"I... I don't understand." Cheryl looked up from her notebook at the despair in Gloria's eyes. "There are so many donut shops in this city. In fact, I think there's 3 in a 4 block radius from-"
"They aren't as good!" Gloria looked like she was about to pound out a sad melody on a pipe organ as she interrupted, a regular Phantom of the Opera, isolated in her office. "I've tried them ALL, Cheryl. All of them. In this business you need to know your competition."
"I didn't think we sold donuts."
"Well, we don't. But we sell desserts! And let me tell you, even I, Gloria Vandergast, would not even be able to come within a centimeter of how heavenly Danny's Donuts are. AND THEY'RE CLOSING!" She laid her head down on the desk.
Cheryl wasn't quite sure what to do. Social situations like this weren't her strong suit. She just sat there and said, "I'm sorry, Miss Vandergast. What... what are you going to do about it?"
Gloria rose up her head from her desk. An obvious, positive shift in her mood had occurred. "Yes... What AM I going to do about it?" She suddenly stood up from her desk chair, pushing it violently back, and pointed up to the ceiling. "I am going to do something about it! I will save Danny's Donuts! Or my name isn't Gloria Vandergast, kitchen boss supreme!" Then, she got back in her chair and rolled it back to where she was.
"Did that feel good?"
"You're damn right it did." She grinned real wide. "Cheryl, I need you to go to Danny's. Pick up some donuts. Lots of donuts. If this place goes under, I need my fill. Got it? Use the company card. And don't skimp out."
Cheryl got up from her seat, placing the notebook back into her pocket. "Understood, Miss Vandergast."
"Oh, and Cheryl? Tell me what you see. I need to know details. Why is this place closing? Who's running things? Just, anything that stands out. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Thank you, Cheryl." As she exited the room, Gloria's tummy grumbled. She was thinking about donuts.
---
About 30 minutes later, Cheryl returned to the office, carrying a huge stack of donut boxes. There must have been at least 8. Gloria wasn't counting. All she saw were donuts. As Cheryl walked in, her head almost invisible behind the stack of boxes, Gloria smacked her palm quickly on her desk and breathlessly said, "Right here! Right here!" Cheryl put them down where she requested and almost immediately her pudgy boss pulled the top box down, opened it up to find it full of jelly donuts, closed her eyes, and ravenously shoved it into her mouth, not even biting. She chewed heavily, eyes still closed, cheeks bulging like a squirrel's, and swallowed. Cheryl swore she could see a lump moving down her throat as she grabbed another donut and did the exact same thing. A ring of pinkish jelly had accumulated around her mouth by donut number 4, after which she dabbed the residue off and acknowledged Cheryl's existence. "I apologize. I'm hungry. Donuts are... my weakness." She picked up another and bit in, this time not swallowing it whole like a snake. "That's partially why I don't serve them here. I'd just eat them all." She chuckled with her mouth full, crumbs spilling out onto the top of her desk.
Cheryl, in the meantime, was not sure what to do. She mostly just sat there and watched her eat, politely smiling. Gloria must have noticed she was slightly uncomfortable, so she pulled down another box, this one filled with peanut butter filled donuts, and slid it over the desk to her. "Go on, have some. They're *BRUURP* delicious. Pardon me. And tell me what you saw!" She shoved yet another donut into her mouth, but Cheryl could tell she was listening.
According to Cheryl...
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