A senior moment (Original freewrite)

All the serious faces round the table in the big conference room froze in silent shock when Thomas J. Watson, president of the Watson Corporation walked in dressed in a deep blue velvety house coat. And a pair of brown felt slippers on his bare feet.
Is it a joke? Has the old man finally lost all his marbles?
They all secretly believed he was a little crazy, but not that crazy. Today of all days - he was supposed to meet an important Japanese investor right after the board meeting!
What the hell is going on!?
No one dared to say anything and the meeting proceeded as usual - well, almost as usual, considering Mr. Watson started clipping his nails while listening to one of his senior advisers going over the most urgent business awaiting his attention.
Seated at his right, Alice, Mr. Watson's secretary, was dreading the moment the boss would start on his toe nails. Fortunately, he didn't.
Mr. Watson then signed a few documents that needed his approval and left the room without anybody mentioning his casual outfit. Thomas Watson was well-known for his quick temper.

When Mr. Nakamura was shown into the private office of Mr. Watson he was horrified to see his potential partner wearing what looked suspiciously like a bathrobe. Is it a joke? What's going on? Being their first face-to-face meeting he felt he could not comment in any way and tried his best to ignore that most unusual appearance. However, on the inside, he fumed. He was sure it was a subtle insult. Quite a personal insult! That's no way to conduct a serious business transaction!
Needless to say, the Japanese investor promised he'll be back with an answer by the next morning, at which time he was already on a plane to Tokyo. I'll be damned if I'll be treated like a common servant...
The next board meeting was tense as the lost contract with Nakamura Industries was a terrible blow to the company. The vice-president was rehearsing a harsh, yet polite speech in his mind as they waited for Watson to show up. The old man was wearing a nondescript black business suit with a tasteful green tie. So he hadn't gone crazy after all.
When the vice-president suggested the Japanese might have been offended by his host's choice of a house coat, Watson went ballistic and fired him on the spot.
No one ever mentioned the bathrobe incident again, except for Mr. Nakamura. The poor guy became obsessed with the issue and spent days online searching for a clue, trying to understand if that was a deliberate offense and what it meant. He never found an answer. Nor did the employees of the Watson Corporation.

Story written for @mariannewest's freewrite challenge. Today's prompt: house coat. Check out her blog and join our freewrite community.