Jimmy's manager Maurice drummed his fingers on his desk. "I suppose you know why I called you into the office."
Jimmy nodded. "Yes, sir. The customer from this morning."
"That's right, Jim." Maurice stood up and began closing all of the blinds in his windows. "Now, what I'm about to show you never leaves this room. Are we clear?"
"Sir?"
Maurice sat back down and opened one of the drawers in his desk. "I mean it, Jim. We all like you here at Ruttle's. You've been quite a help here in the store since we brought you on two weeks ago. But I will fire you if word of this ever gets out. I must have your complete assurance that will never happen. Ever."
The collar of Jimmy's company-issued polo shirt felt very tight all of a sudden. "Of course, sir."
"The incident with the Ginsu Shoku 4-Pc Steak Knife Set was unfortunate, yes, but not completely unexpected considering who you were waiting on. Most of our customers are simply looking to add some durable, colorful Japanese Steel knives with a sharp edge and an elegant look to their table. The woman you were helping tends to take it a step further. Several steps further, actually."
Maurice reached into the drawer and produced a large and incredibly packed file folder held together with tape and rubber bands. He tossed the collection of papers on to his desktop with a thunk. "This is the 'Lesley' File. In it contains every incident, every complaint, every single instance of the customer you dealt with this morning entering this store since we thought to start keeping track a few years ago. Go ahead. Take a look."
Jimmy reached over and dragged the file over. "It says 'Greatest Hits' on the cover," he said, slipping off the bands.
"That's right. I've got four more folders just like it sitting in this desk. These are just the most memorable ones, like when she demanded we let her fill several collections of bowls with ice cream so she could see how it looked when scooped up, or the time she attempted to roll a freshly taxidermied camel in here so that she could find drapes that matched its fur. One of my personal favorites is the Toilet Seat Incident." Jimmy looked up at Maurice with a grimace. Maurice shrugged. "It's probably best that you just read about that one. And you'll see that every one of those reports ends the same way: Customer left saying she'd never shop here again."
"So... So, I'm not in trouble?"
"In trouble? Not in the slightest! The fact that you didn't march in here and throw down your name tag tells me you're a darn fine addition to the team here at Ruttle's! Besides, as you can see, her bringing in her summer wardrobe hoping to coordinate the knife handles with her evening wear barely rates as crazy." Maurice then pulled a blank form from the desk and set it in front of Jimmy. "Just fill this out for me, will you? And be as detailed as possible. I'm hoping to write a book about her one day."
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Choose a color that you think will look sharp in your kitchen.
Crimson Set
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