Personal service

'24/7. Personal. Service.' he tells you, saying every word like it's the most important in the whole world. 'We'll be here, whenever you have questions. Night or day.'

'That peaks up my interest, Mr. VanDerBilt,' you say. 'We might need a high quantity of paper at irregular times. The holidays are our busiest time, you see. I will need a very personal relationship with this company.'

'And you will have one, Mr. Prince,' Pascal tells you with a wide smile. 'I will give you my personal phone number, so you can call me whenever you want.'

'That's great, Pascal. Can I call you Pascal?'

'Of course you can, Mr. Prince.'

'Well, Pascal,' you begin, not telling him to call you by your first name. 'If we are going to have such a personal relationship, I want to get to know you a little bit. Didn't you say something about bagels?'

'Oh, yes! I totally forgot! Hang on, I'm going to ask my secretary.'

He gets up, and walks out of the conference room, just like you had hoped. When you saw the camera crew, you had gotten an idea. You smile at them and ask;

'So guys, you film everything that happens in this office?'

'Yeah, we're making a reality show out of it,' the guy holding a boom mic says.

'Really? A reality show about a boring office?' you ask, confused. 'Who would watch that?'

'It's actually really funny once you get to know the characters,' the director offers up.

'Right, well, I need to ask you guys something while he's away,' you say. 'If I want to go in business with this guy, I need to know if he's trustworthy. You film him all day, so you would know what he's like. Is he a dishonest person maybe? Is he sleeping around with the girls in the office or something?

'Well, he has a fiancée, but he's -' the camera guy answers.

'We can't divulge any private information about these people until the reality TV-show airs,' the director cuts him off. 'We signed a contract. I'm sorry.'

'If it's going to be on TV anyway, why can't you tell me?' you ask. 'It's not like I'm going to watch it. And you were about to tell me something... I don't know what's your name?' You point to the camera man.

'Jim,' he answers.

'What were you about to say, Jim?'

The director opens his mouth to speak before Jim, but at that moment Pascal returned. He carried bagels and coffee with him too.

'I forgot to ask what kind of coffee you wanted,' he says when he puts it in front of you. 'So I just got black coffee. But...' he reaches inside of his pockets and reveals sugar and cream packets. 'Ta da!'

'Thanks, Pascal,' you say politely. 'I was thinking actually, we should get to know each other better. Tell me, do you have a girlfriend?'

He is visibly surprised by immediacy of this question, but quickly regains his composure. 'Yes I do. She's my fiancée, actually.' He smiles.

You act like you're impressed. 'A fiancée, huh? So tell me, is she sexy?'

'Yes, she is,' Pascal answers, getting visibly more uncomfortable. 'I am a very lucky guy.'

Even though it seems like you're not getting much out of him, as he is not very relaxed, you press on;

'And are you faithful to her? I've seen a lot of beautiful women around this place. Must be hard to keep it in your pants, huh?' You wink at him knowingly, like this is just normal conversation for you. Seeing as you're his client, and will make him a lot of money, he can't get angry at your personal inquiries.

Pascal laughs nervously. 'Yes that's true, Mr. Prince. There are some very beautiful women here, but I'm just too boring to start an affair. But if you want, I can set you up with one of them, if you fancy?

You take a sip of coffee before answering.