A great and classic story somehow I managed to miss.... The Graphing Calculator Story is the story of a guy working inside Apple and building an app while not actually employed.

We looked at each other, took a deep breath, and launched the application. The monitor burst into flames. We calmly carried it outside to avoid setting off smoke detectors, plugged in another monitor, and tried again.
[...]
[My friend's] contract in another division at Apple had just ended, so he told his manager that he would start reporting to me. She didn't ask who I was and let him keep his office and badge. In turn, I told people that I was reporting to him. Since that left no managers in the loop, we had no meetings and could be extremely productive.

Great read, classic net lore stuff.