The saved travel report appeared without permission.
Finance called it a small internal summary.
Yang Ruoqian called it a crime scene.
The title was:
Avoided Venue Visit Cost Notes.
Yang saw it at nine and immediately disliked the word avoided.
Avoided meant saved.
Saved meant value.
Value meant the system would come sniffing around like a debt collector.
"Delete the report."
Finance did not move.
"It is not a formal report."
"Then delete the informal report."
"It helps explain why travel did not occur."
"Travel not occurring needs no explanation."
"It does if someone asks why budget usage fell."
Yang stopped.
Budget usage fell.
Those three words were ugly enough to be beautiful and beautiful enough to be dangerous.
At ten, he tried to rename it.
"Call it missing travel."
Finance typed:
Missing Travel Notes.
Yang considered it.
Missing sounded bad.
Then the operations manager said, "Missing travel may imply travel should be found."
"Good."
