Chapter 1: Introduction

Dana came to work for me a couple of years ago. Although she was in her late twenties and had two young daughters, she still looked like she could be in college. She obviously put effort into keeping her already petite frame fit. Dana was a natural blonde, with wavy long hair and firm breasts that were proportional to her frame, probably 34B or C.

Dana was married to the pastor of a small Baptist church in town. As a result, she dressed simply, but still tried to dress attractively within the accepted bounds of her role. Her “type” of Baptist church told women that they should wear skirts or dresses, so she had to set a good example.

I interviewed Dana for an accounting and customer service position. She had some classes in accounting, but no real experience. But she made up for that with her enthusiasm and cute smile, a winning combination for customer service. So I hired her.

Dana’s job performance never changed much. Her friendly demeanour was perfect for customer service, but her accounting skills remained sub-par. From the phone conversations I overheard at work, finances were very tight for Dana and her husband. Giving was down at the small church and they were barely scraping by.

An opportunity crossed me path that I simply couldn’t resist. Jim, a long time friend and customer, was a major sports booster at the local college. As he did every year, he sponsored a large party for the basketball team just before the start of the season. Fortuitously, Dana had seriously messed up the contract, failing to order about 2/3rds of what Jim had requested. I suspected that Dana could be manipulated right now so I called Jim and told him my plan. He loved the idea and was anxious to play his role.

I called Dana into my office, “Your most recent mistake may have just cost me one of my largest customers. If I lose him, I simply won’t be able to afford to keep paying you. I want you to go over there right now and work out a solution. Either come back with a commitment from him to continue doing business with us, or come back and start packing up your desk.”