I have a colleague I get on really well with - apart from one thing. When the boss isn't around, she tries to take charge. She's not senior to the rest of us, but takes it on herself to try to organise us, butts in whenever someone else asks any of us a question and 'reports' back to our manager on how we're performing. We're all good at our jobs and of equal status, but it's got to the stage where people from outside our department are starting to think she's in charge, because she's so bossy.

Today, for instance, a colleague from another department needed to talk to me and Ms Bossyknickers interrupted and tried to take over the conversation, to the point where I practically had to shout to be heard over her.

Having already simmered about it for the past few weeks, I had a discreet word with our manager and told him I was going to blow a gasket if it carried on. It turns out I'm not the first - or even the second - person to complain about it. It's going to be brought to the attention of the next manager up, and he'll have to decide what to do about it. Which, knowing him, will probably be nothing.

I feel disloyal for even raising it, but also glad I'm not the only one pissed off about it. She has relied on the fact that none of us want to wreck our working atmosphere with a stand-up row, up till now. A quiet word with her wouldn't have had any effect, because she was so brazenly trying to rule the roost she wouldn't have cared.

Aaaaargghh!