3
Above the ten-story buildings and mid-morning traffic of downtown, one steel and glass monster loomed above them all. It dominated the skyline with its razor-sharp lines and mirrored windows, giving nothing away but its name: a steel-brushed, beveled silver sign, 60 feet long and 20 feet high, that hung suspended like a sword over the revolving doors to the lobby.
WACK-O! TOYS INC.
“…seasonal sales are up 5 percent while overall sales are down 1.7 percent from the last fiscal year…”
Jeff sat at a looooong, dark mahogany table. He slumped forward slightly in his ultra hi-tech swivelly executive leather-padded chair, and stared around at the other 20 or so faces that filled the conference room. Executives, MBA’s, accountants, impeccable suits, clean crisp shirts and blouses, vests and ties, black and white and navy and pinstripes and ooh, if you were daring, maybe a little splash of red. Maybe.
Jeff looked down at his own electric blue tie, and sighed.
The Sales Department Man continued droning on and on and on, shining his little laser pointer at the professionally prepared computer slide-show of charts and graphs, projected up on the screen with the latest and most expensive computer slide-show projector.
Jeff propped his chin up on his hands and tried to look interested. He really did make an effort.
As the Sales Department Man sat down, the Marketing Guy stood up and took his place by the screen. In his hand he clutched a plastic toy frog decked out with army helmet and machinegun. Jeff perked up. Maybe this would be fun.
No such luck.
The Marketing Guy adjusted his circular frame eyeglasses and began. “Dramco’s BATTLEFROGS, despite a strong holiday showing, are starting to slip in the focus groups. We show a 17.2 percent drop in ratings of Very High Interest, versus a 12.3 percent drop in our own corresponding line of Super Fightin’ Vegetable Commandos…”
Jeff really began to fade.
***
Things picked up a bit when the Peppy Toy Executive brought out the gun.
It was an orange and yellow plastic tube-like contraption. These days, no one designed a toy to look like a real gun, and true to form, this one looked more like a cross between a pumpkin, a banana, and fluorescent lighting tubes. The Peppy Toy Executive flipped her very short blonde hair back and broke out her million-watt smile.
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Copyright © 2008 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.
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