Ellen looked at her small clock radio next to her computer monitor as she took her last call of the day. It was 4:40 p.m. The small display on her phone indicated that her average call time was ten minutes and fifty-two seconds. If this call fell into that range, she would get to leave early. She was five calls ahead of her usual average.

After her standard greeting, her caller identified himself as Chris and claimed to be from the IT department.

“Telemarketers’ Union, Ellen speaking. How may I assist you?”

“Hello, Ellen. My name is Chris, and I'm from the home office.”

“Oh, hi… How can I help you?” For some reason, Ellen immediately felt uneasy about this guy and couldn't put her finger on it.

“I cannot access the network in the Milford office, and I think I might have messed something up. I was wondering if you could help me test?”

“I'm not the help desk.”

“Okay, but I cannot reach them and was wondering if you could help me out? It will only take a minute or two. I'm new here and have been out of work for a while, and it would really help me out if you could test something.”

“What do you need?”

“Ellen, you are a lifesaver! Pull up a web browser. We have Internet Navigator here; do you have that?”

“We use a new browser called Corus. Are you familiar with that?”

“That’s fine. Next, please go to CMHORG.org. It’s a website for me to check on your connectivity.”

“The site won’t load.”

“I see. Your antivirus may be interfering. Can you shut it off and try again?”

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“We can lose our jobs for changing things on the computer,” Ellen said. “And I cannot lose my job.”

“I'm only suggesting that we pause it temporarily; it will reset back to normal at the end of the day when you turn off your system.”

“Okay… How do I do it?”

“It's easy. Do you see a small yellow shield on the bottom right portion of your screen?”

“Yes.”

“Right-click on that shield; you will see a small menu. Click on the pause option.”

“Okay, that little shield turned red.”

“That’s normal. Could you please try to go to the website again?”

Ellen did. “The screen just turned red. That’s it. I see no text or anything.”

“Hmmm, that is puzzling. I think I might have really messed up your system now. Do you know the number of your local help desk?”

“Don’t you have it?”

“The help desk in the home office is so swamped I cannot get in.”

“Sure, it is 555-3487.”

“Thanks, Ellen. I really appreciate the help.”

Immediately after the call, she wrote down the conversation from memory; she was going to complain to Chuck about the lack of screening on these calls.

Ellen felt drained. Her head was pounding, and she felt like someone used it for drum practice. She locked her desk, quickly gathered her purse, and stopped by Chuck's office for a discussion about the mysterious caller. Unfortunately, Chuck had left for the day. It looked like his office had been unoccupied for quite some time. She remembered that Rick was supposed to call her this evening. She wanted to be prepared for that. She left the building around five. With any luck, she would be at home before six.

Rick called Ellen several times as she drove home. She didn't take a lot of calls from her car, so she never equipped her car with hands-free technology. The drive home seemed long and arduous for Ellen. She kept thinking about those damn calls! Ellen glanced at the microwave clock in her kitchen as she put her purse on the couch. It was 6:04 p.m. It had been twenty minutes since Rick's last call. She would not delay the inevitable any longer. She picked up the phone and dialed Rick.

Rick answered the phone on the first ring.

“It’s about time you picked up your phone,” Rick said.

“I don't have hands-free phone access in my car,” Ellen said. “And I’m not engaging in unsafe practices for you.”

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than Rick continued.

“I would like to pick up Ralphie this week instead of next because of a business travel conflict. I have a present for him.”

“Ralphie's birthday isn't until next month.”

“If we don't switch, I will miss it.”

“Okay, we can switch weeks this one time, but don't make it a habit,” Ellen said.

“Great! Thanks, Ellie,” Rick said and hung up.