The Room Read Free Page B

leaning on it. Took three deep breaths. Håkan looked at me and smiled a quick, false smile that was probably meant to look polite. I spun the chair gently, back and forth, as I looked at his papers.
    —
    I was very conscious of the fact that this was properly a matter for management. Efficiency savings of this sort and solutions to potential collegial conflicts naturally ought to be dealt with by an alert and engaged boss.
    An attentive and empathetic leader would naturally have noticed the fissure that was on its way to breaking out within the ranks, and would have done something about it. Rather than waste time picking on the more alert members of staff about shoe covers.
    But perhaps I recognized that Karl really did not possess those qualities? Perhaps I recognized even then that he wasn’t management material, and that one day I instead would be taking control of this department? Perhaps this was the first step? Perhaps this was exactly the right opportunity for a rebuke?
    “Håkan,” I said in a friendly but firm voice.
    “Yes,” he said, looking up at me as if I were interrupting him in the middle of something important.
    “Have you got a minute?”
    He nodded.
    —
    I stretched, sucked in a deep breath through my nose, and let it out of my mouth in small puffs as I contemplated what tactics to employ.
    “Look around you,” I said eventually.
    “Yes?” he said.
    “What do you see?”
    He said nothing for a short while as he looked around.
    “No, I don’t know…”
    He went back to looking at his screen.
    “I’d prefer us to deal with this at once,” I said.
    “With what? What do you mean?” he said, suddenly irritated.
    I fixed my gaze on him and said in a calm and friendly voice:
    “Before this gets out of hand, I’d like you to listen to me. I’m sure you’ll see what I mean.”
    He looked at me with the tired, ignorant, slightly stupid expression that is so common in people who aren’t used to seeing the broader picture in small things.
    “Let’s take a walk,” I said, leading him round the lift and into the little room. I thought it best to deal with this in private, so that we could talk without being interrupted.
    —
    Inside the room the air was fresh and cool. I closed the door behind us and stood in front of the mirror with my arm on the filing cabinet. The light in the room definitely made Håkan look worse, while I glanced in the mirror and confirmed that I had retained the same crispness as last time. The man in the mirror was able to smile. He looked relaxed and spoke with a calm, deep voice.
    “There’s something I’ve noticed,” I said.
    “Yes?” Håkan said, looking round as if he’d never seen this room before. Perhaps he hadn’t. He didn’t seem to be particularly observant. Poor fellow. In just a couple of weeks my local knowledge had already surpassed his.
    I decided to get straight to the point and if possible get back in time for the next fifty-five-minute period.
    “You don’t put your old files back when you take out new ones,” I said.
    “What did you say?” Håkan said.
    “I said I’ve noticed that you’re letting your papers spread out across your desk. Soon they’ll be on my side, and then you’ll be encroaching on my space. I am, as I’m sure you can appreciate, keen to have full access to the whole of my desk. I am already inconvenienced by the disproportionately large computer that takes up about a third of the space; it really ought to be possible to procure a system with more modern, smaller terminals, but never mind that, that isn’t your responsibility. I would just like you to adopt new habits that don’t risk disturbing my work. Do you understand?”
    Håkan looked at me in surprise, as if he had been expecting something completely different. Perhaps he thought I had something private to say? Maybe he thought we had come in here to discuss personal matters? I felt a momentary satisfaction at having so quickly and concisely