I DON’T WASH WINDOWS

We Mostly Have Windows Clients, He Said

I think you’ve misunderstood something

Photo by OSPAN ALI on Unsplash

I found a parking space and headed to the building. I knew this company only from their ads and was surprised that neither the building nor the parking lot were very large. I thought maybe this was a branch office.

Well, whatever. I went in the door and was greeted by the receptionist. I introduced myself.

“Hi, I’m Tony Lawrence. I’m here to see Jack Smith?”

“Yes, of course. Mister Jones will see you first. Have a seat. He’ll be just a few minutes.”

Okay, that’s fine. Smith was the one who called me, but Jones is fine, whoever he is. Have a seat? Sure, but my meter started running when I introduced myself, and it’s $125 an hour. I was always happy to read magazines at that rate.

Ten minutes or roughly twenty dollars later, Jones came out to shake my hand. Big smile, very friendly. He offered me coffee. Kind of weird, I thought. Clients don’t usually do that, but I’ll drink coffee at two dollars a minute if you want.

We got our coffees. He led me into his office, sat behind his cluttered desk, and motioned me to a chair. “We have several thousand clients that depend heavily on our ability to deliver…