Will Work for Food

by B. Benson

It’s 7 p.m. at the office and I’m furiously trying to finish up the last of the emails I need to send out to some clients and put together a report when my boss comes to my desk.

“Bob,” he says. “If you stay late tonight to work, you can order dinner and expense it.”

“Oh, thank you!” I say.

“You work hard and you deserve it,” he says.

I go onto Seamless and order a burger from the restaurant down the street. The bill comes to $17 with tip. I’m at the office until 10 p.m.

Sure, I’m not getting any overtime, but hey, a free meal!

My team and I have been skipping our lunch hours all week to finish up a project for one of our biggest clients. None of us want to stay late at the office because half of us have families, and the other half of us are still feeling burnout from the last time we stayed late at the office to complete a project.

When we’re done, our boss makes an announcement.

“Great work this week everyone!” he says. “Everyone gets a free drink on me tonight after work!”

The eight of us meet at the bar across the street from our office and each order a beer. We drink it and then go home.

It’s Thanksgiving week, and a few of us are chatting in kitchen area about our plans. I don’t have enough money to fly to visit my parents for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I’ll be laying low. Our boss comes in.

“Who’s coming in to work with me on Friday?” he asks.

“A lot of us are taking Friday off for Thanksgiving,” one of my coworkers says. Our boss smiles, nods.

“Bob, you’ll be around?” he asks.

“Yeah, I’ll be around,” I say.

“Great!” he says. “If you come in, I’ll order lunch,” he says. “We’ll get a pizza with whatever toppings you want!”

“Sounds good,” I say.

When I come in on Friday, it’s just my boss, his assistant, and me. We order a pizza. I ask for broccoli and tomatoes, because that’s what I like.

At 3 p.m., I get up and notice that I’m the only one around. I send an email to my boss’s assistant.

Did you guys leave?

Yes, is the response.

I pack up my things and go.

B. Benson is 30. He previously wrote about Summer Fridays. Photo: gewoon bob

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