Dear Mary: Should I tell my boss I swiped his champagne?

Q. I have got myself in a pickle. My boss was given a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal by a client. It came in a very smart presentation box. I thought it would be funny to open it and replace the champagne with a bottle of fizzy water. My boss duly took it home and I waited several days, expecting him to come in one morning laughing and saying: ‘Where is it?’ Alas, silence. So in passing I nudged him with a grin on my face and said: ‘How was the champagne?’ He then told me he had fallen out with a childhood friend and they had not spoken since Christmas, so he had wrapped the box and sent it to the friend – and the friend thought it was a snide prank. I have not had the guts to come clean, and the champagne remains in my desk drawer. What should I do, Mary? – H.R., London SW7

A. You have no option but to come clean. Do this by making a filmed confession. Wait till your boss is in the right mood, then send it via WhatsApp and stand in the room while he watches it. The advantage of this method is that your boss can forward the clip directly to the offended party. Meanwhile, insist on delivering the Louis Roederer by hand so you can apologise in person for your childish prank. Don’t worry. The debacle will help repair their relationship, as it will give them a new shared reference to laugh about.