“May I have a word with the manager, please?”

“Sure, can I tell him who you are?”

“Cookie inspector.  We’ve had some complaints about chip distribution at this location.”

“Oh. Well actually that’s my department.”

“Perfect.  Are you aware of this issue, mister….”

“Please call me Rex.  It’s my second week here, but yes I have noticed that some of our cookies have a few chips shifted to the left of center.  I have a team calibrating the balance on the ovens.”

“Wait, your ovens aren’t balanced?  That’s a $500 fine.  Are you aware of that?”

“Yes, I did know that.  I just found out about the issue, and I’m not even sure that’s our issue here.  It’s just something I’m checking.”

“With all due respect, Rex, let’s be straight with each other.  I’ve been an inspector on this beat for 20 years and you can’t just lie your way out of this.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Really?  Balancing the ovens is the LAST thing you do under this protocol.  Why?  It’s quite unlikely the issue.”

“Like I said, I’m just trying to rule out possibilities and get a fix here.”

“I appreciate that, but Rex, all I’m asking is that you look to your right at this very moment.”

“What am I looking for exactly?”

“Well, this isn’t on the checklist for cookie production procedures you have hanging on the wall, but I can’t help but notice your employee at the chip distribution station is only wearing a shoe on his right foot.”

“DAMMIT, DAVE!”