Tyler took it. He came up with the care of someone who had taken several hits and was performing a systems check while standing.
"I need you to know," Tyler said, "that my miscalculation tonight was seventeen minutes, not eleven."
"I know," Mike said.
Tyler nodded, a hint of relief washing over him. "It seems like a small difference, but it could have cost me everything."
"I had adjusted for the schedule change, but I had not accounted for the fact that they would also make adjustments."
"They adapted," Mike said. "And you know that calculation won't save you again the next time you see them without me."
"Yes," Tyler said. "Which I should have modeled for."
Mike looked at him. Tyler's face had the specific look of someone who had been in a physical confrontation for the first time in a while, which was that of someone who had not enjoyed the experience but was already moving toward processing it analytically rather than emotionally.
