Betty was stuck in yet another boardroom meeting a few days ago. Right about midway through, a fellow colleague leaned over towards her and whispered “I heard you are distributing condoms to our trainee fashion designers!”
Betty was stunned!
Seeking to clarify the issue, she whispered through her orthodontically braced teeth (actually it’s rather hard to whisper without flashing all those metallic studs and drawing attention ~ but some how she managed), “what do you mean?”
“Well”, whispered her colleague, “I was at our fashion school in Porto Diego and the trainees there showed me a big bag of condoms. In fact, they gave me a few! They alleged that you gave it to them!”, finishing the last few words of the sentences with a certain smug satisfaction.
Naturally Betty was concerned. After all, who wants to be known as the company’s unofficial condom distributor! She quickly shot off a text to her fellow secretary at Porto Diego. Betty now remembered that she did pass a bag of condoms to the latter a while ago. Betty and her friend are involved in some NGO work, mainly targeting poor Mexican women who, out of desperation and poverty, pawn themselves for sexual favours in order to carve a small living. Betty’s contribution was by no means significant, but by distributing free condoms to these women, Betty felt, at least their risk of being infected with STD may be lessened.
Her counterpart from Porto Diego quickly texted back and said the bag of condoms is still with her, kept in her drawers (albeit unlocked for she saw no reasons to lock it) and more importantly, the bag was still unopened.
Betty breathed a sigh of relief.
Right after the meeting, she quickly went to the person who first asked her about the condoms to clarify the matter. The latter back tracked on questioning, now changing her story to say that she didn’t actually receive any condoms, that it wasn’t any of the trainees who told her, that it was actually another staff who had opened the drawer containing the condoms without permission and had showed it to her!
Betty was pissed because her reputation was put on the chopping board simply by some fictional stories from an over active idle mind!!! It was not funny!
Betty wondered what the colleague’s motive was. Hmmm….
Betty learned a few lessons that day:
1. That no one can be trusted in the company.
2. People will find the slightest issue, twist it and if possible, smear her name with it.
3. Always check the validity of any thing she hears.
4. Condoms are best used to make balloons at company parties. 
Sat, 011207 @ 0700
