She had been in enough meeting with the fussy American to know that is just the way the man was, and nothing could be done about it other than complaining. “It is just a pen,” the representative from South Africa groaned. With a fingertip, he nudged the pen ever so slightly. I believe we should not begin our discussion in a slap-dash fashion.” His lips curled downward at the word ‘slap-dash’, as if that were the ultimate sin. “The purpose of this meeting is to consider actions that were taken without proper preparation and planning. “My apologies, Ambassador Irawan,” Woolsey nodded toward his esteemed colleague. “Can we begin, or must you fiddle with that damned pen for the remainder of the day?” “Woolsey,” his exasperated colleague from Indonesia sighed, getting nods from the representatives from Brazil and South Africa. A slight nudge moved it into position, and. The pen was closer to the top of the paper pad than to the bottom. Woolsey poured a glass of water from the pitcher in the center of the table, and set down the glass so it was lined up with the pen. The pen was placed precisely parallel to the legal pad of paper, with the tip and end of the pen at the same distances from the top and bottom of the paper. Ambassador-at-large Woolsey took a pen out of the inner breast pocket of his immaculate suit jacket, then smoothed the jacket lapel so it would lie flat, without an annoying wrinkle.
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