"Gentlemen"

I knocked on the boss’s office door and stuck my head in to announce, “These gentlemen would like a word with you.” He invited them to take a seat and thanked me as he closed the door. An hour later they emerged from the office and left the building. The boss was leaning against the door frame, his hands in his pockets.

With a tired smile and a shake of his head he said, “Care to step outside for a minute?” That was code for a conversation that needed to be away from “official” ears. Nothing nefarious, to be sure, but the place was a non-profit and we needed always to conduct ourselves in a manner that would avoid casting it in any negative light.

Out in the parking lot he leaned back against his car and lit a cigarette. Then came that tired smile again as he asked, “Gentlemen??” I chuckled and waited to see where he was going with this. “I saw the look on your face ,” he continued, “ it was obvious what you were really thinking.” And in truth, at that moment I’d been glad they were behind me.

The boss and I had each been raised by fathers given to, shall we say, salty language. We knew how to apply colorfully accurate descriptions, and as we relaxed outside we put that ability to good use regarding the "gentlemen” who had just left. Having thus vented, we went back inside to finish the day by conducting ourselves appropriately. We really didn’t have to do that very often, but some folks just seem to make it necessary.