His New Female Coworker Hit On Him And, When He Turned Her Down, She Filed A Complaint With HR Accusing Him Of Being Inappropriate, So Now His Wife Believes His Coworker’s Side Of The Story, And He Resents Her For It
In a work environment, while making friends and getting close to some of your coworkers may be easy, you must always maintain boundaries with them, especially while you’re on the clock. After all, you never know what may be misconstrued as inappropriate behavior.
One man recently turned down a younger woman’s advances at work and then got in trouble with his wife when that woman went to HR and made false claims about him.
He’s 46 and has been married to his 45-year-old wife, Heather, for 18 years. They have two teenage kids. He and Heather have worked in different departments at the same company for quite some time.
Recently, his company hired a new woman to work in his department. Her name is Sarah, and she’s 30. He was tasked with showing Sarah around and helping her get acclimated when she first started working.
“I told her she could drop by anytime if she had a question [and] she kept coming to my desk to chitchat,” he said.
“Even my coworker, Chris, who shares an office with me, noticed. I thought [it was because] she was new and lonely, so it was not a big deal. She asked me to go out for lunch with her. I laughed and joked, asking if Chris wanted to join us for lunch. Then Sarah looked at me and said no, she meant just us to talk, plus she wanted to buy me lunch because I had been so nice to her. Chris gave me a look. I told her she didn’t have to and that I was just doing my job. She insisted, and I agreed.”
Unfortunately, while at lunch with Sarah, things went downhill. She began rubbing his hand mid-conversation, and as soon as he noticed, he pulled his hand away and started talking about Heather.
Then, Sarah stopped trying to subtly flirt and put everything out in the open.
“She eventually said she found me attractive and wanted to be more than friends, suggesting we start with friends with benefits and see where it goes,” he recalled.
Drobot Dean – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
“She said she thought I wasn’t happy in my marriage because I was having lunch with her and laughing, while she never saw me having lunch with my wife. I told her I was married and wanted to keep our friendship professional. She didn’t like my reply and became quiet. I apologized, but she said it was all good. I paid the bill for both of us since it was so awkward, and we went back to work.”
A few days later, he received a letter from his company’s HR department asking him to meet with him. He found out Sarah made a report against him, accusing him of being handsy and inappropriate. Furthermore, Sarah said he was the one who invited her out to lunch and that he tried pressuring her into having a physical relationship.
Thankfully, he was able to talk everything through and smooth things over with HR, and it helped that Chris, his coworker, could vouch for him since he witnessed Sarah’s behavior.
However, when he tried to tell Heather about what happened, he didn’t get the reaction he wanted.
“She said she believed Sarah’s side because she stands by the victim [although] I told her Sarah was lying,” he explained.
“Also, I wasn’t inappropriate; I didn’t touch her, and I turned her down. My wife rolled her eyes and said Sarah is a gorgeous woman much younger than me, implying I took advantage of her. I was so annoyed. I have always been faithful to her. How could she possibly think of me like this?”
Although nothing happened with HR, and he and Sarah were moved to different departments, his wife still has difficulty believing him.
How can he make things right with his wife?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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