The kiss was a long one. He didn’t want to break away from the bliss of the encounter, but he was sure that a short interruption might secure his future kisses. Despite his passion, he reasoned that a declaration of his love would lead to a lifetime of affection and passionate exhilaration with the person he now knew he adored. He drew back.

“You are loved by me,” he declared.

She gave him a look of total bewilderment and asked him to say it again.

“You are loved by me,” he repeated.

She stared at him for a moment. He saw the full range of human emotion on her face in the next thirty seconds — bewilderment, curiosity, disappointment, confusion, and anger. Finally, disdain.

She turned her head aside and walked away. They never saw one another again.

The next day at the office was a sad one. But when he watched this training video, he understood where it had all gone wrong.