Fashion Faux Pas

I met my wife in 1986. I was 26 years old and working as an accountant at a small manufacturing company. I saw her talking to our purchasing manager. Later in the day, I visited Dick (the purchasing manager) and asked him, “Is that all you do all day—talk to cute girls?” A few weeks later, Dick called. He informed me he was sending someone up to my office. He wanted me to review a proposal and buy business forms. Confused, I asked why because I didn’t approve or perform, business form purchases. That was Dick’s domain. He said I’d figure it out, and hung up. Linda Hiester of NCR walked into my office and introduced herself. I figured it out. She was the “cute” girl I’d seen in Dick’s office. Linda showed me example forms and pitched me on the idea of buying checks from NCR. I needed a couple thousand checks, so I agreed to buy them from her. She wrote-up the order and I signed it. When I came out from behind my desk to shake her hand and walk her out, I realized I looked like a…