of TRM's small dining rooms. Because he had been sick with the stomach flu for several days, the CFO simply ordered a bowl of chicken soup. I ordered a Fugi Apple salad.
When I arrived at the dining room, I saw two place settings. At one place setting was a linen placemat with a china bowl filled with chicken soup sitting on a large china plate. Next to the plate was a complete set of sterling silver utensils, including a soup spoon and a linen napkin. To the upper right of the plate was a crystal glass filled with ice. Next to the glass was a can of Diet Coke.
The other place setting included a bottle of water next to a sealed Panera Bread box. No china. No silver. No crystal glass. No ice. No linen napkin. Going on a hunch, I opened up the box. Inside was the Fugi Apple salad in its plastic container. Also inside was a set of hermetically-sealed plasticware with napkin and a cookie.
The CFO was 50 minutes late for our lunch. Even though we had a very open and honest conversation, I couldn't quite get past knowing my place.
Three times while I waited for him, his assistant entered the small dining room, took his chicken soup and heated it up in a nearby microwave.
He didn't touch one drop of the soup.
I ate my entire salad. Drank my bottle of water. Easily disposed of the box. Went back to shooting a video. Saved my cookie. I ate it later in my hotel room, alone. No china. No silver. No crystal glass. No ice. No linen napkin.
It tasted great.
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