The morning started worse than usual. True, I only got up a couple of minutes later than on most days, but, on the other hand, I enjoyed a smooth drive to the office, as I was still some time ahead of the morning rush hour. But I was only about two blocks from my office when I remembered some documents that needed posting. Even though it only took me about 10 minutes at the post office, I knew that I was going to be late. When I arrived at the company car park, of course, my parkingspace was already taken, but I spotted another space, and, a minute later, I was rushing up the stairs to the second floor.‘What’s keeping me here?’ I asked myself, as I did every morning when I arrived for work. ‘With my qualifications, I’d find something better within a week’, and I felt frustrated as I approached my desk.‘What’s going on here?’ I thought when I saw the mess on my desk. The computer was already on, and the piles of paper. It looked as if someone was already working there.‘I’ve been fired and someone’s already working at my place’ was my first thought. But, then, I saw Mr Benson, the Managing Director, walking around the place, accompanied by Mr Tanner, the head of our department. Suddenly, I understood. Someone didn’t want the boss to know I was late, so they’d made it look as if I was already there.‘But who?!’ I was amazed as you could hardly call me popular with the rest of our staff. It wasn’t because I was rude or anything like that. I’d just never managed to make friends with any of the people in the department.After Mr Benson had left Mr Tanner came over to my desk. ‘Sorry about the mess on your desk’, he said. ‘I heard this morning that Mr Benson was going to visit our department. I saw you were late, so I played that ‘small trick’, his eyes were smiling.‘Thank you, sir. I’m sorry..., uhm, I had to go to the post office and...’‘No problem’ he said. ‘I couldn’t really count on anyone else to think of it, and I didn’t want you to get in trouble. After all, it’s not easy to find good staff these days’. When he arrived at his desk, the writer