It's been a few days since the last time the narrator heard anyone talking to him, and he's still not sure what to make of it. He wants to know why he hasn't returned the waistcoat he just bought, or why the manager of his department isn't paying him any attention. He's also worried about the manager's coat, which he forgot to bring back with him. The narrator asks the manager about inviting him out for dinner, and the manager says that the meal was his treat, and that he'll be happy to pay for it. The manager is still talking about the conditions of his job, the narrator says, and it's clear that the manager is listening to the conversation on the other end of the phone. He asks the narrator to tell him how to hack his boss's system so that he doesn't have to listen to him anymore, and then the narrator promises to tell the manager how to do it himself.