“That report needs fixing,”

read Harold’s email, 

signed off with a curt

“ASAP”.

Fix it? 

I looked down

at his email 

and sighed.

“Dear Harold,”

I began.

“Thank you so much for 

your feedback.

It’s certainly a unique perspective!

I appreciate you sharing your thoughts

on the report’s font size

and headers. 

Every bit of input

no matter how… 

interesting, 

is valuable.”

I looked up from my tiny laptop screen

and glanced around the room.

“I’ll make sure to 

stay up all night 

finishing it

in this spacious hotel room

on the vacation you approved 

10 months ago.”

I paused, 

thinking carefully about 

what to say next. 

“I need to spend some time

understanding how your insights

align with the project goals,

if they do at all.

But I’ll be sure to include your

insightful feedback 

in the next version of the report.

See you on Monday.”