*Colleague B: Hudson's thinking is trendy—this is sales in the internet era!*
Evelyn nearly smashed her phone.
I pressed my hand over hers and shook my head.
"Don't rush. Let him dig his own grave."
"The higher he climbs, the harder he falls."
Hudson quickly selected a target from the pile of client files.
The city's famous Ice Queen—Hailey James.
Hailey was notoriously picky, sharp-eyed, and detested frivolous men. Recognized as one of the hardest clients to win over. Evelyn had spent a full six months building a rapport just to establish initial trust.
Hudson evidently thought his charm was irresistible.
The very afternoon he got the files, he secretly messaged Hailey James, asking her out that night to "have a drink and talk about life."
Even more outrageous? The venue he chose wasn't a high-end club, but a cheap, tacky bar that had recently gone viral on TikTok.
That evening, before we even clocked out, the store's complaint line rang.
Hailey James's assistant. Her voice was pure ice.
"Does your dealership now recruit gigolos?"
"What kind of lowlife dares to ask Ms. James out like that?"
"Tell your Manager Whitney: our Group's procurement plan for this year will permanently blacklist your store!"
The call ended.
The showroom fell into a deathly silence.
Not long after, Hudson came running back in a sorry state.
A bright red handprint marred his face. Red wine stained his white shirt. His hair was a bird's nest.
Before anyone could speak, he let out a wail. With reddened eyes, he threw himself at Whitney, who had rushed over upon hearing the news.
"Manager! You have to stand up for me!"
A shaking finger pointed at me. His voice trembled with accusation.
"It was Elena! The information she gave me was wrong! She deliberately left out the client's taboos—she wanted to see me make a fool of myself!"
"She's jealous of me! She wants to ruin me!"
Whitney whipped his head around, glaring at me with venom.
"Elena Henson! You! How can you be so vicious?"
"Hudson is practically a child! How could you set him up like this? Have you no conscience at all?"
I was so angry I laughed.
I pulled the original document from the handover folder and slammed it onto the table.
"Manager Whitney, open your eyes and look."
"The client handover form is in duplicate. On my copy, the notes regarding Hailey James are written clearly in black and white."
I pointed to the bolded line and read it aloud, emphasizing every word.
"**Values privacy, dislikes male company, and is disgusted by informal or flirtatious approaches.**"
"So." My voice dropped. "Is it that someone is blind and didn't see it?"
"Or did he think his male charm was powerful enough to ignore the rules?"
Hudson's face went pale. Seeing the evidence against him, he immediately pivoted.
He covered his face with his hands.
"Anyway... anyway, the customer is angry now! The deal is dead! Elena, you're happy now, right? You're satisfied?"
Whitney was completely irrational. He pointed at the three of us.
"The customer was handed over by you, so you share the responsibility!"
"Since you can't tolerate a newcomer, go clean the exterior glass of the showroom!"
"You don't stop until it's spotless and Hailey James's anger has subsided!"
Evelyn wanted to charge forward and argue, but Old Simon held her back.
The three of us, holding rags and buckets, were driven out into the pouring rain.
