I had just torn an engineer a new asshole because she claimed that I didn’t know my job. I needed to calm down, and I knew that. I was walking the halls with an unopened can of diet Dr. Pepper. And, as always, I was tapping the top of it.

Boss was on the opposite end of the hall. The following is heard only in Doppler effect, as neither of us stopped walking.

Boss: Sarah, that is SOOO annoying.

Me: Boss, I’m not in the mood.

Boss: Why do you tap it like that?

Me: Because it settles the carbonation. And then it won’t explode.

Boss: You are so damn proactive, Sarah. You’re gonna own this company one day with that attitude.

And I smiled. He’s an ass, but it’s the little things.