Just before he encountered the mysterious figure in the break room, John Henry did two things.
One was that he greeted the receptionist.
The beautiful intelligent capable blond bombshell sat at the very large receptionist desk which, with all its buttons and gadgets, resembled a massive space command center. It even made musical beeping noises while flashing colorful lights as if it were something from the bridge of the "Enterprise."
As he approached the woman at the command center, John let out a loud enthusiastic voice.
"Hello, Betty! How are things with you this fine morning?"
"Superb, John!" Only Betty could use the word "superb" and make it sound so natural.
"You really do look like a Hollywood glamour goddess."
"You sweet-talker!" As she squint-smiled, she poked the air with her right index finger.
Betty Louise Tessmacher had the golden curly hair of Shirley Temple but the face and figure of Margot Robbie. When she smiled, she looked so cheerful it was like she was glowing. She had an ultra-sweet voice to go with her shiny cheerful face.
"I'm really looking forward to our date tonight," she said.
When John spread out his hands, briefcase briefly swinging in one hand, he spoke in a deep booming voice.
"It should be a very special evening because you'll be there and you're very special!"
As Betty cooed her appreciation, John turned to go. He looked like one of those young men from an old Disney movie; he had a flawless Ryan Gosling face complete with charming smile.
As the smiling man moved past the big desk, he almost bumped into his boss Wendell Martin. Mr. Martin looked like one of those very serious old men from one of those old Disney movies. Or maybe he looked more like J. Jonah Jameson in "Spider-Man," except Mr. Martin had all white hair.
Whatever the old man looked like, he lit up.
"John! Congratulations!" Mr. Martin used his very large pale hand to give John a hearty handshake. "Great presentation! Excellent work as always!" He certainly had a voice like J. K. Simmons' Jameson in "Spider-Man;" the voice was deep and enthusiastic, almost manic in fact. "I'm sure Gladcorp will soon belong to our stable of very satisfied clients."
"I'm sure they will," John said as he poured out his charming smile. "And you're pretty good at presentations there yourself, Mr. Martin." As John lightly tapped Mr. Martin's shoulder, they both laughed.
So it was that John, all smiles and aglow, marched into the break room. There he encountered a strange-looking person. The man looked like Lurch from "The Addams Family." Along with that appearance, he had a deep eerie voice.
"Hello, John."
John squinted as he frowned. "You seem familiar to me."
"Your memories of your high school days may be a bit dim. I was your guidance counselor. Mr. Gregg."
John nodded absently. "Ah, yes. How are you?"
The stone face did not change.
"I'll get straight to the point. I've run into some hard times. I need some money. $40,000. That's nothing to you."
"Hmm," John hmmed. "That may be. But it's also very presumptuous of you, and I don't like the way you're asking."
"In a way, John, you owe me. I did more than just guide you in a profitable direction. I've been given special powers which I used to make your life better."
John smirked. "If that's the case, if you have special powers, why not use them to help yourself?"
"Regrettably, I can't use my powers on myself. Oh, I can make myself disappear when I need to. But I can't change anything that would improve my personal circumstances. Apparently, whoever or whatever gave me these powers made that part of the deal." Mr. Gregg attempted a weak smile. "That being the case, I must therefore, like Blanche DuBois in 'A Streetcar Named Desire,' 'depend on the kindness of strangers.'''
"Hmm," John said again. "That's rough about you and your powers. But whatever I got in life I got on my own." John bounced on his toes as he also lifted his chin.
Mr. Gregg snorted. "That's not true of anyone, John. We all get help from someone. Part of it can be genetics, your parents, how you were raised, your friends, the help and support of others. Assuming you have any friends or support. A person can be kind and friendly but if their outward appearance is not good they are rejected. That means they get little if any support. All because of how they look."
John made a face. "Oh, yeah? What about that saying 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder?'"
"A noble sentiment but one that is not always observed."
John waved his hands. "I'm not giving you any money. That's all there is to it." He crossed his arms as he closed his eyes and looked away.
As he bowed his head, Mr. Gregg sighed. "Very well then. All the good I gave you I now withdraw."
John snorted and sneered. "Yeah, right. Good luck with that."
John contacted security but they could find no trace of Mr. Gregg anywhere inside the building. Shrugging his shoulders, John retreated to the bathroom. When he looked in the mirror, he saw he had deep lines under his eyes and a large nose. There were red marks all over his face. His perfectly gelled hair had turned into short stiff pointy strands standing up.
As he hurried out of the bathroom, John nearly collided with Betty. At first she laughed then she looked horrified.
"John, what happened?'
"I'm not sure." John rushed to get away but he encountered a stern-faced Mr. Martin.
"John," he said roughly. "I don't know whats going on here but if you're going to meet with our clients, you can't look like that. Put on some makeup or something!"
"I'll take care of it."
He rushed to the break room. Mr. Gregg was there. He had a sympathetic look on his face.
"I saw the way you were in high school, the way things were for you. You tried so hard to be friends with the other kids. But either they laughed at you or they were mean to you."
John spoke in a haunted whisper.
"I remember now. I spent years in grade school and junior high looking like this. It got worse when I started high school. I was treated so badly," he said tearfully. "After I met with you, I woke up the next day, I was new and different. I just thought it was some kind of natural change. I've spent so many years like this with such a great life I just forgot the old life, how things once were. I suppose I blocked it out."
Mr. Gregg nodded. "I saw how you tried to make yourself neat and presentable but it made no difference to the other kids. I took pity on you and used my powers to change you."
"I owe you a great deal."
There was a little smile from Mr. Gregg. "How about that $40,000 then?"
"Make it fifty thousand. You're worth every cent."