I had an absolutely hideous phone call with a director I'm about to work with last Monday (completely bawled out for several things which are not my fault or even my job, with a deaf ear turned to all my attempts at explanation); it was so bad that when the production manager, my boss, phoned me half an hour later to check if everything was OK, I was still so upset that I could barely speak to him through the tears. This particular director is the former artistic director of the company, and while he is an incredible director, he can be an incredibly unpleasant man when he wants to be. The problem is that if I stand up to him, he'll make my life an absolute misery and so it's easier to take the flak and then start with a clean slate (he at least doesn't hold grudges provided you don't argue with him). Normally I don't get upset by him, just steaming mad, which is much easier to deal with, but this time he got to me. When my boss heard how upset I was, he rang the director straight away and informed him that there is no way he is going to stand for production staff being spoken to the way he had spoken to me. So, when I had a meeting with the director yesterday (with the production manager there for moral support) he was all sweetness and light and consequently we got a lot achieved. No apology, but then I hadn't expected one - we didn't even mention Monday!
So, while I know it's his job, I could have kissed my boss for backing me to the hilt and, although I normally hate anyone doing this, fighting a battle for me!