Michael Doherty looked at the message on his phone and a puzzled frown creased his brow. He walked over to the window and watched as a bird circled in the sky. He and his long-time buddy and work colleague Paul Hayward always went out on a Friday night. It was strange that he wanted to cancel especially as they were supposed to be celebrating the opening of a new office in Bangkok. He dialled his number. When he got no answer he decided that heâd still go out on his own. He wasnât going to let anything eclipse his joy.
 As he approached the bar he noticed that it was unusually quiet for a Friday night. You could normally hear the noise from quite a distance. He pushed the door opened, not quite knowing what to expect.
 Michael Doherty gasped as he stared at the crowd inside. A beaming Paul Hayward stepped from behind the banners of congratulations. Michael Doherty was dumbfounded.
 The celebrations continued until the early hours of the morning. It was only when Paul Hayward was leaving the bar that he noticed Michael Dohertyâs absence.
 âWhere did he go?â he asked the barman with concern.
 He shrugged. âDonât worry about him, heâs a grown man.â
 âHe canât have just left without saying good-bye.â
 âWell, he came without an invitation. Stop worrying!â
 The barman slapped Paul Hayward on the back with glee.
 âActually, maybe we should worried,â one of the revellers piped up.
 Paul Hayward raised a quizzical eyebrow. âWhat are you trying to say? What do you know? Has something bad happened to him?â
 The barman cut in. âYou know what the problem is? Youâre all too drunk. You need to go home.â
 Paul Haywardâs phone bleeped announcing a message. He read it and sobered up very quickly. Expletives exploded out of his mouth like a torrent river as he made a call and shared the contents with the Company Secretary.
 âMichael Doherty has a meeting with the companyâs major shareholder Kroner on Monday and has to do a presentation. It has to go ahead. I know itâs Saturday but set up a conference call with the London office so we can map a way forward.â
 Paul Hayward was still a nervous wreck when he arrived at the meeting. He couldnât believe what had happened on Friday. He could picture the splashy headlines if the news got out. Bogart tried to calm himself down by drinking glass after glass of whiskey with no thought to how this could affect his meeting.
 It was a well-known fact that Kroner was a leader in their industry. Whoever won the contract would be the new face of the brand worldwide. Michael Doherty and Paul Hayward had dreamt of this moment but with what had happened he was no longer sure if theyâd make it. But a set-back like Michael Doherty getting arrested didnât have to bring their dream crushing down. A renewed sense of purpose overtook his thoughts. The result was that even in his half-inebriated state he managed to deliver a punch of a presentation. Kroner found his take-it-or-leave-it attitude endearing as he concluded his speech with, âWhere we come from we donât follow new trends, we set them.â