Feeling like Bartleby the Scrivener by that point, I told him that I would prefer not to.

FORBES: Surprise Visitors Are Unwelcome At The NSA's Unfinished Utah Spy Center (Especially When They Take Photos)

Initially, Bartleby proves to be an ideal employee, steadily producing high-quality work.

WSJ: Five Best: Tales of Idleness

Bartleby is eventually imprisoned at the Tombs, and although his former employer bribes his jailers to encourage the prisoner to eat, he dies of self-imposed starvation.

WSJ: Five Best: Tales of Idleness

These incidents remind me of an 1853 Herman Melville story about a clerk named Bartleby, who one day simply refuses to do what is asked of him.

FORBES: Crime and Non-Punishment: When Cops And DA's Are The Problem Rather Than The Solution

Upon an increase in his business, the lawyer hires a third scrivener, the sedate, quiet Bartleby, in the hope that his placidity will counterbalance the disturbances caused by his two other workers.

WSJ: Five Best: Tales of Idleness

The lawyer relocates his business, hoping to rid himself of Bartleby, but soon the tenants in his former office come seeking his help: The scrivener refuses to leave, insisting on sleeping in the building's front doorway.

WSJ: Five Best: Tales of Idleness