礼节美语 082 When Your Best Friend Becomes Your Boss

陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作，美国同事Amy到办公室去找他。

(Office ambience)

A：Good morning, Chen Hao..

CH：Hi Amy.

A: I heard your best friend Brad got a promotion. Is that true?

CH: 没错。Brad如今是我的老板了。

A: That can make things awkward.

CH: 是啊，我们俩儿从好朋友一下子变成了上下级的关系，还真不好办。

A: I think you will be able to work it out since you already recognize that things will be different.

CH: 人事处昨天才通知的他，所以我们还没有机会谈起这件事。

A: That's one of the first things you need to do and soon.

CH: 急什么呀，他现在肯定特别忙。

A: Everyone knows that you and Brad are close friends. They are going to be watching to see what happens.

CH: 别说别人了，连我都不知道要怎么处理这种关系。

A: It could go two entirely different ways.

CH: 两种完全不一样的可能？哪两种？

A: Because you are his best friend, he might be tempted to give you special treatment by offering you the best assignments and according you unusual favors.

CH: 如果因为私人关系好，他就在工作上照顾我，那其他人肯定会有意见。

A: Yes. It would affect the way everyone views Brad. He could lose the respect of everyone who works with him.

C: 另外一种可能性呢？

A: I don't have time to talk about that right now, Chen Hao. Shall we meet for tea this afternoon and continue our conversation?

C: 好，那我们下午见。

******

Mary和Chen Hao两人下午一起喝茶。

CH: Amy, 我们上午说，如果Brad特别关照我，那对我们两人都不利。你说的另外一种可能是什么？

A: He might go out of his way to avoid any hint of giving you special treatment and treat you more rigidly than the others.

C: 你的意思是，他为了避嫌，可能对我的要求会格外严格？

A: He might pass you over for assignments that you might otherwise have gotten.

CH: 这听起来可不太妙。那下班以后呢？我们以前总是一起去打乒乓球，或是一起去喝酒。

A: I know that and I have heard you share some funny stories about each other. You'll have to be more careful about the tales you tell about your adventures.

CH: 不能再跟同事讲Brad的故事？为什么？

A: Others might misunderstand and think that you are trying to impress them with the fact that you and the boss are best friends.

CH: 要把工作和私人关系分开，还真不简单。你觉得我有必要换到别的部门去吗？

A: That's a possibility if things don't work out. If you can't accept Brad as your boss or he can't make the leap to being your supervisor, a change might be the only solution.

CH: 我想我们两人一定能做到公私分开。