seven o'clock
The temptation for once to turn the job down was very great , especially as it had no direct connection with business , but there was no denying that social obligations towards this business contact were in themselves important enough , only not for K. , who knew quite well that he needed some successes at work if he was to maintain his position there and that , if he failed in that , it would not help him even if this Italian somehow found him quite charming ; he did not want to be removed from his workplace for even one day , as the fear of not being allowed back in was too great , he knew full well that the fear was exaggerated but it still made him anxious . However , in this case it was almost impossible to think of an acceptable excuse , his knowledge of Italian was not great but still good enough ; the deciding factor was that K. had earlier known a little about art history and this had become widely known around the bank in extremely exaggerated form , and that K. had been a member of the Society for the Preservation of City Monuments , albeit only for business reasons . It was said that this Italian was an art lover , so the choice of K. to accompany him was a matter of course . It was a very rainy and stormy morning when K. , in a foul temper at the thought of the day ahead of him , arrived early at seven o'clock in the office so that he could at least do some work before his visitor would prevent him . He had spent half the night studying a book of Italian grammar so that he would be somewhat prepared and was very tired ; his desk was less attractive to him than the window where he had spent far too much time sitting of late , but he resisted the temptation and sat down to his work . Unfortunately , just then the servitor came in and reported that the director had sent him to see whether the chief clerk was already in his office ; if he was , then would he please be so kind as to come to his reception room as the gentleman from Italy was already there . `` I 'll come straight away , '' said K .