They were standing out in front, looking just like a couple of door-to-door salesmen. And that's just what they were, even if they were called Electro Medical Consultants. Just a fancy name for salesmen.
They were very neat in appearance, just as good salesmen should be. Their hats looked new and so did their shoes.
"Ah, Mr. Gaines," said the yellow-haired one, sticking out his neatly manicured but definitely masculine hand, "I'm very happy to meet you, sir." His grin could only be described as sincerely boyish.
"Come in," I said, feeling like smiling back, so effectively pleasant were their grins. "Come in and sit down, won't you?"
So they came in, doffing their hats, and sat down in two chairs that I ordinarily didn't use. They seemed to know instinctively which was my favorite chair. Oh, they were smooth!
"Now, Mr. Gaines," said the light-haired man, "perhaps I should start off with a little introduction all around and a short explanation of what Electronic Living can mean to you."
No one had mentioned EL up to that point, yet they knew without a doubt that I had correctly identified them. Talk about confidence—it was like a physical force in the room.
"I'm Jake Long and this is Arnie Blik," said the light-haired one, rising and gripping my hand with a warm, dry, just right handshake.
"Pleased to meet you," said Blik, gripping my hand in turn with an identical warm, dry, just right handshake.
"I'm going to ask you for a bit of your time," said Long, "and I certainly hope you can grant us a few minutes without too much inconvenience."