The next day at work, Karen had another incident with another customer.

This time, the customer was a woman who had a problem with the Buddi doll. She placed the box with the doll inside on the counter and explained her problem to Karen. "I got this doll for my son 3 weeks ago. I took it home, turned it on and its eyes were red. I think something's wrong with it. It was so weird!"

"Hmm, I see." Karen nodded her head with sympathy for the customer. Based on what the customer said so far, reminded Karen of herself.

The lady said, "I got this doll for my son." She didn't say "we" as if she was married or had a boyfriend. Maybe she was a single mom like herself. But none of that mattered. What mattered was what the customer wanted. So the lady carried on.

Karen looked down at the Buddi doll in the box as if that was its coffin. She looked into its eyes.

The Buddi doll's eyes were blue.

'How did the doll's eyes turn red?' Karen thought to herself. She wasn't even paying attention to what the customer was saying. All Karen heard was mumbling. Before Karen knew it, a receipt was handed to her.

"Can I have my money back please?" the lady held the receipt in her hand.

Karen shook her head to come back to her senses. "Oh!...yes...yes you can." She grabbed the receipt along with the Buddi doll. But as soon as Karen laid hands on the Buddi doll, something sinister came into her mind as if the doll somehow had an influence on her. Instead of issuing a refund right away, Karen took things out back. She approached her supervisor who was doing inventory on the truck. "Hey Wes! Quick question for you! What happens to damaged returns like this one? Anything interesting?"

"Well, we send them back to Kaslan." he then grabbed the Buddi doll to put it back on the truck.

"And what do they do with it there?" asked Karen out of genuine curiosity.

"I don't know. Probably toss it into the trash compactor. The new model's coming out soon though. So nobody's going to care about this thing in a couple of fews." said Wes still trying to take it from Karen but she had a grip on it.

That made Karen get a little excited. Her eyes got large. "So they won't care if it doesn't make it back on the truck?"

"Well, I care." Wes looked at her sternly.

"Listen, I've got a kid at home who's birthday is coming pretty soon and he's been dying for one of these. Can I have it?" Karen began her negotiation.

"You have a kid?" asked Wes honestly.

"Yes I have a 12-year-old son who's able to turn 13. He would love this!"

Wes looked at Karen like she was crazy. He shook his head "no".

But Karen wasn't giving up so easily. She wanted Andy to have a Buddi doll even if it was marked as damaged. Besides, it would probably make him love her more! So why pass that up? If Karen wanted Wes to let go out that Buddi doll, she was going to have to use a dirty, backhanded trick. "Come on Wes. Nobody has to know. It'll be our little secret. Just like that time you screwed Susan in the warehouse...remember?" She winked at him.

Feeling embarrassed of his exposed secret, he had nothing else to say to Karen. After all, what she said was true. There was no negotiating with that. So Wes finally gave up. He sighed and said, "Well...since you put it that way...I guess you can have it." He finally let it go.

"There you go Wes. That wasn't so bad was it?" Karen smiled at him with satisfaction that she defeated him. "Thanks Wes, I appreciate it!" She got a better grip on the Buddi doll and walked away with it.