Why couldn’t the speaker meet with Mr. Smith as soon as he arrived?

I flew to New York to take care of some business with Mr. Smith. But as soon as I arrived, I got sick, and could not meet with him. I had to call our appointment off. Then when I felt better I thought about visiting him at his home, but he lived too far away. I tried to telephone him during office hours, but be was busy.  His secretary said that Mr. Smith would call me back, but he didn’t. I gave up trying to make a new appointment because it would take more time and efforts than I wanted to spend,
    A few days later, I saw a man on the street who looked like Mr. Smith, and I called out to him. It was someone else. When I returned to my hotel that day, I found a message which said that Mr. Smith had gone out of town on some sudden unexpected business. I was sorry that I had missed seeing him, but I was really enjoying my sightseeing in New York.