The case of the missing artwork

I have a theory (okay, several, but only one I'll write about here). Feel free to borrow it.

When faced with a dilemma and no ideas present themselves, I often find it helpful to share the situation with a few people who are outside the immediate scope of the problem. I find that the answers sometimes hide behind unlikely doors.

The new CEO of our European-based company is a man who held a similar position for our company eight years ago when I first came on board. He left several years ago but was brought back earlier this month.

When the Chicago office first opened, the CEO purchased a piece of artwork and hung it in our lobby. Now he wanted to know if it's still here. In the time that I've been with this company, we have moved not once, but twice! If you've ever moved, you know how often things get lost, damaged or just left behind. This can't have happened to this picture!

I had a very good reputation with this man years ago and it was critical that I continue to shine in his eyes.

Although I had no idea if this picture survived our moves, something told me that it had...and that it was in our current office SOMEWHERE. And no, it wasn't hanging up in someone's office. That would be too easy.

After checking every nook and cranny, every storage room, every closet, I came across another veteran of our company, a man who worked in the original office. He works for a different division of our company, so our paths don't cross very often.

Of course he has it! As a gag (since it's actually pretty ugly), he grabbed it when we moved out and kept it in his office. It's leaning against the wall next to his desk and sure! I can have it.

Whew!