posting 20050824

Carl smirked, looked off for a second, as if communicating to an unseen audi
ence, and then turned back to me. "Tom," he said, "give me some credit for k
nowing something about the people who I employ."
I stopped the pickup and looked around.
I spoke to the press at noon, like we had planned. Carl had flown in Mike Mi
zuhara and Dr. Adams from Pomona Valley; all four of us were standing at a p
odium that had been put in front of the agency's entrance. Slightly off to o
ne side, Miranda sat, petting Joshua, who sat attentively, waiting for a rep
orter to get too far out of line. I was told that the press announcement was
being carried live on three of the local stations and also on the E! Channe
l. For some reason, I found this profoundly irritating.
*****