The new employee of the department store in the city's busiest shopping mall had started off very well in his job of attending to shoppers arriving in the housewares area.
Impeccably dressed in his uniform: navy blue pants and jacket over a white shirt and black shoes, he gave his tall, slender body a striking appearance. A dark face with a mouth with very white teeth, he smiled at people who sought his help to find what they wanted or needed to buy.
"How may I help you?" Was the obligatory question when approaching customers. His dark gaze and his soft yet confident voice immediately attracted the attention of people, especially women, who were frequent shoppers at the store.
In a few days Alfredo, as the new employee was called, caught the attention of the shoppers. They all sought him out to help them choose the most suitable item. His friendliness and kindness as well as his technical knowledge made him stand out from the other employees, who sometimes treated the buyer with apathy. In addition, they could ask him any questions about the equipment and its maintenance.
After a few weeks Alfredo was already the topic of conversation of all the store staff and some, with the envy that comes from a person being praised, complained about his efficiency, wishing that at some point he would make a mistake..., indeed they dreamed of it.
In the suggestions and comments mailbox, Alfredo was praised by all the people he served and was named employee of the month to the admiration of some colleagues who congratulated him but also to the chagrin of those who were already beginning to hate him, but who nevertheless with great hypocrisy, giving him the hand on his back, said to him
"Epa Alfredo! I congratulate you, keep it up".
"Thank you very much, but I just do my job to the best of my ability, I like to serve people, make them feel good and help them choose what is best for them". With his smile and the deep look in his dark eyes, he stared at everyone around him.
One Saturday morning Maria Isabel, a ten-year-old girl, walked into the department store holding her mother's hand, she was very excited to go out and buy a TV because the one they had was damaged and that was a tragedy for her. And she kept telling her mother to go out and buy another one, until her mother said,
""It's okay daughter, all right, calm down, on Saturday we will go shopping at the Mall".
"Yupiii, yes! " Maria Isabel's reddish hair moved up and down to the beat of her bouncing.
"We're going to buy a TV! We're going to buy a TV!" .
"Daughter, please be quiet, I'm in a daze.... Go take a bath". That was the mother's way of calming her daughter's overflowing energies.
The store was very crowded, and Maria Isabel and her mother went directly to the home equipment department. When they got there, Alfredo approached them and with that smile that never left him, he greeted them.
"Good morning ma'am, how can I help you?", and leaning back, he spoke to Maria Isabel.
"Hello girl, how are you? What are you here to buy?"
"A TV, ours, was damaged, and I can not be without watching my programs", she replied with a grimace with her mouth closed and tilting her head to one side. Her freckles gave her face a very funny look.
"I'm going to show you one that you'll really like". And she led them to the TV area.
Maria Isabel looked at all those lit screens to choose the one she liked the most, while Alfredo talked to her mother recommending a special set, the latest generation.
"Mrs. if you buy this television, you are getting equipment of excellent quality and extraordinary sharpness. It is the best technology of the moment!". As Alfredo spoke, he stared at Maria Isabel's mother. He had already convinced her when the little girl interrupted the conversation and said to her mother
"Mommy I want this TV and with her arm outstretched she shows her another set".
"Daughter, I have already decided that I am going to buy this other one, don't you think it is very nice".
"But I don't want that one, the TV is for me".
"Little girl, the TV that your mother is going to buy is the best", and while Alfredo was talking, his gaze has darkened even more, it is intimidating and cold.
"Maria Isabel instinctively backs away and remains silent... for a moment".
As Alfredo walks away to complete the formalities of the sale. Maria Isabel pulls her mother by the wide dress of pink and yellow flowers, her mother looks at her and asks her what's wrong.
"Mom, this man scares me!" You didn't see his eyes, they sparkle.
"Daughter, don't say that!, the salesman is very nice and has been very kind".
"No, mom!, he is strange". I don't like him, and he says it so loudly that people turn to look at her.
"My daughter is very imaginative and grabbed her by the arm and hurriedly went to cancel the TV she bought".
The buyers don't think much of the incident, but one person is left thinking about what he heard, a salesman who is not very happy with Alfredo.
Luis Alberto has been working in this company for more than ten years and what the girl said seemed very strange to him, his instinct told him that Alfredo could not be so perfect, and he begins to observe him every day. She notices that Alfredo does not eat with the other employees. He doesn't eat and doesn't even drink water. In his break time he just sits with his eyes closed and very close to the computers, as if they felt that they were accompanied by these
When he left work, he began to follow him and arrived at a private area, a recent building, gray, fenced and with a guard at the entrance who let Alfredo pass.
The next day, Luis Alberto began to investigate to whom the building belonged, but found no information. As a supervisor, he had access to the personnel office, and he looked for information about Alfredo. His resume was impeccable, he had worked in other stores, all of them specialists in home electrical equipment, and he attached recommendations from all of them. The reason for his resignation was personal matters. In each job, he had not lasted more than six months.
He looked up the record of equipment sold by Alfredo and realized that they were all the same brand, SCH "Science gives you comfort". A new company had entered the home appliance market: televisions, computers, stereos, washing machines, dryers and others. At that moment, Luis Alberto saw it all very clearly. Alfredo was not human. It was a strategy to enter people's homes, to know about their lives and somehow manipulate them. Alfredo was the instrument to reach them, thousands of Alfredos, a series of robots that through his sympathy attracted buyers, but also because of something else that he could not understand, but that was in his eyes. The girl had been able to see what adults were not able to perceive... the danger behind a smile.
Thank you very much for reading my participation in The Ink Well Prompt #102.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)