Dave was a great worker—social, friendly, and always on top of his tasks.
But there was one problem: he never attended any company events.
Eventually, his boss had enough and called him into the office.
“Dave,” his boss said, arms crossed, “Why can’t you be a team player and show up to these events? It’s like you’re avoiding everyone.”
Dave sighed. “Boss, it’s not that I don’t want to come, I just already know so many people. I barely have time for all the famous folks I know.”
His boss scoffed. “Oh, come on, Dave. You? Knowing famous people? That’s ridiculous. Name one.”
Dave shrugged. “Go ahead, name anyone. I bet I know them.”
The boss smirked, ready to call his bluff. “Fine. Tom Cruise. You know Tom Cruise?”
“Oh, Tommy? Yeah, we go way back. I can prove it.”
Skeptical but intrigued, the boss agreed to fly out to Hollywood.
When they arrived at Tom Cruise’s house and knocked on the door, Tom himself answered and beamed.
“Dave! My guy! What’s up? Come in for a beer!”
The boss’s jaw dropped. But he wasn’t fully convinced. “Okay, that was a lucky guess. Name someone else.”
Dave grinned. “Go ahead.”
“President Xavier.”
“Old buddy of mine. Let’s head to D.C.”
When they arrived at the White House, the President spotted Dave in the tour group, broke away from security, and gave him a big hug.
“Dave! What a surprise! I was just about to head into a meeting, but let’s catch up over a drink first.”
At this point, the boss was shaking. But he wasn’t done yet. “Alright, Dave. If you’re really as connected as you say, tell me this—do you know Pope Larry?”
Dave chuckled. “Oh, for sure. Let’s go to the Vatican.”
So off they flew to Rome. The crowd at St. Peter’s Square was massive, and Dave knew they’d never spot him from below.
“Boss, I’ll be right back. I know the guards—I’ll go up and wave from the balcony with the Pope.”
True to his word, half an hour later, Dave stepped onto the balcony with the Pope, waving at the crowd. But when he returned, he found his boss collapsed on the ground, paramedics tending to him.
“Boss! What happened?” Dave asked, alarmed.
His boss, still gasping for air, looked up and wheezed, “It was too much… when you came out on the balcony, the guy next to me said, ‘Who the heck is that up there with Dave?’”
