Griniaris.com

It was the first Monday back after a week-long vacation, and the office was buzzing. Why? Because Bik, the big guy in charge (literally and figuratively), was returning from his four week-long getaway to the Caribbean. Bik wasn’t just any office employee. He was a six-foot, broad-shouldered, high-energy whirlwind of dad jokes, motivational speeches, and unsolicited snack sharing. When Bik was around, there was an air of command — and a perpetual trail of potato chip bags behind him.

But this Monday, one person was not nearly as excited as everyone else.

Meet Nutalla. Nutalla was Tony’s replacement while he was away. Now,Nutalla wasn’t exactly new to the company. He’d been a loyal employee for fifteen years, but he was… different. Smaller, sneaky, and slightly more focused on numbers than snacks. While Bik was the life of the office, Nutalla was the gossip wizard who could analyze data until the cows came home, but couldn’t tell you the first thing about how to properly perform a “dad joke.” Still, NButalla was confident. He had stepped into the role of acting office big guy with a little too much gusto, thinking he could fill Tony’s massive shoes.

As the clock ticked to 9:00 PM, Bik’s big, booming laugh echoed down the hall before he even entered the office. The door swung open with a force that made the light fixtures shake, and Bik walked in like he owned the place, his travel mug in one hand and a bag of chips in the other. The office erupted in cheers.

“BIK!” shouted Caveman practically jumping out of his chair to give him a high-five.

Bik grinned. “Hey, hey! Who’s been keeping my chair warm?”

At that exact moment,Nutalla, who had been sitting at his desk reviewing some spreadsheets, looked up, glaring at Bik with a mix of resentment and a tiny bit of panic. He was sitting in Bik’s chair, a chair that could fit at least two people and a small dog. The chair was practically a throne, and Nutalla had been doing his best to live up to Bik’s larger-than-life presence. But now, here was Bik back from his tropical vacation, with his sun-kissed skin and loud laugh, and the chair was… well, it was his.

Nutalla, still stewing in the corner, took a deep breath and muttered under his breath, “Well, this is just perfect.”

Bik walked past Nutalla, giving him a big pat on the shoulder. “How’s my replacement been holding up?” he asked loudly, clearly unaware of the tension building up.

Nutalla forced a smile that was half-grimace, half-panic. “Oh, great. You know, just keeping the ship afloat while you were off… sipping cocktails on the beach.”

“Ah, you know, I try to keep the ‘sippin’ part to a minimum,” Bik said with a chuckle, then turned to address the entire office. “But I gotta tell you, folks, I missed my snack corner. How’s my stash of chips? Anyone dip into the secret Doritos drawer?”

The office laughed, but Nutalla was starting to fume.

“The Doritos drawer?” Nutalla asked through gritted teeth. “I—uh—actually, I reorganized the snack corner while you were gone. I… I thought the chips could use a more streamlined approach. I… moved them.”

Biky froze, mid-chip crunch, his eyes wide. “Moved them? What do you mean you moved them? That’s like moving the sun. It doesn’t just get moved.”

Nutalla straightened up in his chair, now trying to stand tall and take charge in a way that clearly wasn’t going as planned. “Look, Bik, I’m just saying… we can’t have a chaotic snack corner. I took the liberty of creating a more efficient system. You know, for—uh—maximum productivity.”

Bik stared at him for a beat, his face turning slowly from confusion to disbelief to a full-on, dramatic gasp. “You… you turned my snack corner into a spreadsheet? You’re telling me my chips are now organized like a quarterly budget report?”

“I—uh—well, no, but…” Nutalla stammered.

Bik set his chips down with exaggerated slowness, towering over Nutalla’s desk. “Nutalla, you’ve made a grave mistake. A mistake that no one in this office will ever forgive.”

He paused, and the office fell dead silent, waiting for the punchline. Nutallasat there, sweating bullets, unsure if this was some sort of joke.

Bik leaned in closer, his voice low. “You don’t mess with the snack corner. And you sure as heck don’t touch the Doritos.”

Then, after what felt like an eternity, Bik stood back up straight, broke into his signature grin, and shouted, “JUST KIDDING, NUTALLA! I’m glad you didn’t eat all my snacks while I was gone! You’re the man for the job!”

The office erupted into laughter, and Nutalla’s shoulders slumped in a mix of relief and embarrassment.

Bik clapped him on the back, nearly knocking him out of his chair. “Don’t worry, buddy. You were a solid replacement. Just… next time, leave the snacks unorganized, alright?”

And with that, the office was once again Bik’s kingdom.