Back to Alternate Reality aka Fiction Friday

As I sat in my office working on my latest advertising campaign, I have to admit that neither my heart nor my head were really into it. I love my job; I love trying to figure out what turns people on and how I can play off of that and motivate them to buy a product. I realize that this might sound slightly creepy as if I am some mad scientist trying to achieve mind control; however, I am not that evil. I find it as a particular challenge to try to convince people; I never hooked them up to any creepy machine to mess with their brain waves.

Anyway, enough justifying my confusing mind. I was sitting at my desk attempting to develop some way to market frozen waffles. Honestly, I was drawing a major blank. Sure, I'd marketed food products before, but that was a long time ago. Recently, I had become a quasi-specialist for our company whenever a high-tech client came and needed me to saturate the Internet. I had viral marketing on my mind, and honestly there was no hope of shaking it. However, advertising on Facebook and utilizing other social media outlets did not seem like a good way to advertise frozen breakfast products, but that was all I could think about. I grabbed my head and figured that I just needed to step back and remember all I learned in business school.

As it always seems to happen, right when I was on the verge of some amazing idea that would develop into potentially the greatest campaign I had ever developed, I heard the very distinct bass beat that begins John Bon Jovi's classic anthem "Livin' on a Prayer." I realize that this song is relatively popular and could be heard in many different places included in an office that always had the radio on, but how many reasons are there for John Bon Jovi echoing out of your coat pocket? I all but dove at my jacket and clamored for my iPhone which, as always seems to happen when you want something, got stuck on the way out. I stubbornly refused to give up and answered.

I don't want to bore you with a word for word transcription of our conversation, but I will tell you that I hadn't gotten the job... yet. I had to fly back to San Francisco for a second interview. Great, I thought, how am I ever going to tell my boss that I need another week off to interview for a job that is threatening to steal me away? However, I knew I had to do it, so I headed to the symbolic as well as literal corner office that was inhabited by my boss. After knocking and being admitted, I began what was apt to be a very awkward conversation.

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