"Luc, You have always been my favorite, so please take this ass-chewing as constructive and helpful. It has been a week and you haven't landed this prospect, whatshisname..., he looked down at the report on the tablet he was holding, Johnny. It doesn't even look like you have set the hook. Maybe you are using the wrong bait?"

Bart, the ass-chewer, had moved over to App Promotions from the Phishing department, hence all the angling terms. Luc was his favorite because he happened to be the boss's nephew.

Luc saw the question as an opportunity to speak, but he was wrong. "Bart, it ain't my fault. Sales didn't qualify him properly. He..."

Bart effectively stopped the excuses by putting his fingers in his ears. When he saw he had Luc's attention, he continued.

"I see you have tried the classic wallet drop, a twenty on the sidewalk, cash left on a cafe table, and what's this? You blew up an armored truck?"

"Yeah, well it was a slow week for the pyro group, their boy down in Alabama got caught before he finished burning those churches so they were between gigs."

"So what happened?"

"This guy is a boy scout, a regular goody two shoes. He turned in the wallet, donated the twenty to a homeless guy, returned the cash to a waiter, and you ain't gonna believe the armored car crash."

"He filmed the looters with his phone and personally protected at least one bag of cash until the cops and firemen got there. It's all in the report. Luc, I don't think you have grasped the gravity of the situation. I went out on a limb with the Big Guy over this app. This is our entry into the millennials. This whole app program relies on the success of your trial. And frankly, your metrics suck. Cost/results; effective yield; growth; all are negative. So what are you going to do next?"

Luc scratched at his head. Whenever he was called down to the fourth level his whole body cringed. "I dunno. Maybe I can get him to win a scratch-off ticket. I just need him to take one bite of the apple. Once started, he will come around."

Bart was shaking his head. "Luc, I know you have grown up hearing that apple story from your uncle. But those were simpler times. Like I said, I think you are using the wrong bait. You need something different. Stop by the 'S' division on two. Give Freyja this note." He handed a folded paper to Luc. "Make this work, Luc. I would hate to have to send you back to the personal injury group."

Luc actually enjoyed the hands on work with the injured and grieving. He found the aura of pain energizing. But his mother had pulled some strings to get him this opportunity and the thought of listening to her gripe for the next half-millennium was enough. "You can count on me, boss."

- of course I cannot stop now. To be continued -