My phone buzzed against my desk, and I frantically scrambled for it so as not to disturb the monastic quiet of the open-plan office. I flipped it over, and Lucy’s face and number flashed on the screen. I swore under my breath. The last thing I needed right now was a call from my wife minutes before I had a key presentation to the executive team. I thumbed across the screen to answer and raised it to my ear. “Hi John,” cam...

We were running late. Again. It was Friday, the night of the traditional end-of-contract office party that my boss always threw to celebrate the team's hard work, and we were late for my own party. Again. We arrived at the hotel in London in good time on Friday afternoon after work. Lucy had cancelled all her clients so she could get to the hotel early and begin getting ready while I finished at the office to meet her the...

The phone buzzed irritatingly against my thigh, disturbing what was going to be an immaculate golf swing from the beginning of the 8th tee and resulting in an ungainly slice that sent the ball flying into the rough. I swore long and loudly as my work colleagues laughed at my misfortune. I dug in my pocket for the offending item and saw that the culprit was none other than Lucy, my wife. Sighing, I opened the screen and fl...