The urge to explain is actually a part of the primitive pattern you want to avoid. It will always make an angry person angrier. Only after the anger cools and the problem solving begins is there any chance that your boss will look at the situation differently. There is another reason you shouldn’t explain: Once you start telling the story, the temptation is strong to alter events just slightly to make them fit better. The tiniest distortion will be seen as a much more serious crime than whatever else you may have done.