We had set the alarm clock in Karen's hotel room to go off early so we'd have plenty of time to shower, dress and get over to the Las Vegas Convention Center before the doors opened. It was the second day of the conference we were attending on behalf of the company we both worked for, and it was up to us to staff our display booth and give a presentation later in the day.

I heard the alarm go off at 6:00 am, but Karen quickly switched it off and slipped out of bed while I lazily dozed off for a little extra snooze.

About 15 minutes later she...