YOU are pressed by your boss to come out with tangible results, or you'll be put in some place. That was a low threat, but still, you're preparing for the worst situation, even if your boss is showing his best dog smile. You wish your boss had made it point blank rather than put you in a worrisome situation.

You were surprised by his action. It was not his old, lazy ways of managing things. You were surprised when he emerged from relative obscurity and into the limelight of your personal attention. Usually, he gives his year-end congratulatory speech to everyone in the department, telling everyone to 'keep it up.'