The Empty Mug

It was Pedro's first day at his new job. He arrived twenty minutes early. The office was on the fourth floor of a building near the river. Someone showed him his desk and gave him a laptop. Then they disappeared into a meeting.

▶ Play this part

Pedro sat down. The desk was clean. There was a single ceramic mug on the corner, empty. He thought it was a welcome gift, maybe. He didn't drink coffee, but he was thirsty.

▶ Play this part

He walked to the small kitchen and filled the mug with water. When he sat back down, a man with a beard appeared at the door of his cubicle. The man looked at the mug for a long second.

▶ Play this part

"That was my mug," he said. "I sat there before." He smiled. "It's fine. Welcome. I'm Diego."

▶ Play this part

Pedro turned red. He apologized and offered the mug back. Diego laughed. "Keep it. Consider it your welcome gift. But ask first about the coffee. The machine is more complicated than it looks."

▶ Play this part

Later, Diego showed him how the coffee machine worked. It took ten minutes.

▶ Play this part