Barry, a grizzled veteran superintendent, greeted the newcomer, Neil, at the empty lot and handed him a cup of coffee. Neil was excited to get started as a foreman on the construction project and learn everything he could from Barry.
“So where do you think we should start?” Barry asked.
“Excavate a hole to lay the foundation,” Neil said confidently. “I studied the plans, and that seems to make the most sense.”
Barry took a long sip from the coffee, and Neil tried to follow suit. The strong coffee burned a hole through his stomach.
“Nice guess,” Barry said, “but there’s something more important.”
Neil thought for a second, wanting to prove himself. “Inspect all of the equipment?”
“No.”
Less confidently, Neil tried again, “Triple-check the permits?”
Barry laughed and slapped Neil on the back. “It’s not your fault. There is a trick of the trade involving our boss, and it is very important.”
“OK,” Neil said. Wilkins was in charge of the whole project. “Does that mean we need to wait for Wilkins?”
“No, we have to build him an office,” Barry said. “That’s step one!”
“Why does he need an office?” Neil asked.
“He needs a place to hide,” Barry said, laughing.
“Why would he need a place to hide?”
“No, you misunderstand,” Barry said. “We want him to hide. If he does not hide, he’ll be walking around interfering with the work and asking lots of questions. The boss never really knows what’s going on and can cause problems if he doesn’t have an office.”
Neil thought about this for a moment. “But didn’t he hire us?”
“Yeah, he did hire us! We need him to pay our paychecks and fire people. We need him to talk to the client. However, he gets nervous if he doesn’t have somewhere to hide. All bosses do.”
Neil thought about the bosses he knew. They seemed to like having a place to hide. “So where do we build the office?”
“That’s the best part about this project,” Barry said. “The staging area is half a mile away. That’s where we start!”