The day Mr. Adams had been waiting for had finally arrived.
For weeks, the entire store had been preparing for a special visit. The founders of Pick Your Product had decided to visit one of their stores, and ours had been chosen. Every shelf had been checked, every corner cleaned, and every department polished until it practically sparkled.
The cleaners worked harder than ever, making sure not a single speck of dust could be found.
By the time the store was ready to open, it looked perfect.
Before the doors opened, however, Mr. Adams gathered everyone together for a quick staff meeting.
"Good morning, staff," he announced. "Cleaners, trolley controllers, and colleagues of Pick Your Product. As you all know, the big boss of our store, Mr. Williams, will be visiting today."
He paused dramatically and looked around the room.
"Now tell me, when Mr. Williams walks through those doors, what should we do?"
Gouwie's hand shot up immediately.
"We should greet him, sir."
"Correct," Mr. Adams replied with a nod. "And what should we do next?"
Lance raised his hand.
"We should show him around the store, Mr. Adams."
"Very good." Mr. Adams smiled. "But what is the most important thing we should do?"
I stood there in complete exhaustion.
For days, I'd been helping prepare the store for the visit. My body felt heavy, my eyes burned, and my brain had clearly decided to stop functioning.
Unfortunately, Mr. Adams was looking directly at me.
Realizing I was expected to answer, I said the first thing that came to mind.
"We should ignore him, Mr. Adams."
Silence.
Every head in the room turned toward me.
The expressions on their faces ranged from confusion to outright horror.
Calvin, the butchery manager, blinked twice.
"Layla... are you okay?"
To everyone's surprise, Mr. Adams nodded.
"That's correct."
The room became even quieter.
Nobody knew what to say.
Without offering any explanation, Mr. Adams simply smiled and clapped his hands together.
"Excellent. Let's open our store."
The doors opened, and customers immediately began flowing inside.
Everyone went about their duties while secretly keeping one eye on the entrance, waiting for Mr. Williams to arrive.
Lance eventually found me working in one of the aisles.
"So," he said, crossing his arms, "why did you say we should ignore the big boss? I still don't get it."
Before I could answer, a customer approached us.
He was a tall man dressed neatly and carrying a shopping basket.
"Excuse me," he said. "Do you work here?"
"Yes, sir," I replied. "How may I help you?"
"I'm looking for a product called Xylitol."
Lance and I exchanged glances.
Neither of us had ever heard of it.
Lance scratched his head.
"Sir, what exactly is it used for?"
The customer explained, and both of us immediately pulled out our phones to search for it.
After a few minutes, Lance sighed.
"I'm sorry, sir, but it doesn't appear that our store sells that product."
The customer's shoulders slumped.
"What am I supposed to do now?" he asked. "I really need it. Is there another store nearby that sells it? And while we're talking about it, why doesn't this store have a health section?"
I nodded.
"You're not the first customer to mention that, sir. Honestly, I think our store needs a health section too. I'll bring it up with the store manager."
The man's expression softened slightly.
"Please do. The next time I visit this store, I'd like to see a health section with Xylitol on the shelves."
Lance nodded enthusiastically.
"How about we go speak to the manager right now?"
The customer considered it for a moment before shaking his head.
"No. I trust the two of you."
He pointed toward our name tags.
"I know your names now. I'll be back."
With that, he turned and walked away.
The moment he disappeared around the corner, Lance looked at me.
"Well?"
I sighed.
"Let's go talk to Mr. Adams."
As we walked toward the office, my stomach twisted into knots.
Mr. Adams' office had a large glass wall overlooking the sales floor.
From outside, we could see him standing there, watching the store.
"You go first," I whispered, gently pushing Lance forward.
Lance immediately pushed me back.
"Layla, we're doing this together."
We must have looked like two nervous schoolchildren being sent to the principal's office.
Taking a deep breath, we entered.
Just as we were about to explain the customer's request, the office phone rang.
Mr. Adams answered immediately.
"Vincent Adams speaking. Hello."
Lance and I stood silently.
Neither of us dared interrupt.
After a few moments, Mr. Adams let out a long sigh of relief.
"Understood."
He hung up and turned toward us.
"The store visit has been cancelled."
"What?" Lance blurted out.
"Mr. Williams won't be coming today. The visit has been postponed to a later date."
Mr. Adams shook his head.
"I suppose I'd better inform the rest of the store."
As he prepared to leave, Lance finally asked the question that had been bothering him all morning.
"Mr. Adams, why did you agree when Layla said we should ignore Mr. Williams? Isn't he our boss? Isn't he the one who pays us?"
Mr. Adams smiled.
"Yes, he is our boss."
He folded his arms and leaned against his desk.
"But he doesn't pay us directly."
Lance frowned.
Mr. Adams continued.
"Mr. Williams founded this company, but the people who truly pay our salaries are our customers. Every time they choose to shop here, they support this business."
The room grew quiet.
"So don't ignore a customer just because the boss is visiting," he said. "Keep doing your job. Serve your customers."
He pointed toward the shop floor beyond the glass wall.
"Mr. Williams visits us once in a while. Our customers visit us every single day."
I suddenly understood.
Mr. Adams smiled.
"So ignore the visit and focus on your customers. They're the reason this store exists."
With that, he turned and walked out of the office.
Lance and I looked at each other.
Neither of us knew how to tell him about the customer's request.
Before we could decide, Mr. Adams suddenly stopped and turned around.
"Oh, one more thing."
We froze.
"Mr. Williams mentioned during the call that before his next visit, we're going to start developing a health section."
Lance and I stared at him.
Mr. Adams continued.
"We'll also begin stocking new products, including Xylitol."
A grin spread across Lance's face.
I couldn't help smiling too.
It seemed the customer's request had already reached the people who mattered.
And for once, we didn't have to be the ones to deliver the message.