Lies

Female coworker: I’m so tired of being alone but it’s impossible to meet any available men here. I should have taken John* up on his offer.

Male coworker: Who?

Female coworker: You know, John Smith*. The guy who was here about eight years ago and got booted, then came back a few years later, then got booted again a couple of years ago.

Male coworker: Oh he’s been booted more times than that! What are you talking about?

Female coworker: Didn’t I tell you? He came back last fall trying to get reinstated and stopped by to see me. He said he’d been thinking about me. He wanted to know if I was interested in getting together but I didn’t want to get into that so I lied and said I was seeing someone. Now I wonder why I did that.

Male coworker: Maybe because he’s a bipolar bisexual alcoholic?

Female coworker: There is that…But I bet he wouldn’t have bored me.

Small town, Washington

Overheard by: i’m lonely too – but not that lonely

Coed #1: He had told me not to do anything special for his birthday. He said to forget he was having a birthday at all. But then he came over, and I could tell that he was down.
Coed #2: Because it was his birthday, and he was thirty.
Coed #1: Yeah.
Coed #2: And he’s dating an eighteen-year-old.
Coed #1: Shut up. So then we had sex? And it wasn’t, like, the most amazing time, but I faked it. But, like, really over the top? And he was happy the rest of the day!

University & College Avenues
Tempe, Arizona

Overheard by: over 30

Employee #1: I was on time every day this week.
Employee #2: What? No way. You? Please, you’re always late.
Employee #1: No, seriously.
Employee #2: Dude, weren’t you late today? You’re always late on Fridays.
Employee #1: I got here at 8:35 but normally I show up at 9am, so I wasn’t late today.
Employee #2: 8:35 is late. Everyone else shows up at 8.
Employee #1: I have to take my daughter to school so that’s why I’m typically late…but um…her school’s out now for the summer so…yeah, I just forgot to set my alarm.

3320 West Cheryl Drive
Phoenix, Arizona

Coworker on phone: Honest? I am very honest. I am also very loyal to the company I work for. I give 110% to them every day.

Pause

Coworker on phone: Sure, I can interview with you tomorrow morning.

730 International Parkway
Richardson, Texas

Overheard by: El Gee

Junior Boss: I once crashed a car into a tree for the insurance money.

31401 Via Della Pace
Vicenza
Italy

Overheard by: Lorelie Long

HR #1: Why would anyone agree to take on more responsibility if we’re not going to pay them more?
HR #2: We’re giving them more projects to work on that will be more advanced than what they’re working on right now. I think people look for a challenge and they will be willing to take on more responsibility if it promises to be rewarding. Besides, most of them are in their twenties and need to start somewhere. So you see, we really are paying them more…in experience.
HR #1: Who is ever going to fall for that?

150 Garden Street
Santa Barbara, California

Overheard by: Snoop E.

Copywriter: I was accosted by a woman with a French accent at the mall at lunch today.
Art Director: Really? How odd.
Copywriter: Yeah, she buffed my nails and I purchased her product. Only now am I remembering the accent as being fake.
Art Director: I had a run in with the cops over lunch.

930 South Calhoun Street
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Cubicle rat on phone: I expect a white man to lie to me, not a black guy.

Manhattan, New York

Overheard by: Greg

Coworker to another: What do you want to me to say to them? A lot of my job is lying. And overcharging.

Chicago, Illinois

Employee: My headset for my phone doesn’t work. Can I have a new one?
Supervisor: Let me see that. Oh…you see what’s wrong? Sometimes the data can get caught in the phone line…so just straighten the cord. That makes the voice data come through more quickly and it won’t get all caught up.

11161 Mill Valley Road
Omaha, Nebraska