I walked my retirement papers through corporate, but had to tell the HR director. This was a little sticky, it just happened to be Pams' best friend. I needed her help anyway with my own plans. She was a professional and wouldn't have talked, but swearing her to the other brought a smile to her face.

Things were moving along. I brought the night operations manager to first shift and promoted his assistant. I put the word out it was to let me concentrate on a special project. That part was true.

The project was planning Pams' retirement surprise. Her grandmother was from Italy, and lived with her parents. She...