This is a series of stories that are a sort of sequel to two text-adventure games. Each installment is a complete story on its own, but for a full understanding, the reader may want to start with Chapter 1.
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In the month after my first, disastrously embarrassing round of actual golf with my teaching pro Charlie, I went to the driving range several times each week. I also spent time on various practice greens, learning to use my ridiculously overpriced putter on a course that wasn't Miniature.
At work, things had gotten interesting. The owner Cathy had swept in one morning, and after she teased me about the golf lessons she was making me take, handed me a folder. "I've got an even tougher nut to crack than Gus," she told me. "And I seriously doubt that you could use the same methodology this time...."
She gave me a challenging grin.
"The customer is Gretchen Williams, whose company buys a ton of products in our segment, but none of it from us. Phil threw in the towel on her on Monday and gave up the account." Wow. Phil was the number one performer in the sales force. A real alpha. If he gave up, this really was a tough one. "Read all his notes about her before you call her. And read all MY notes from when I tried selling to her myself before I gave the account to Phil."
"Look," Cathy said, pausing in the doorway as she left my office, "I genuinely do not expect you to close her, not anytime soon, and not unless something changes with her existing supplier." She leaned against the door frame, giving me a better than usual profile view of her magnificent figure. "But I thought I'd let you have a chance. You are creative and you get results. Even if you suck at golf."
I read the file multiple times, over several days, before taking Phil to lunch and picking his brain, for all the good I thought it would do me. I also attempted to take Cathy for a drink to ask her advice after work one day. (Nothing more, CKE has a hyper-strict no fraternizing policy among its workers) but my brain picking was confined to 15 minutes in the corporate lobby because Cathy had a date that night (different guy from the last one she had told us about). She also had another lingerie bag, this time from La Perla, which she eagerly wanted to show me the contents of. I was quiveringly silent as she held it over her regal body, then managed to croak out a "nice." I suspected that was the reaction she was looking for.
At last, I took the plunge and scheduled a meeting at Gretchen's office. She pleasantly agreed, but I could hear in her voice that this was the kind of sales call people like her took in order to leave my card on her desk when her actual preferred supplier next called on her. That sort of move keeps the incumbents on their toes.
When I was shown into Gretchen's office (she made me wait ten minutes past our appointment time--enough to make the point, but not so long as to be terribly inconsiderate), I reflected that at least this dance would be fun. Gretchen was a lot like my boss. She owned and ran a not inconsiderable-sized business at the same young age, and had the same easy grace and confidence in her position that I always found attractive. She also had a similarly alluring body, and dressed, like Cathy, in a conservative fashion, but with those clothes expertly custom tailored to make their ostensibly conservative lines really draw the eye, and please it too. Finally, she truly had an engaging personality and a genuinely funny sense of humor. She laughed easily, and made others laugh easily too. If she was really gong to be as tough to sell as I'd been told, at least the experience would be pleasant.
I didn't expect any magical business to come out of this meeting. I just wanted to extract some questions out of her that I could get back to her with answers on in a follow up call. It was the salesperson equivalent of leaving my sweater at her house. I also played the Young Man in Need of Mentoring card, asking her a few questions about her industry to which I already knew the answers, and a few more that I genuinely wasn't sure about. I got everything that I could have reasonably hoped for from her, actually. I'd had pretty good dates where had I had accomplished fewer of my goals than I did with Gretchen on this sales call.
I calculated that I should wait about 5 days before calling her back to let her know I had the answers to her questions and also had some other follow up on our discussion. I reflected that I should try to take her to dinner as an 'appreciation' for her time. I would research one of the best restaurants in the city, but not a romantic hot spot, of course. On second thought, most everything had been tried with this woman already, there had been no ring on her left hand, and no pictures of a man in her office. Maybe I should really lean into the attractive young man in need of education thing? It had worked for me before in other situations...
I left the "romantic" hot spots on my list for further consideration.
That Saturday, I scheduled myself to hang the new carriage lights that I had bought for my garage and then plant the flat of strawberry plants I had picked up at the same store. I really loved fresh strawberries, and it was my experience the most women did too.
I was just getting down off the ladder after wiring in the second carriage light when a soft voice purred behind me. "Well, hello there!" I turned and saw a mature woman standing in my driveway. Mature in an excellent way. She was about the same age, I guessed, as my 'friend' Samantha the soccer mom, and probably about as attractive, though in a far more extravagant way. "I heard through the grapevine that we had a new neighbor in the area, and here you are," she said, introducing herself. "I'm Blanche. My daughter and I live a few streets down."