today i did it

My boss has been taking the piss at work for sometime now and it’s starting to impact on me. I don’t normally mind because he has been good to me and while we have had our arguments there is a level of understanding there.

I pretend along with him that he is not gay even though I have left messages with his supposed wife whom he calls Lou as in Louise but who is in fact Lew as in Lewis. I have rung Lew and spoken to HIM and have never said anything. I did one day say to him while I was out of it on pain medication, “I think Lew is a man” and he said “no Lew is a girl”, I have gone along with him. It’s so bloody obvious he’s gay it’s not funny but I don’t say anything because he is working in a culture of men. He use to be in the Navy for 12 years so I think his personal life has always been very underground and that’s where he keeps it. I don’t care really that he is gay just annoys me that he thinks I’m stupid.

He’s been taking days off lately because he’s moved and there is always a “chippie” or “tiler” or “electrician” there doing work. Look I don’t doubt that at all. I don’t care if he takes time off work either in fact I like work better when he’s not here. What annoys me is that he drinks and dials at work. He’s been doing that for a long time and I’ve gotten to the point where I told him once that he wasn’t allowed to call me and have these long conversations with me etc. I never once said “I know you’ve been drinking” even though I can hear the ice clinking against the side of his glass. I do notice the extra giggles and the more personal tone the conversations take and the slurred speech. I’m not stupid.

Yesterday he rang work all day getting put through to here and there but always ringing the reception staff. I had an email from Lizzie at reception to saying “Mike is drunk as! He was a giggling mess on the phone and then he forgot why he called!” Really what can I do, he knows not to call me but he’s risking his job and it’s just a joke really. I’m here all day everyday I have too. We have a deadline which is dependant on him signing off on some stuff. He’s gets paid much more than I do but he can get away with his behaviour. As soon as his boss is not in he takes time off and “works from home” and rings in drunk.

Last night I woke at 3am thinking about his behaviour and all the politics at work and I was tired I didn’t want to go but I have this deadline so I pushed myself. I’m driving in and I get a text from the boss saying; “I’m working from home today the “chippie” is still not finished”. I stewed on that message for the drive in. I tired calling my co-worker she knows what’s going on. But no answer, I tried calling my girlfriend for advice, but no answer. My guard was down, I was tired, I didn’t care, I had no filter system, I just wanted to yell at him. So I did it. I sent a text back.

“Ok that’s fine but please don’t drink and dial today. I say that to you as a friend”

He rang in about 1 hour later and spoke to me on a very professional level and asked what else he had to do for the project, he told me he would be coming in on the weekend and doing this and that. There was no discussion about his drinking I guess it’s going to go underground like his sexuality.

I never really thought I would get the confession yes your right I’ve been doing that….because he’s never fesses up about being gay even though he knows I know. It’s all unspoken. I guess I can assume he got the message and took it on board.?