"Suzie send in my 3'o'clock" requested Xavier Lionheart III over the intercom.

"Okay sir,"

Xavier leaned back in his black leather swing chair and look out of his office window over the Metropolis below. Life had been very good to him, he inherited a Fortune 500 company aged 22 and never looked back. Market analysts always commended Mr. Lionheart's ability to seal the 'deal of the century' every time. In fact his business mind was totally unparalleled. No matter whom it was his company was negotiating with, he always seemed to be able to come away from the table with vastly favorable terms compared to his rivals. Nobody knew how he did it, but Xavier Lionheart's powers of persuasion were now the stuff of legend. All of this meant that Xavier was almost constantly in a good mood; nothing ever got him down for any significant period of time and for certain he almost never got riled up.

Of course there are always exceptions and in this case the exception was Lorna Bowen, A sales rep from an opportunistic, nothing firm who always seemed to find some way around Xavier strict screening process to get regular appointments with him in order to try and promote her company's latest useless product. What drove Xavier mad was how Lorna could not get it into her head that his company was not interested in endorsing any of her second rate products. Every time he sent her away unsuccessful and yet without fail she was back a few weeks later with another pink elephant to push. Xavier had tried to maintain a cool persona and treat her with a modicum of decorum but this had been going on for two years without a break and it was getting ridiculous.

Recently she had even started to accuse Xavier of 'not know what sells in today's market', which was an utterly preposterous claim to make about somebody who 'Buisiness Weekly' called "The Man Who Sold Sand To The Arabs." After he successfully persuaded A Dubai Hotel Company to use Bermudan sand for its beach themed hotel instead of the local variety they could have used for free. This (even ignoring the scores of other similar themed magazine and journal articles) should have been enough to persuade any up and coming sales rep that if he says a product will not sell then that product will not sell.

Yet Lorna refused to listen, she would lecture him on market fluctuations, give him investment advice and just in general act like she was the best salesperson on the planet (the irony of which increase ten-fold when you realize the person she is lecturing may well actually be the greatest salesperson on the planet.) Whenever this happened, it was all Xavier could do to stop himself from throwing her out of his forty-seven storey window. So when he saw the young brunette enter his office yet again carrying a case of what was no doubt crap, he decided now was the final straw; something had to be done.

"Hello Mr. Lionheart, thank you for agreeing to see me. I know your time is precious and it will only take a moment for me to show you what we have to offer."

"Hello again Miss Bowen, your visits are a joy as always." he replied in a dry and weary voice. "Now what do you have for me this week?"

"I'm glad you asked," responded Lorna, putting her case onto his desk.

Xavier couldn't help but catch as glimpse of cleavage as she bent forward to open the case. She certainly was an attractive girl, and in Xavier's eyes the white blouse and black skirt she was wearing really gave her a sexy yet professional look, it was the only thing about her that made these meeting in any way bearable. Xavier's eyes continued to wander as Lorna opened the case, pulled out a small tube and began her spiel:

"Today's women are becoming more and more health conscious," she began. "They taken vitamin supplements, eat low carb, low fat diets and would probably drink cholesterol-free water if it existed. Well we have developed a new product that can take a woman's healthy lifestyle to the next level. May I present to you: the vitamin-stick." Lorna gave Xavier the small tube she had been holding; he looked at it like a puppy that had just been fed a bowl of broccoli. This lack of enthusiasm on Xavier part did not register at all on Lorna's radar and she just continued her speech, "It looks and feels like regular lipstick, but each application contains up to twenty-five percent of one's Recommended Daily Dosage of vitamin C. You can look good and feel healthy at the same time."

Xavier looked up briefly, going seamlessly from admiring Lorna's impressive body to dismissing her unimpressive sales pitch. "Vitamin enriched lipstick?"