It is so infuriating when people cannot keep their business to themselves when on public transport.
I was travelling from Leeds to Kings Cross, London, the other week, and before the train had left the station, someone swept into the seat next to me, pulled out a laptop and a pile of papers, and deposited them on my part of the table. I was then asked to plug the damned thing in as I had the seat next to the power point, so I spent the entire journey with cables draped over my knees.
I settled down to do a Sudoku and drink my tea, but this man was not to be ignored. After a couple of phone calls about cases and clients, I began to notice the content – which clearly should have been kept private.
The top sheet of paper was a confidential letter from a firm of solicitors about an industrial injury claim. Personally, I don’t think the claimant has a prayer, but then it’s none of my business – and that’s the point, really.
I was thinking about going to the toilet – just to force him to unplug and reshuffle – but then the document on the laptop caught my eye. It was all about an absence and timekeeping project at company X (which had an instantly recognisable logo), and included a PowerPoint presentation for the managers, who were to instruct supervisors in the procedure, plus specimen warning letters to employees who didn’t measure up.
My travelling companion was clearly far too concerned about showing off how important he was, when in actual fact the information he gave me access to could cause serious damage to his company.
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