Corporate Gift Baskets With Logo

“Have you ever experienced deja vu, Richard?” Leslie was hovering over Richard’s desk. He was writing a report on corporate gift baskets with logo for his supervisor Paul.

“No, I can’t say that I have,” Richard replied, not looking up from his computer. “Well, I have, and it’s pretty creepy. Can I ask you another question?” Leslie was unrelenting.

“Leslie, I really need to write this right now. Aren’t you supposed to be writing a report about corporate gift ideas or something?” Richard sounded annoyed. “Actually, it’s corporate gift ideas for employees, thank you very much,” she replied, a smug look on her face.

“Whatever, why are you asking me about deja vu?” Richard returned to his work. “Well, I heard we’re doing one of those escape room thingies, and I just got an extreme case of deja vu,” Leslie whispered.

“Why are you whispering?” Richard asked, also with a hushed tone. “Because I feel like they’re gonna come at any time,” Leslie replied. “Well, maybe they’ll bring some corporate gifts with them,” Richard lamented. He really hated this job.

“Why not some gourmet gift baskets?” Leslie chimed in. “I bet those would be pretty good to have during the escape room.”

“Why would they let us eat while doing the escape room?” Richard asked. What a stupid question she asked. Richard was getting annoyed. “I dunno, they let us eat during the last one, which wasn’t really an escape room,” Leslie continued whispering. It was as if she was doing an ASMR video.

“What last one?” Richard stared at her stupid face. He was this close to pushing her off the desk. He was already behind on his deadline, and Paul was a hardass.

Suddenly, the doors burst open, and armed men with masks stormed the place.

“Alright! This is a robbery! I want everyone to put their hands on their head, and I need someone to show me where the unique corporate gift baskets are!” The man in front was obviously the leader, and he barked orders as loud as he could. Everyone got on their knees and put their hands on their head.

“I see we have a bunch of smartasses in here!” The man yelled. “I never said get on your knees!”

Everyone looked at each other, and some people started standing back up. “I never said to stand up, either! Just stay where you are! If you’re standing, stay standing, and if you’re on your knees, you can stay on your knees!” His voice was loud and boomed throughout the entire office.

“What if I’m kind of in both positions at once?” Kyle from accounting raised his hand. The man snapped his fingers, and two of the other guys came and knocked him out with the butt of a gun. Leslie gasped, “deja vu!”

“Now, who will show me the corporate gift baskets for employees?” The man shouted. Paul stood up like he was ready to pee his pants. They walked off together.

“Great, now I’ll never finish that piece on corporate gift baskets with logo,” Richard lamented. “Okay, now all of you come with us!”

The other men led everyone outside, where an unmarked van was waiting. “It’s just like before!” Leslie whispered to Richard. Would she never let up?

The van drove around for about an hour, and everyone was quiet the whole time. “What kind of escape room experience is this?” Someone asked out loud. No one responded. “Hey, does anyone know of good gift basket ideas for business clients?” Richard asked.

“Who’s asking?” Rita from HR responded. “Well, I still need to finish my piece on office gift baskets, and I figure I might as well work from my phone,” Richard held up his smartphone. “You’re working at a time like this?” Someone else chimed in.

“Well, unique gift baskets aren’t going to write about themselves,” Richard replied.

Finally, the van stopped, and the men ushered everyone out. The building looked the same as the office building, but it had to be the escape room place, right?

Right?

As everyone shuffled inside, they marveled at the escape room. It looked exactly like their office. However, the place was a bit more cluttered than usual. But, there was one striking difference - now, some unique corporate gifts were strewn about the place.

“Are these branded corporate gifts?” Rita asked. She picked up one of the baskets and examined it. “It’s from one of those corporate gifting companies,” she stated. Richard walked up and snatched the basket from her. “We’re one of those companies, chowderhead. Besides, this basket is full of gift ideas for VIP clients,” he remarked as he inspected the contents. Some pieces were missing.

“So, does anyone have any idea of what to do for this escape room?” Steve from marketing asked. Everyone shrugged their shoulders.

“Hey, should we check on Kyle?” Someone else pointed at his motionless body, still lying on the floor. “Nah, I’m sure he’s fine,” Richard replied.

“Shouldn’t someone tell us what to do?” Steve asked. “Um, I may be able to provide some insight,” Leslie raised her hand. “I’ve been in a situation similar to this before. At least, I think I have.”

“What do you mean, you think?” Rita asked. “Listen, I think we need to grab some of these personalized corporate gifts to see if they contain any clues,” Leslie pointed to the baskets strewn on the floor. Some people grabbed them and started inspecting them.

“Unique client gift ideas,” one of them read a card on the side of the basket. “I got unique corporate gifts for employees,” another read. “What does it all mean?”

“What about this?” Steve held up an employee manual. “Maybe we need to read this?”

“Yes! That’s it!” Leslie shouted and pointed at the book. “That’s how we get out of here!”

“Chapter Six: Luxury Corporate Gift Baskets,” Leslie read. She was sitting on a desk, with everyone circled around her. For some reason, this escape room didn’t have any chairs, TVs, computers, or other electronics. The escape room company probably couldn’t afford it all. But, they could afford to replicate everyone’s personal items. Right down to the family photos.

“Question one: what are the best corporate gift baskets?” Leslie asked. Rita raised her hand. “Are you asking about corporate gift baskets for clients or corporate gift baskets for employees?”

“Um, it doesn’t specify. Maybe both?” Leslie shrugged. Richard raised his hand, “what about corporate gift baskets with logo, is there anything about those?” He really wanted to get the piece done before the escape room finished.

“No, it does mention Harry and David corporate gifts, though,” Leslie skimmed the manual’s pages. “How is Harry and David considered ‘luxury’?” Steve made air quotes with his fingers.

“Well, not all of us can afford luxury corporate gifts like Rolexes, Steve!” Peter from accounting snapped back. “In fact, I don’t think I could ever buy luxury gift baskets for anyone unless they were from Harry and David,” Pete continued.

“Well, we need to figure out what to do about these office gift baskets if we’re ever getting out of here,” Leslie chimed in. “Any ideas?”

“Can I use the bathroom?” One of the new IT guys raised his hand. “For the last time, yes! Will you stop asking me that?” Leslie snapped. She pointed in the direction of the restrooms. “But, are those just fake bathrooms? I mean, this is an escape room, right?” The guy asked.

“I don’t know, just figure it out!” Leslie shouted. It had been an hour already, and everyone was getting hangry.

“Okay, guys, we’re just over halfway there; we’re doing great!” Leslie was pacing back and forth now. It had been another hour, and the escape room’s A/C wasn’t working. This must be how they get the group to focus or something.

“Alright, who knows about customized corporate gifts? Anyone?” She looked over the crowd. No hands raised. “Okay, what about corporate gift baskets?”

“Everything is corporate gift baskets, Leslie! I only know about our corporate gifts website!” Another one of the IT guys was starting to lose his mind.

“Hey, that reminds me, what happened to the other guy who went to the bathroom?” Steve asked. Suddenly, as if summoned, he appeared, dragging a bound and gagged Paul behind him.

“Did someone ask for custom logo corporate gifts?” The guy shouted as he walked in. Nothing but confusion. “Oh, sorry, I meant I found Paul,” he showed Paul off like he was a prized catch. Paul nodded silently.

“Should we untie him?” Rita asked. “Hold on, let’s get through this chapter on personalized corporate gifts for clients, then we’ll figure out what’s up with Paul,” Leslie replied. “Ooh, maybe he’s a clue!” She exclaimed. Paul looked defeated.

“So I showed him where the corporate gits for employees were, and then I told him about the best corporate gifts for employees. He got agitated and beat me with the butt of his gun,” Paul recounted what had happened.

Apparently, the lead guy really wanted some branded corporate gifts, which is why he told his men to sack the place. They looked for corporate gifts for clients and corporate holiday gifts, but nothing satisfied their lust. So, instead, they took all the electronics and valuables.

“So, this isn’t an escape room, then?” Steve asked. “Why would you think that? If it were, why would Kyle still be lying unconscious on the floor?” Paul pointed to the body. There’s no way that dude was still alive.

“But wait, what about this chapter on personalized corporate gifts for employees?” Leslie chimed in. Paul snatched the book from her hands. “Will you forget about that? We need to call the police!”

“Yes, 911, I have to report a robbery,” Richard spoke softly into his phone as if someone was listening. Everyone else stood around, listening intently.

“I work for one of those luxury corporate gifting companies, and we’ve been robbed!” Richard whisper-shouted for maximum effect. “You know, one of those corporate gifting companies in USA? We offer gift ideas for VIP clients and stuff. We also offer a wide array of luxury branded gifts for that special someone in your life,” Richard sounded like he was reading from a marketing packet.

“Yes, that’s the one! The company that sells luxury corporate gift boxes!” Richard exclaimed. A brief pause. “No, those baskets are from our luxury corporate gifts UK branch. Ours come with chips, not fries,” he explained.

After about 20 minutes of running through all the basket ideas, Richard hung up. “So, they’re sending the cops?” Paul asked.

Richard smacked his forehead. He forgot all about it.