Louise： Hey. You busy？
Robert： Can’t you see I have a stack of papers about a mile-high right here？ It’s gonna take me forever to get to all these.
Louise： Yes， I can see that you have a lot of papers on your desk， but I asked around and found out that you have no pending assignments from anyone in the office. ①So， with that said， I was wondering who exactly put all these papers on your desk and why.
Robert： I’m sorry. I wasn’t really listening. ②I’m in the middle of rewriting this very complicated report， if you hadn’t noticed.
Louise： Well， I noticed you were writing something but didn’t know what. So why do you have to rewrite the report？ What was wrong with the 1）original？
Robert： I already told you， I’m very busy right now. I don’t have time for idle 2）chit-chat.
Louise： But are you really too busy to even hear me out for a minute？ If I didn’t know better I’d say you were trying to avoid talking to me， by doing work that is either already done or work that doesn’t need to get done right away.
Robert： How dare you！ I am deeply 3）insulted by your 4）wicked 5）insinuations. I would never do anything of the sort. I am a 6）dedicated worker. ③I mean， I work my butt off every day.
Louise： So you say…
Robert： I don’t have to take this from you. You’ve only been working here a few months.
Louise： That’s true. Which is why the VP of operations asked me to be on the lookout for suspicious behavior around the office. He said， he wanted a pair of fresh eyes on the issue， and that’s why he brought me in.
Robert： Oh…
Louise： ④So， Mr. pretending-to-work， do you want to stay the course with your current 7）routine of staying seemingly-busy so no one will bother you， or are you ready to start pulling your own weight around here？
Robert： I still refuse to admit to any wrong-doing on my part. You have no 8）proof that I just pretend to work. I happen to work harder than anyone in this office.
Louise： Surely， if that were true， this company would be 9）on the brink of 10）bankruptcy.
Robert： That’s 11）preposterous. I don’t have to take this.
Louise： You are absolutely correct. You should walk out those doors and make everyone’s lives easier， because then we can bring in a 12）replacement， a 13）temp even， who at least appreciates what a great opportunity it is to work for such a 14）prestigious company.
Robert： Wait！ Are you firing me？
Louise： Oh！ Now you’re listening， eh？ Well， let me be crystal clear. I was given the power to fire you but I wasn’t going to， that is， until your constant 15）denials gave me no choice. You have till day’s end to clear out your desk. Nice knowing you. 露易丝：嘿，你忙吗？
罗伯特：你没看到我有一摞堆得老高的文件在这里吗？完成它们我得用很长时间。
露易丝：嗯，我能看到你桌上有很多文件，但是我问了周围的人，发现办公室没有任何人给你任务。不过呢，我很好奇到底是谁又是为什么把这些文件放在你的桌上。
罗伯特：对不起，我刚没有在听你说话。如果你没注意到的话，我正在重写这份非常复杂的报告，
露易丝：好吧，我注意到你在写东西，但是不知道你在写什么。那么你为什么得重写那份报告？原来那份有什么问题吗？
罗伯特：我已经告诉过你，我现在很忙，没有时间闲扯。
露易丝：但是你真的忙到没有一分钟的时间听我说话吗？如果我没有了解清楚的话，我会认为你在做一些已经完成或者根本不需要马上完成的工作，为的就是避免和我说话。
罗伯特：你怎么敢这么说！我被你恶毒的讽刺深深地中伤了！我绝对不会做这些事。我是勤奋的员工。我的意思是，我每天都在努力工作。
露易丝：那么你说……
罗伯特：我没必要听你说这些。你只在这里工作了几个月。
露易丝：没错。这就是为什么运营副总裁让我监督办公室里可疑的行为。他说他想要一双干净的眼睛来监视这件事，这就是他招我进来的原因。
罗伯特：噢……
露易丝：所以，“假装工作先生”，你是想继续保持现在看起来很忙的行为，让每个人都不打扰你，还是准备开始做好自己份内的事？
罗伯特：我仍然否认我有任何的过错。你没有证据证明我只是在假装工作。我碰巧就是比办公室的任何人都努力工作。露易丝：当然啦，如果这是真的，那么这家公司即将要濒临破产。
罗伯特：这太荒谬了。我没必要听这些。
露易丝：你说得很对。你应该离开这里，让每个人都更轻松，因为这样我们就能找一个替代你的人，甚至一个临时雇员――至少一个会感恩有那么好的一个机会来为一家有名的公司工作的人。
罗伯特：等等！你这是要炒我鱿鱼吗？
露易丝：噢！现在你在听我说话了，呃？好吧，让我说清楚。我有权利解雇你，但是之前我没打算这样做，直到你（对自己的行为）一再地否认，让我没有了选择。你还有一整天的时间收拾你的桌子。很高兴认识你。
Smart Sentences
① So， with that said， I was wondering who exactly put all these papers on your desk and why. 不过呢，我很好奇到底是谁又是为什么把这些文件放在你的桌上。
with that said： used as an introduction to make a concession（用以作让步的引入语）。例如：
You’ll soon see that my suggestion was correct. With that said， I will admit that your point has some merit.
你很快就会发现我的建议是对的，不过呢，我得承认你的看法也有点道理。
② I’m in the middle of rewriting this very complicated report， if you hadn’t noticed. 如果你没注意到的话，我正在重写这份非常复杂的报告。
in the middle of doing sth.： busy doing sth.（忙于某事）。例如：
When the power went out， I was in the middle of chopping tomatoes and I almost chopped my fingers off.
停电时，我正在切西红柿，差点把手指头切下来。
③ I mean， I work my butt off every day. 我的意思是，我每天都在努力工作。
work one’s butt off： work very hard（工作非常努力）。例如：
I worked my butt off last week to finish the report for Tuesday’s meeting.
上周我为了完成周二会议的报告，累坏了。
④ So， Mr. pretending-to-work， do you want to stay the course with your current routine of staying seemingly-busy so no one will bother you， or are you ready to start pulling your own weight around here？ 所以，“假装工作先生”，你是想继续保持现在看起来很忙的行为，让每个人都不打扰你，还是准备开始做好自己份内的事？
pull one’s own weight： work as hard as other people in the group（做好自己的份内事）。例如：
The rest of the team complained that Sarah wasn’t pulling her own weight.
组里其他人抱怨，莎拉没有做好她的份内事。
