I had always thought of Mr. Johnson as just my dad's boss, a stern but fair man who ran a tight ship at the accounting firm where my father worked. But that all changed the night of the company Christmas party.

I was 19, home from college for the holidays, and bored out of my mind at this stuffy event. All the old folks were drinking too much and telling the same tired jokes, while I sat in the corner texting my friends back home.

That's when I noticed him - Mr. Johnson, standing alone by the ...