The next day, I called in a favor from Jason, an actor friend of mine who still had a police uniform from a past gig. Together, we set up a plan to make Karen feel what it was like to lose something precious. With Jason playing the role of a stern officer, we staged a fake “confiscation” of Karen’s beloved laptop — her lifeline for work. When he knocked on her door, documents in hand, her face turned ghost-white,

Rachel arrived mid-performance, filming everything, and delivered the final blow: “See? It’s unpleasant to part with something important to you.” Realization dawned. When I stepped in to seal the deal, I gave her two choices — repay the cost of the sewing machine and apologize, or see the video go public. Karen caved, wrote a check, and muttered a reluctant “sorry.” We walked away victorious, and Rachel beamed with pride. That day, I reminded her — no one gets to crush your dreams and walk away untouched.