I happened to be taking a day off from work one Friday when my wife asked me to drop off something for her friend Clarice at her office — a dress Clarice had asked to borrow for a date that evening. Rachel was busy cleaning house, and said that since I was only in her way, I might as well make myself useful.

So, reluctantly, I set out for the place where Clarice worked, but when I got there and went inside, I didn’t see her anywhere. Then I became aware of voices coming from the back, where her boss’s office is. The door was slightly ajar, and when I got closer, I could peek in and see everything. Clarice was there with her boss, Alan, and two other executives, Russ and Jim, and Alan seemed to be chewing her out for some kind of costly mistake.

Clarice is about 45, sturdily built, with... Read More