You look across the office. Not that guy again. You have worked so hard here for so long and your biggest obstacle has been me for what seems like the entire time. Every time you go for a promotion, I get it first. You try not to look to angry in this situation, you still have to look presentable for the upcoming interview, but you just wish I was not here as well.
You are asked to come into the office for your interview. The boss already knows you a bit, so the interview is not going to take too long. The questions are quite regular, quite predictable. All except the last statement. To get the job you have to convince your boss to put someone else in that position instead. Certainly, a tough sales pitch and you only have an hour to think about how you might go about it. You think hard as you walk out of the office.
I smile at you as you leave, I am up next. You are a little annoyed at how close I have to come to with you again and how you are going to go about it. Who might you suggest otherwise for this position and how would you go about it? You think about it as hard as you can. You are focused on your thoughts, only to be disrupted by my taking of your attention.
"I have an idea," I say quite promptly "I know that you don't like me for whatever reason. I also know that I am so much more likely to get this job too. Perhaps we can work something out together. I will try and sell you to the boss as part of my interview if you let me 'play' with you beforehand." It takes you a second to figure out what I mean by 'play'. That smile on my face makes it obvious what I mean by that.
You think about it. You know I am good at sales; otherwise, I would not have been getting all these jobs instead of you over the years. If you get ahead of me then maybe I will not be in your way anymore. Maybe then you can just get the promotion before I do in the future. That would make life a lot more tolerable for you if you are able to get ahead of me.
You think about it just one moment longer. Your head gives a little nod. I smile and hold out my hand for you, helping you stand up as I grab it. We walk out of the main office together, quickly yet trying not to bring too much attention to ourselves. I look around quickly once more to make sure nobody is watching us. I lead you into the men's toilets and lock the door behind us. First time you have been in here. Hopefully the last time too.