The scene opens in the storage room, where the Governess and her sister are waiting for the arrival of the Chief. The Governess tells her sister that the Chief is on his way, and that he has a call from his first-line manager. She tells him that she has promised herself that she will try to make the Chief say that he loves her, but that she needs to make sure that he does not say "I love you" in a way that would make her look like a sexual object. She says that she is not listening to the Chief's words, and she wonders if the Chief and his mistress, Madame Rame, are also listening to her