Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: If you ever left work and immediately had to text somebody like, yo, you're not going to believe this. This podcast is for you. Welcome to Work Drama, the podcast where we unpack workplace stories people whisper about trauma, bond over and still think about years later. I'm Lizbeth. I come from the medical world, so I'm here to add context, logic, and the questions that should have been asked before someone hit reply all.
[00:00:22] Speaker B: And I'm Sharon, today's resident instigator, group chat voice, and depending on the situation, HR's worst nightmare.
[00:00:31] Speaker A: I left my in person job for remote work and I realized you don't miss the commutes, but you definitely miss the drama.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: Meanwhile, I'm still in the trenches.
[00:00:39] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:00:39] Speaker B: So we fixed that.
[00:00:40] Speaker A: We'll be breaking down anonymized stories from offices, hospitals, and everywhere in between. Reacting in real time, calling out the nonsense, and figuring out if something is actually toxic or just wildly mishandled. You got a story for us?
[00:00:52] Speaker B: Send that shit in.
[00:00:54] Speaker A: Names change, job protected a, opinions very much included. And for legality purposes. This is not legal advice.
[00:01:02] Speaker B: Girl, let's get into it.
[00:01:05] Speaker A: It's late. The office is closed. Everyone went home hours ago. The lights are off. The office should be tidy, but it's not. And at the end of the hallway, there's a thin line of glowing light under the bathroom door. What happens in the dark always comes through.
Hey, Sharon. Hey. Hey, you're back. You've been away for a while.
[00:01:27] Speaker B: Yeah, it's been a little bit.
[00:01:29] Speaker A: A little bit. It's been a minute. You had me scrambling over here. I did an episode with my niece. Aww, that's so sweet. It was cute, but definitely was like, what am I gonna do for this freaking episode? And then I found that and I was like, oh, shit, I got something here. It was kind of cute. She was a little hard to understand, but it was adorable. And she was so proud of herself for being on the podcast.
[00:01:48] Speaker B: As she should be.
[00:01:48] Speaker A: Yeah. She's like, I'm gonna come back.
It was adorable. So she's like, she's gonna come back with third gr.
I was like, oh, man, I can't
[00:01:56] Speaker B: wait to hear it.
[00:01:57] Speaker A: But yeah, she's too funny. She's got stories for days. But you were off in paradise while I was here scrambling. How was that?
[00:02:05] Speaker B: It was lovely. It was kind of bittersweet, but it was lovely.
[00:02:08] Speaker A: You were three weeks in Puerto Rico. I did that three weeks back when I was 17 and I had the time of my life.
[00:02:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:02:16] Speaker A: But yes, all the Pictures. Thanks for sending all those pictures because it made me feel like I was there in the moment with you, girl.
[00:02:21] Speaker B: The thing I'd miss the most is eating. I miss eating.
[00:02:24] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:02:25] Speaker B: Crazy.
Everything.
[00:02:27] Speaker A: God, I would miss just. You were by the water, like, two, right.
[00:02:30] Speaker B: Literally 10 steps away from it.
[00:02:33] Speaker A: 10 steps. I would be like, I want a hammock. I'm sleeping outside.
[00:02:37] Speaker B: It's crazy because nobody would swim in that water, but I think it was because the ocean met the beach, so it was clashing together. So it made it brown.
It was strange. Well, did that make sense?
[00:02:51] Speaker A: No.
The ocean is the beach. But it was like.
[00:02:57] Speaker B: Like the. I don't know.
[00:02:59] Speaker A: Oh, maybe like, you know, sometimes when I think they call them, like, an estuary, when they kind of. When it's, like, a body of water that's not really in the ocean and it kind of mixes in maybe.
[00:03:08] Speaker B: I'm not sure.
[00:03:09] Speaker A: That's how the water was, like, brown.
[00:03:10] Speaker B: That's how Gracie's dad explained it. I'm like, okay, sure.
[00:03:13] Speaker A: Okay, okay.
I'm just thinking. Yeah. Because there's a spot when I go to visit my family down in Ponce Juana area.
It's, like, super rocky, and, like, the water isn't that pretty there either. And every time I've gone, nobody's in the water either.
[00:03:29] Speaker B: Yeah. So everybody was just, like, hanging, like, around it, but nobody would even set foot in there, huh?
[00:03:35] Speaker A: Well, if the locals won't set foot in it, I won't set foot in it.
[00:03:38] Speaker B: I definitely did not.
[00:03:40] Speaker A: But for me, like, I love going to the beach, but it's not even about being in the water. I just like relaxing by the water, listening to the water. Like, I might dip in my feet and actually, I might go in the water here and there. But definitely, if nobody's going in, that's a sign.
[00:03:53] Speaker B: I'm not a fan of going to the beach. But in Puerto Rico, I mean, you're out there every single day.
[00:03:58] Speaker A: Yeah, every day. Oh, yeah. When it's, like, steps away now.
[00:04:01] Speaker B: This is the first year, and I heard this the other day, in 112 years, that there has not been any hurricane during hurricane season in Puerto Rico.
[00:04:11] Speaker A: 112 years.
[00:04:12] Speaker B: It's the first time.
[00:04:15] Speaker A: Oh, there hasn't been. Okay, okay. Damn. That's true. I actually haven't heard of any hurricanes.
[00:04:20] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:04:21] Speaker A: Caught a break.
[00:04:21] Speaker B: A little bit, yeah. Thank goodness. I mean, they need it.
[00:04:24] Speaker A: They have all this other stuff going on, too. The water stuff didn't affect you, right?
[00:04:28] Speaker B: No, thank goodness. Not.
[00:04:29] Speaker A: I was trying to tell Somebody about that. That you were saying that that area in Puerto Rico has their own water system or whatever.
[00:04:35] Speaker B: I guess it's like some sort of mineral water that they sell, so I guess they don't run out of water.
[00:04:43] Speaker A: Well, the last time you were also.
We left off on, like, this big cliffhanger that you were going to meet your father's side of the family. Were you able to do that?
[00:04:51] Speaker B: I did not.
Just because I guess according to my mom, she didn't have communication with them, and I didn't want to drive two hours away just to go somewhere and they not be there.
[00:05:05] Speaker A: Not be there. Yeah. That really sucks. Oh, I was hoping to see this whole, like, family photo, see if anybody looks like my family.
[00:05:13] Speaker B: No, not this trip around. Maybe the next one.
[00:05:16] Speaker A: Maybe the next one.
[00:05:17] Speaker B: I don't know. Honestly, I don't know. I don't know how I felt about it. I don't really think I wanted to do it. No.
[00:05:23] Speaker A: No, not that curious. It's been so long already that it's like, whatever.
[00:05:27] Speaker B: I'm almost about to hit my 40s. So it's just, like, I don't know, interesting.
[00:05:32] Speaker A: Well, but if it were to come up, I'm sure it'd be like, okay, but you're not gonna go out of your way.
[00:05:35] Speaker B: No.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: Right. Well, that's a good thing you didn't drive two hours. Because I remember one time we went to Florida.
It was me, my man at my daughter, and my little brother. My little brother, he was young. He was, like, in high school, and he knew some girl. I don't know if it was a little girlfriend or what the heck it was, that had moved down to Florida. He had been communication with her, and I'm like, okay, well, let me let him have a little fun. But we had to drive about two hours to go meet up with this girl. And we literally drove. I think we were in Orlando, and she was up in, like.
I want to say something like Fort Lauderdale or something. I don't really know Florida like that, but it was like, two hours of driving. And we drive up. We're just sitting in the car. Mind you, my man at the time is kind of annoyed because he's like, we had driving all this way. Yeah. And I'm like, well, we could figure something out. You know how I am. I like an adventure. So I was like, we'll figure something out. We'll do something fun out there.
And we're thinking, he's gonna hang out with her. We can go off and do something else. My little brother goes up to the door, knocked on the door. I guess the girl's surprised that he actually showed up.
[00:06:34] Speaker B: Oh, boy.
[00:06:35] Speaker A: Just said hi. And that was it. He came back to the car.
And I feel bad because honestly, I don't think he expected that either.
But we were like, are you shitting me? We drove two hours for you to say hi at the door, close the door, and then like, get back in the car and like, okay, let's go home. Like, we were. He was. My man was so pissed.
[00:06:54] Speaker B: I bet I would have been too.
[00:06:56] Speaker A: And I was pissed, too, but I felt stupid because I was like, I'm in between. Yeah. I was encouraging it. And I'm like, okay, well, what else can we do? And I'm like, does she not want to come out? Like, what? You know? And I don't think the parents are going to let her just leave with this random family, obviously. Right. And she's in high school, so I'm like, oh, my God. This was like, so girl, never again. Never again. And I feel bad. I think my little brother also felt
[00:07:15] Speaker B: dumb, but he didn't say anything as he should.
[00:07:19] Speaker A: But yeah, that's as bad as it could have been. Like, you going up to the house and being like, we don't know you. Bye.
[00:07:24] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:26] Speaker A: Are you trying to convince them? No, no, I'm family
[00:07:30] Speaker B: made.
[00:07:31] Speaker A: Give me some food. I'm hungry.
[00:07:33] Speaker B: Jeez.
[00:07:34] Speaker A: And then in Puerto Rico, like, driving two hours, that's like going to the other side of the island. Pretty much.
[00:07:38] Speaker B: Yeah, pretty much.
[00:07:39] Speaker A: I think that's like, pretty much like the. The distance of, like, it's only the opposite side.
[00:07:43] Speaker B: Because where we were in my away to drive to San Juan, that was almost two hours and a half.
[00:07:51] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because that was like, my ueza is like, southwest.
[00:07:56] Speaker B: Yes. And then. Yeah.
[00:07:58] Speaker A: San Juan is like, northeast. Ish. Middle ish. Yeah. Wow, that's crazy. Well, I'm sorry you didn't get to meet them. I know you probably are like, whatever.
[00:08:06] Speaker B: It is what it is.
[00:08:08] Speaker A: I was excited. I wanted to see these family photos. I want to be like, oh, that looks like my cousin.
And for those of you don't remember, it's just that people always say that we look alike, so we're curious, like, how. How is this possible that we look alike?
[00:08:19] Speaker B: Supposedly so much alike.
[00:08:22] Speaker A: And our brothers and did you say you had, like, other family that looked like.
[00:08:25] Speaker B: No, your little brother looked like my cousin.
[00:08:28] Speaker A: Yeah, I remember you said something like that.
So some. We should do like an ancestry. Maybe we Are somehow somewhere we should.
[00:08:34] Speaker B: I don't know.
[00:08:35] Speaker A: Or maybe it's just that we're Puerto Rican and we all look like.
No, definitely not. Puerto Ricans look. So many different shapes, colors, for sure. Which is the weird part. Which is how. How do we look? Like your mom looks like she could be on my dad's side of the family. Like she looks like some of my aunts. Like, not like them exactly, but, like, she looks like she could just, like, blend in with the family.
[00:08:52] Speaker B: Can you imagine?
[00:08:53] Speaker A: That's crazy. So maybe it's your mom's side and not your dad's side that maybe makes the look.
[00:08:57] Speaker B: Maybe.
[00:08:57] Speaker A: I don't know. Anyway, well, you came back from Puerto Rico, and then I wanted to record that week. And you came back, but I knew that you were probably going to be dealing with some stuff. Coming back after three weeks with everything you have going on at home, resting. So kind of pushed it off. I didn't really see anything. And then we both got sick.
I got sick. Thanks to Sharon.
[00:09:16] Speaker B: No.
[00:09:16] Speaker A: Yes. Definitely not definitely.
[00:09:19] Speaker B: You must have gotten it from, I don't know, your mail carrier or something.
[00:09:23] Speaker A: My mail carrier?
[00:09:25] Speaker B: Definitely not mail.
[00:09:26] Speaker A: Okay. My mail carrier just delivered me some flu.
[00:09:30] Speaker B: Sounds about right.
[00:09:31] Speaker A: No, it was definitely Come drive my Rover. Like. Like I'm gonna say no to that.
Got so excited driving the Range Rover, touching that infected, contaminated wheel.
Knew exactly what you were doing.
But the crazy part was that nobody else. Yeah. Caught it in my house.
[00:09:49] Speaker B: No one in my house got sick.
[00:09:50] Speaker A: That's crazy.
[00:09:51] Speaker B: I was the only one.
[00:09:52] Speaker A: See, we even share germs. It's so weird.
[00:09:53] Speaker B: That is weird.
[00:09:54] Speaker A: But, yeah. So then we got sick. Couldn't do that. We're actually still dealing with the aftermath. So if you hear us coughing or we'll try to edit it out. But FYI, we might be clearing our throats a little bit because of Sharon's sickness.
[00:10:07] Speaker B: Oh, my.
[00:10:10] Speaker A: Anyway. Well, Sharon, this is the season finale of season one Work Drama. So sad.
[00:10:19] Speaker B: That is.
[00:10:19] Speaker A: But it's exciting. We got through a whole freaking season.
Pretty much stayed consistent. What's that noise? Oh, my God.
[00:10:27] Speaker B: There's something.
[00:10:29] Speaker A: I think so just double check.
Oh, hello.
Oh, hi. Okay. We're like, oh, no, no worries. We just freaked out a little bit.
[00:10:43] Speaker B: You freaked out?
[00:10:44] Speaker A: Yeah, I freaked out. Well, you know me with my.
Which is.
[00:10:48] Speaker B: Oh, God.
[00:10:48] Speaker A: That really segues us in a really good way. I might have to keep that in because.
Because this episode is. Has a little bit of, like, a little.
I don't even know, creepiness to It.
[00:11:01] Speaker B: Oh, boy.
[00:11:02] Speaker A: In a way. So that. That was right on cue. That scared me. Literally. My heart's racing right now.
[00:11:06] Speaker B: I can't even hold on. Okay. It's a little pale.
[00:11:17] Speaker A: I can't. I can't even breathe right now.
[00:11:19] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's just farting.
[00:11:20] Speaker A: No, I think that was like a
[00:11:22] Speaker B: sigh sounding like a fart.
[00:11:27] Speaker A: Okay, I'm sweating right now.
[00:11:30] Speaker B: What the hell?
[00:11:32] Speaker A: Okay. Well, anyway, we can't really segue into the story just yet, because I did want to touch on one more thing that the group chat needs to hear.
[00:11:39] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:11:40] Speaker A: And I think it's coming from you, Sharon. So what is the news that we have for the group chat?
[00:11:46] Speaker B: Yeah, I might not be around as much.
[00:11:49] Speaker A: Yeah. Sharon has some other responsibilities on top of her baby, and who knows what's happening in the future with that.
[00:11:58] Speaker B: But, yeah, I might not be here as much for season two.
I have some other things that are popping up.
I'm trying to expand my family and
[00:12:10] Speaker A: excited, you know, Excited about crazy. Cause it's this fucking economy, but. Okay. I know, I know.
[00:12:15] Speaker B: Well, my partner agreed to fee finder, so y' all might find me there,
[00:12:23] Speaker A: might find Sharon's toes.
[00:12:25] Speaker B: My whole bunions are gonna be out and exposed.
[00:12:28] Speaker A: No, but why do some people, like, love that stuff? Like, I've heard people, like, doing, like, disgusting things with their feet and that. People will, like, pay big money for that, girl. Good luck.
[00:12:36] Speaker B: Tell me what's up in there.
[00:12:38] Speaker A: So you might be working from home?
[00:12:40] Speaker B: Pretty much.
[00:12:42] Speaker A: No. But you do have another, like, also other job that you were looking at, too, so that's gonna be something that's gonna take up some more time. But, Sharon, you've been here since the first episode, and you were the resident instigator before we even knew what the show was going to be. And now life is pulling you in a different direction that needs all of you and I get it.
Curious. What part of doing this podcast are you gonna miss the most? I know that maybe you might still be able to come in and out, but what would you say? Because I know it's probably seeing me,
[00:13:11] Speaker B: I guess just the talking shit. I don't know about the seeing you, but I guess just, you know, the
[00:13:17] Speaker A: talking shit is fun.
[00:13:18] Speaker B: Yeah, it really is.
[00:13:19] Speaker A: Yeah, I love that part.
But in any way, it's not like you're gonna get rid of me, so.
[00:13:24] Speaker B: No.
[00:13:24] Speaker A: No.
[00:13:25] Speaker B: So I'm sure I'll see you, like, next week.
[00:13:26] Speaker A: I'll miss you here in this room, but, yeah, I'll probably see you next week following and then the holidays are not getting rid of me that easily,
[00:13:36] Speaker B: but that I know.
[00:13:37] Speaker A: And so for the group chat between now and season two, I'll be looking for possibly somebody to sit in this chair or maybe just guests. But of course, this chair will always be your chair. So whenever you get the chance, wanna come back in, talk a little shit on the mic. I'll be around, you'll be around. Perfect.
And we're not done. Not even close. I'm getting ready for season two. I want to put it up on YouTube as well. So I did start a page. I just haven't put all the audio on there yet.
And now that our studio has an extra little studio, maybe that's a possibility there. We'll see what's coming in the horizon. I also was thinking of doing like a little bonus episode around the holidays, so I don't know. So we'll see if that happens.
But yeah, we have a finale to do. So I wanted to go out with a bang, a story that's different from anything we've done this season.
I mean, we've done some theft, right? We've done some betrayal, we've done some bosses and co workers that have a really weird dynamic. But we haven't done a mystery type story yet. So this one should be fun. Today's work, bestie of the day is Nate. And Nate's story is part whodunit, part creepy movie, and part who the hell am I working with.
And you're gonna want to keep a list of characters for this one. So here's a pen and paper. Sharon, pay attention as you're not paying attention.
[00:15:05] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm kind of gaming right now.
[00:15:06] Speaker A: Yeah, she literally is every time. She's always gaming. You guys don't know that, but she's always gaming while we're doing this. Sharon, are you ready?
[00:15:14] Speaker B: I'm ready.
[00:15:15] Speaker A: Let's get into it.
So Nate works at a small independent insurance agency. They sell home, auto, small business policies, that type of stuff, right?
Claims adjusters, underwriters, billing, front desk. They have about 15 people in total at the office.
Now the office itself, it's a second floor of an old brick building downtown. And on the first floor is a pub. The Rustinio is what it's called.
It's dark wood, sticky tables, two dollar wings on Thursday nights. You know the place, we have a couple of them here. And a staircase that goes straight from the sidewalk right past the pub door up to the office.
So you can already guess what happens every Thursday at 5:01 half, the office clocks out, walks down one flight of stairs and posts up at the bar. It's a tradition. It's culture. It's basically a benefit. Nate is a regular. Everybody's pretty much a regular. Sharon, how do you feel about working on top of a bar?
[00:16:14] Speaker B: I don't think I would mind it. Get thirsty or hungry, go downstairs real quick.
[00:16:18] Speaker A: Right. They might have like bar food is kind of.
[00:16:21] Speaker B: Or bar fights, you know, entertainment.
[00:16:25] Speaker A: True. Lots of drama that could come from that.
But I'm thinking about like. Actually, that's funny. I used to work at the walk in Center. I used to work at. They had an office in Tallinn and they had a bar next door. And I would always order like the fries and like the bar food. Good. Yeah. And it was cheap for lunch.
[00:16:41] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:16:42] Speaker A: So yeah, actually I didn't mind it. I never went after hours. But I did get their food good anyway. Well, now, the man who runs this insurance agency, his name is Gerald. And I need you to Picture Gerald, late 50s, wearing a cardigan, the reading glasses on the chain that he doesn't even need because he always pushes them up on top of his head anyway. He keeps a dish of butterscotch candies on his desk that Nobody's touched since 2011.
[00:17:08] Speaker B: Nasty.
[00:17:10] Speaker A: And Gerald has a philosophy. Gerald believes that everybody deserves a chance.
Everybody. He doesn't hire for polish. He doesn't hire for the vibes. He hires people that everybody else passed on because he generally believes they just haven't been given a shot yet. He calls them his diamonds in the rough. Which is beautiful. It's a beautiful philosophy. What do you think about that philosophy?
[00:17:32] Speaker B: That was sweet.
[00:17:33] Speaker A: That's sweet, right? Like to give people a chance.
[00:17:35] Speaker B: Yeah, I like that.
[00:17:36] Speaker A: It's a fine line though, because, like, why haven't they been given a chance before? I don't know, but I guess we'll see.
Well, his philosophy has also turned that office into an absolute collection of characters because a lot of Gerald's diamonds, they are still very much in the rough.
Let me introduce you to a few. There's Marvin in claims. Marvin brings a full rotisserie chicken for lunch. Not a sandwich, not a salad, a whole chicken. He eats at his desk with his hands during calls.
Could already imagine how greasy Marvin's desk is.
Then there's Deb in billing.
Deb has named the office printer. The printer's name is Linda. And when Linda jams, Deb doesn't fix her. Deb apologizes to her out loud. Every time I'M so sorry, Linda. I know. I know, baby.
The printer is. Is her friend.
And then there's Clyde. Just see the face that Sharon's making right now. I could already tell that Sharon would be so annoyed with Deb.
But then there's Clyde. Clyde is a collector. Anything left on a desk overnight. A pen, a rubber band, a phone charger, one single glove. Clyde picks it up and puts it in his bottom drawer. He calls it the lost and found.
Nobody has ever gotten anything back from the lost and found, though.
And then there's Randy. Randy was hired about a year before everything went down. And honestly, Randy was fine. Quiet, polite, kind of awkward, but in a harmless way. He'd tap on his desk twice before he sat down. Every time. So maybe a little OCD there.
He hummed while he typed. And he took long bathroom breaks. Every afternoon about half an hour. But, hey, nobody's business, right?
Shane was doing certain hand movements over here, guessing at what he might be doing in there.
And Randy was always the last one to leave. He'd wave everybody off, especially on Thursdays. Nah, you guys go ahead. I'm just gonna finish some stuff up. Nobody minded because Randy got his work done. And in an office full of Gerald's diamonds, a quiet guy who worked late. And honestly, one of the. Was one of the more normal ones. Sharon, have you ever worked with any office weirdos? Yeah, Yeah, I think you've mentioned some.
[00:19:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:59] Speaker A: And I was trying to think. I'm like, who have I worked with?
Oh, no, I do remember. But I worked with a doctor that. I think I mentioned him before that had, like, all these conspiracy theories that he thought, like, people were. That patients were out to get him.
[00:20:13] Speaker B: It was.
[00:20:13] Speaker A: It was insane. That was the only one that I can really think that stands out.
But he got the work done.
[00:20:20] Speaker B: I mean, that's what counts, right?
[00:20:22] Speaker A: That's what counts.
Okay, so I need to meet one more person.
The front desk. Her name is Brandy. Brandy is sweet. She's bubbly and remembers everybody's birthday.
Brandy also, and I say this with love, does not always know where Brandi is.
She once left her car running in the parking lot all day, which is crazy for battery life.
She came out at 5, and the car was still going, still warm. Radio on. That's insane. The radio on. You walked out of your car with the radio on, like, not thinking anything.
And where do they live? Because my car would have been stolen.
Like, literally happened one time. I couldn't get the key out of the ignition. I was like, okay. I just Gotta go get a Tet. Do a test real quick. I'll come back. Car was stolen, so that's insane.
I don't even remember. That was like the day before my birthday. Like, Kaylee was little insane. That was a horrible time.
Anyway, she's also put her cell phone in the office fridge and her yogurt in her desk drawer. On the same day Brandy once showed up on President's Day, the office was closed. She sat in the parking lot for 45 minutes wondering where everybody was before she texted the group chat. Is everything okay?
Like, girl, check your calendar.
[00:21:39] Speaker B: Got it together.
[00:21:41] Speaker A: So when Brandi walks in on Monday morning and says, has anyone seen my shoe? Nobody panics. Brandi drives to work in sneakers. She keeps a pair of red heels under her desk that she changes into when she gets there. And one of those heels, gone. Not the pair, just one. Everybody does a courtesy look under the desk behind the filing cabinet. Someone checks the fridge because Brandy. Nothing.
And the whole office basically decides it's Brandy. She'll find it in the trunk of her car. In three weeks, case closed. Except about a week later, one of the claims adjusters can't find her blazer. She keeps it on the back of her chair for client meetings. Monday, it's gone.
And then a woman from billing opens her locker, and the blouse she keeps in there for emergencies, gone.
And then a scarf, and then a pair of flats.
Then. And this is when people really start talking. A pair of pantyhose still in the package. Yeah, that's.
[00:22:40] Speaker B: That's weird. I mean, they're still in the package, though.
[00:22:43] Speaker A: Yeah, true, but it's like.
[00:22:45] Speaker B: I mean, she could have put it back in there, right?
[00:22:48] Speaker A: So now it's not Brandy anymore. Something is going on. Somebody in that building is taking things, and every single thing that's missing belongs to a woman.
And of course, the whole office turns and looks at one person.
Who do you think they're looking at first?
[00:23:04] Speaker B: Randy.
[00:23:05] Speaker A: Randy. They're looking at Clyde because, oh, he's a collector. He's the collector.
[00:23:11] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:12] Speaker A: Well, Sharon, you've been in the trenches long enough to know how offices work, right? When something starts going missing, the whole building quietly decides who did it before anyone has proof. Right?
And now all eyes are on the guy with the drawer full of everything. You know, literally called the lost and found. If you're in that office, is that who you're looking at?
[00:23:31] Speaker B: Probably. Probably.
[00:23:32] Speaker A: When you send Randy first.
[00:23:33] Speaker B: I did, but I think it was just because he was a weirdo that was spending a Whole bunch of time in the bathroom.
[00:23:39] Speaker A: Oh, right, yeah. Like, what's he doing? He could be playing for some stuff, putting out some paint hills, who knows?
[00:23:45] Speaker B: Sniffing it.
[00:23:46] Speaker A: Sniffing it.
Okay.
Yeah, I think. I would think Clyde too. I mean, he's collecting stuff. Nobody's ever gotten anything back. And it's lost and found. Let's check the lost and found. Right. That would be my first thought too.
So somebody finally says something to Gerald.
Remember, Gerald's the like the manager guy, the owner of the. The insurance company.
[00:24:06] Speaker B: He was.
[00:24:08] Speaker A: And Gerald, sweet, empathetic. Everybody deserves this. Hence, Gerald really does not want to accuse anybody. But he agrees to one thing. He'll ask Clyde nicely if you wouldn't mind opening the lost and found.
Clyde opens the drawer. 47 pens, a mountain of rubber bands, four phone chargers, a single glove, no heel, no blazer, no blouse. Clyde is just a little weird man with a pen problem.
And that's where it stalls. Gerald tells everyone to keep their valuables locked up. Nobody suggests anything like cameras or calls anyone out.
The women start taking their stuff home at night and the office just kind of goes back to normal. Weirded out, but normal. Until Thursday wing night, Nate and a bunch of the crew do what they always clock out. Go downstairs, straight to the rusty nail. One beer turns into two, two turns into a pitcher. A pitcher turns into okay, but one more.
It's getting late.
Nate is a solid, let's say four and a half beers deep. He settles his tab, steps outside in the cold and reaches into his pocket for his house keys. Nothing.
After thinking back on the actions of his day, he knows exactly where they are. Sitting on his desk upstairs.
No big deal. The office is literally one flight up. He got his key card. He'll be in and out in two minutes. Plus four and a half beers later, he's gonna need to use the bathroom anyway, so Nate heads upstairs.
He swipes in with his keycard. The door clicks behind him and the office is dark.
Not pitch black, just dark blue. That after hours glow. There's a red light from the exit sign down the hall and the street light coming into the blinds and the little green lights on the computers blinking in their sleep.
It's quiet.
The kind of quiet where you can hear the pub music pumping through the floor.
Nate starts walking towards his desk and feels something's off.
Brandy's chair is pulled all the way from the desk, turned sideways like somebody was in a hurry.
Further down, a desk drawer is hanging open.
And then another one.
The claims adjuster's chair. The One she used to hang the blazer on and is sitting in the middle of the aisle now. Sober Nate. Sober Nate notices all of this. Sober Nate turns right back around and leaves that place.
Four and a half beers in. Nate just thinks the cleaning crew was sloppy tonight.
He grabs his keys off the desk and his bladder reminds him very loudly, the other reason he came up here. So he heads down the hall towards the bathroom.
And here's the part Nate says he'll never forgive himself for.
There was a light, a thin, glowing light all the way around the edges of the bathroom door in a completely dark office.
And Nate walked right past that detail, put his hand flat on the door and shoved it wide open.
It was not empty.
Standing in front of the mirror was.
Who do you think?
[00:27:22] Speaker B: I don't know.
[00:27:23] Speaker A: Was Randy.
Quiet Randy.
[00:27:27] Speaker B: God, I know.
[00:27:28] Speaker A: Polite Randy. Mr. Taps his desk twice. Randy.
He squeezed into Brandy's missing red heel.
[00:27:36] Speaker B: How'd I fucking know?
[00:27:38] Speaker A: The claim adjuster's blazer, the blouse from the billing locker, the pantyhose no longer in the package.
And he was very, very busy.
Let's just say he was real handy handling his business.
I told you enthusiastically. In front of the mirror and taped on the mirror, a business flyer was Gerald's smiling face, eye level with Randy.
[00:28:10] Speaker B: Oh, that's creepy. Okay, interesting.
[00:28:13] Speaker A: Just.
Just. I'm getting pictures in my mind that I don't want to be getting.
They lock eyes.
Nobody moves, nobody breathes. Handy Randy is frozen.
Nate's frozen. Four and a half beers, instantly gone, stone cold sober.
And then Nate screams. Not a word, just an inaudible sound.
What the fuck?
And he turns around and runs down the hall, past the open doors, past Brandy's chair on the floor, down the stairs, past the rusty nail onto the sidewalk. And the first thing he does, standing outside in the cold, hands shaking, is pull out his phone and text Gerald. Nate says he doesn't even remember exactly what he typed, just that it was short and there was no punctuation marks. Oh, and the keys. The whole reason he went up there, he dropped them somewhere between the bathroom door and the stairs. And he was not going back for them.
He had to call his roommate to come meet him and let him into their house. And when she asked what happened, he just said, please don't make me talk about it tonight.
Nate says he still has the image burned into his brain like a core memory.
Randy was fired the next morning.
Gerald, Mr. Everyone deserves a chance, did not give this one a second chance.
There was a lot of talk around the office about pressing charges. Some of the women whose things were taken wanted to. Some just wanted it to be over. But there's one more thing. Randy never came back to clean out his desk. And his desk had one drawer that was locked.
Are you opening that door, Sharon?
[00:29:56] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:29:57] Speaker A: You're like, what? Fuck
[00:30:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:01] Speaker A: I mean, I'd be very curious.
So a few days later, Gerald and a couple of guys pry it open and there it was, the real lost and found.
Scarves, flats, single earrings, a cardigan. Somebody had been missing since the holidays. All of it stuffed in there. And let's just say all of it was sticky and none of it was in returnable condition. How'd I tell you?
You knew.
You had a feeling, like early on, before we even finished saying all the people.
Oh, creepy. It's the quiet ones.
They didn't sort through it. They didn't return a single thing. They closed the door, locked it back up, carried the entire desk down the stairs, passed the rusty nail and threw it in the dumpster outback. Sometimes some things are just not worth saving.
So that was our story.
Nate is traumatized. I bet he is, as he should be. Because I have these ideas in my head of what to say. I literally, as this is like the second time I'm going through the story, can picture Gerald's little face with his little glasses and smiling on this flyer and Randy just going at it, dressed up half, you know, in women's clothing. One heel. Like, why one? That's my thing. Why not steal both?
[00:31:23] Speaker B: I don't know.
[00:31:23] Speaker A: And then you had one earring or like multiple single earrings.
[00:31:27] Speaker B: Just very, very out there.
Very different sorts of ways.
[00:31:32] Speaker A: That's crazy. I mean, you want to wear women's clothes.
[00:31:34] Speaker B: Like, cool.
[00:31:35] Speaker A: You do you, but that's extra. You can't do that at home. You were doing it at work. Something about the workplace was exciting him. Because you're doing it at work with your boss's picture on the mirror.
Oh, God, I can't. I can't even. And all your co workers are downstairs. Like, it's likely they can come upstairs. Like, that's not.
Wow. It's crazy.
[00:31:56] Speaker B: People are out there.
[00:31:57] Speaker A: They're out there. But yeah, let's unpack this. What do you think are. Well, first off, because you kind of had a feeling about Randy. What were some of the red flags that you were seeing with, like, I don't know.
[00:32:10] Speaker B: I think it was just as soon as you said that. He spends a very long time in the bathroom. It's either you're taking a shit or you're scrolling or you're fiddling your pickle.
[00:32:21] Speaker A: Like are you worded that?
[00:32:24] Speaker B: So. Yeah.
[00:32:25] Speaker A: And he was always the last one out.
[00:32:26] Speaker B: Yup.
[00:32:27] Speaker A: It's like, why do you want to stay? I mean some people really love their jobs. I guess maybe they don't have somebody to go home to, but I don't know.
[00:32:33] Speaker B: I guess I just worked with too many weirdos.
[00:32:36] Speaker A: Yeah. You're used to here. Yeah.
[00:32:37] Speaker B: You have actually I have many. You really have.
[00:32:41] Speaker A: I haven't worked with enough. I would have been like Clyde.
But then to be like, imagine just to like open the door and see Randy, the quiet one, the one that you like least expected to be a weirdo. Like, okay, this guy knocks on the.
Does that every time he sits down. Okay, whatever. Weird. But like I wouldn't think this situation. Right. So I think there were other red flags too.
Well, the bathroom breaks. That's. That is true. Because I would notice if my co workers are going to the bathroom and being like that long. It's like, hey, come help out. I mean I don't know how it works at an insurance agency, but it's like every day you got to go for half an hour. Like that's crazy. Plus you're probably hour break. I'd be like, okay, I want to go to the bathroom for a half hour too.
But I wouldn't think of it as something like crazy red flaggy because like okay, let's go to the bathroom maybe. Yeah. Like you said, if maybe he's taking a shit, I don't know. And a lot of people stay work late so I wouldn't think that anything was weird. But once things start disappearing, the fact that nobody wanted to like put up a camera or I don't know, do something extra, it was just like, okay. That was a red flag too. I'd be like, Gerald, is it you? You're the boss here. Why aren't you more worried about people stealing stuff at this place? And they're an insurance agency. Why don't they have any insurance against something like this happening?
You know what I mean? I just feel like when you're in insurance or something, you have this level extra like layer of security I would think, but apparently not.
Anyway, some red flags there. Yeah. So everybody looked at the weird guy with the drawer, but nobody looked at the quiet guy who stayed late. Except for Sharon. Sharon was like, that was the first guy you said too in there.
That's so funny.
[00:34:18] Speaker B: I knew it wasn't. What's that guy's name Clyde. I knew it wasn't Clyde.
[00:34:21] Speaker A: Yeah, like Clyde just. I mean, if we already know he's collecting stuff, he probably freaked out. Like, oh man, people are gonna think it's me, you know, he's like, but I like to collect little things like rubber bands and gloves and.
[00:34:31] Speaker B: Right. Like, I love pens.
[00:34:33] Speaker A: Right. Yeah.
[00:34:35] Speaker B: A thousand bags.
[00:34:36] Speaker A: That's true. That is true. So, yeah, it's kind of like, who do we decide is safe at work? Well, you kind of expect everybody to be safe. You don't want to think you're working with like.
[00:34:43] Speaker B: Very true.
[00:34:44] Speaker A: Somebody that's a little bit malicious or. Yeah. Or anything like that.
[00:34:49] Speaker B: Has any type of bad tendencies.
[00:34:51] Speaker A: Yeah. And Gerald. I love Gerald. He sounds like a sweet guy. Like, trying to give people a chance and everything. But I don't know when things are.
[00:34:59] Speaker B: I'm sure that. I'm sorry I didn't pay you off. I'm sure that situation probably opened up his eyes too.
[00:35:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:35:04] Speaker B: Being so trusting.
[00:35:06] Speaker A: So trusting. Right. But it's so funny too, because it's like of all people, him. Like, I wouldn't have thought him.
[00:35:11] Speaker B: I mean, looks good or he's clearly his type.
[00:35:16] Speaker A: Well, I was gonna say, what do you think Gerald thought when he found out his picture?
[00:35:20] Speaker B: I mean, if he fired him right there and there. So I don't know, it was probably
[00:35:23] Speaker A: like, oh man, like this guy. I'd be scared even after that. I'd be like, is he gonna come to my house or do you know what I mean? I don't even know like how many
[00:35:30] Speaker B: pictures he has of him.
[00:35:31] Speaker A: Right. Did he take home a few flyers and is doing it at home? I mean, at that point I'm like, do whatever you want in your houses. Don't come after me. I guess, I don't know. I don't know. It's kind of creepy. But Gerald's probably like freaked out. That's probably why he didn't give him a second chance. He's like, nah, you did that to my picture. Like, we're good.
[00:35:45] Speaker B: Bye.
[00:35:47] Speaker A: But can you imagine Gerald being like, oh, he. He finds me attracted. Like he actually like feeling some type of way. Like, oh man, I. I must look good.
No, it's not like he's probably freaked out, but I think he kind of owed it to the women because like, as a woman in the office, if all our things are going missing, I'm gonna, you know, me with my crime junkie mine. I'm gonna go straight to like 100
[00:36:10] Speaker B: something second my items goes missing. I'm gonna be questioning.
[00:36:13] Speaker A: Questioning.
[00:36:13] Speaker B: Like, the other day, somebody took my wings express pen.
[00:36:17] Speaker A: Oh, my God.
[00:36:17] Speaker B: As soon as I noticed, I'm like, who took my pen girl?
[00:36:24] Speaker A: That they needed more of you guys in the office. Because apparently, if somebody steals my blazer, too, in one of my heels, like, no, we're finding that. Yeah. But also, I'd freak out because I literally think, like, some creepy guy is taking my stuff and, like, you said, sniffing them or something. So I'm like, you need to figure this out, Gerald. Because I don't feel safe because they're only stealing the women's stuff. Like, that starts getting a little creepy. So I feel like Gerald should have done a little bit. Like, had more of a responsibility to, like, deal with that.
Like, he was maybe a little too nice, which is kind of nice when you have a boss like that, because you can get away with stuff. But then when you need something to be done. I've dealt with that. When you need something to be done, then they just don't want to do it because they're just too nice.
[00:37:03] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:37:03] Speaker A: But anyway, they could have put cameras on the other thing. Why wasn't he checking. They had key.
Nate mentioned he had, like, a key fob or a key thing.
[00:37:13] Speaker B: Right.
[00:37:14] Speaker A: Why weren't they checking that?
[00:37:15] Speaker B: Right. The log.
[00:37:16] Speaker A: Right. They should be able to log that, like, when.
[00:37:20] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:37:20] Speaker A: Because I would assume if somebody's stealing stuff, it has to be after hours. Right. Because you can't do it in front of people's faces. So, like, who's staying late?
[00:37:29] Speaker B: That just. That's true.
[00:37:30] Speaker A: Yeah. But like, a whole, like, blazer. A whole blazer. You're gonna see some. Yeah, the shoe. You have to see somebody go under the desk to take the shoe.
[00:37:37] Speaker B: Like, I feel like.
[00:37:38] Speaker A: I mean, you never know, but.
But yeah, like, you want to check the log. So obviously, he wasn't checking the logs of who's going in and out. Nate just went in, like, nothing. I'm just gonna go use the bathroom. So apparently, it was known that you could just go in and out and nobody cares. I know at my. Well, I worked in the medical field, so it's a little different, I guess, but there was a whole. Like, you had to type in, like, a number to get into the building. Anybody that went in it logged it.
[00:38:02] Speaker B: Right.
[00:38:02] Speaker A: Because there's a log. But then also, at a certain time, you couldn't go in past, like, I think it was 8pm My last office, there was an alarm, and you couldn't get in unless you knew how to turn off the alarm.
[00:38:12] Speaker B: Yeah, my job is like that, but till 7 o'. Clock. So if you don't have access past 7, it doesn't even let you in.
[00:38:18] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. So it's like an insurance company that's lacking all of that. Cameras. And all of that is weird. I don't know that I want them to insure any of my stuff. And of course, so did Andy. I mean Randy and Randy. Damn Randy to be in super late.
[00:38:32] Speaker B: Which one's Randy?
[00:38:33] Speaker A: Randy was the one. The handy Randy, the creep.
So Randy was in there on a Thursday night. This is just a Thursday night. What are you doing on a Friday or Saturday night?
[00:38:42] Speaker B: He's going ham.
[00:38:47] Speaker A: Oh my God. This was a good story to end the season. Yeah, I like this one.
We need more stories like that. Give us some little mysteries because that was fun to try to figure out. Although I guess you can't get anything past Sharon. Sharon knows the weirdos.
I guess I even wonder could have been one of the women. Because initially when I was reading it, because I'm like, it's woman stuff, right? So I'm just like, oh, somebody likes those heels. Or she's a hater. And like, it's taken like, you know, but apparently not.
So that's the season finale of work drama.
And I've been thinking about this whole season. We started with an ex employee who never changed the alarm code. So this is almost something similar. Well, not similar. It's not at all. But, you know, getting into the building, we had the paycheck stolen.
So a little bit of that. We had a credit card lifted while a baby was being born. So we've had a couple other like, stealing kind of stuff. We had the wifi being blocked.
We had the people collecting a paycheck when they weren't even working. Remember that when the emergency workers, the teacher that was silent with fine print.
We had my niece with third grade with second grade drama. And tonight was lost and disturbingly found.
Very disturbingly.
I almost feel like I was there. The pictures that I was getting reading this, like, ugh, it was pretty clear. So, so annoyed.
Anyway, almost every story this season came back to kind of a similar issue of access. Somebody had access that they shouldn't have had or access nobody was paying attention to. And then in most every story, the person who broke it wasn't management, it was a co worker, someone who noticed, someone who spoke up, someone who kept showing up. So we had all those combinations. So there was like a real, like, common thread within season one.
But the main common thread is drama always seems to find a way into the building. And that's the fun part.
[00:40:53] Speaker B: It sure does.
[00:40:54] Speaker A: And some people refuse to look the other way. And that's when you bring the stories to us, Sharon. Yes. This whole thing started with both of us. You sitting in that chair.
This was just an idea I had, and you gave me the space to experiment, to mess up, to figure out how the show was even gonna work.
[00:41:13] Speaker B: Mm.
[00:41:13] Speaker A: I'm going to miss you. Always on the mic. Can't wait to already have you back.
And, yeah, you know, the door's always open whenever you want to come back.
[00:41:21] Speaker B: Thank you. Thank you.
[00:41:22] Speaker A: As a guest or if you're like, hey, I do have the time. I'm back for good. We have that. But whenever life gives you a minute, the chair is yours.
[00:41:30] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:41:31] Speaker A: I'm curious, though. On all these stories, which one was your favorite?
[00:41:35] Speaker B: Oh, definitely this last.
[00:41:36] Speaker A: This one? Yeah. Yeah. You got really into the. Sharon always games while we're doing this. Believe it or not, she's always gaming.
I don't know, it must be ADHD or something. She's paying attention to both, but she actually put her game down and she was, like, taking notes, like, she looked like a student, and then she guessed it right before we even got to it.
[00:41:55] Speaker B: I got it.
[00:41:56] Speaker A: So, yeah, this one was interesting.
But, yeah, like I said, you're not getting rid of me this easily. I'll be at our house probably in a few weeks. Yeah, we've laughed, we've gotten mad, we've yelled at through the microphone. Is there anything you want to leave with the group chat for now, until you come back?
[00:42:14] Speaker B: Be kind to one another.
Patience.
Don't be too hard on yourself. Love those that are around you.
Every day is, I guess, not guaranteed. And life is just too short. So just be kind.
[00:42:32] Speaker A: Just be kind. And when people aren't being kind, send us a story.
[00:42:35] Speaker B: And then, you know, if you're driving around and somebody's driving like an idiot, just, you know, take out your hand and flick them off.
[00:42:42] Speaker A: That sounds very personal. What happened on the way here?
That is Sharon, though. She does have road rage. And I kind of wish I was in the car with her more often, because.
[00:42:53] Speaker B: No, it's not road rage.
[00:42:54] Speaker A: I feel like I need to calm her.
[00:42:55] Speaker B: Drive a little bit faster.
[00:42:57] Speaker A: Faster. Not getting her way. Yeah, the gas station, just trying to get gas. Just being in her existence.
[00:43:06] Speaker B: Well, that lady had it coming.
Why is she looking at me wrong when I'm just.
[00:43:11] Speaker A: I mean, she was looking at you, but she could have also. Talking so much crap. And I think you can just tell by looking at your face that you were saying some stuff I'm sure you could have. This was a recent situation we had the day that she got me sick.
[00:43:26] Speaker B: Actually, literally the same day. That's so funny.
[00:43:29] Speaker A: No, but I. I can't even lie. So the lady was kind of, like, parked too forward right in the thing.
Yeah. And that does annoy me, too.
[00:43:36] Speaker B: Yeah. So I waited, and then she got upset because she couldn't go forward. She had to reverse. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Bye.
[00:43:44] Speaker A: But be kind to all your.
[00:43:47] Speaker B: Yes, please be kind to those around you.
[00:43:52] Speaker A: Oh, this is why Shane's my best friend.
She really does have a really good heart. Just don't piss her off.
[00:43:59] Speaker B: I just don't show it, but I do.
[00:44:01] Speaker A: Oh, man. Okay. Well, this was really, really fun.
This season was really fun.
[00:44:07] Speaker B: It was.
[00:44:08] Speaker A: And I can't wait to have you back whenever that may be.
I did want to say for season two, I don't know exactly when that's gonna happen.
I want to come back, like I said, during the holidays with maybe, like a little bonus episode. If you're available, you can. If not, I'm thinking, like, of who. Some people I can bring on for guests. But just want to bring something in before we drop season two. But in the meantime, send in your stories for season two.
[00:44:32] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:44:33] Speaker A: Anything that's like this, like, mystery. Anything crazy out of pocket, send it. Something that's just sitting in your brain and you can't even believe it happened. Send that to us. Email is in the description. Workdramapodmail.com.
you know, this is where the stories go. We might be on YouTube for next season as well, so more places to look. Also, I've never even mentioned we're on TikTok. It's mostly me on TikTok, but we're on there. So you can send stories into TikTok. It's work. Underscore, drama. Underscore. So in there between seasons, I'm just going to be putting up little stories and little conversation starters so that we just stay so that we're not missing out on too much of the drama. We still have a little bit of it, but find us there.
And yeah, send in your stories because we're going to need them and we need a juicy one for Sharon to come back. So please, we need to keep her interested so that she can come back.
Of course. Names, changed jobs, protected opinions.
She never freaking remembers.
[00:45:34] Speaker B: Never very much included.
[00:45:37] Speaker A: Yes. Yes.
[00:45:40] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:45:41] Speaker A: It took 12 episodes.
And as always, this is not legal advice until next season.
[00:45:49] Speaker B: Byeeee.
[00:45:54] Speaker A: That's it for today's episode of Work Drama. Today's Work Drama was read by Lizbeth Marquez, with opinions, reactions and group chat energy provided by our resident instigator, Sharon Rodriguez.
Music for the show is by Denjelle Zambo. Fairy Tales and a special thank you to Project Emo for letting us record this podcast in their studio Idea Forge Studios.
If you've got your own workplace story you can't believe actually happened, send it our way to workdramapodmail.com LinkedIn's show names changed, Jobs protected. This has been Work Drama, where the meetings end, but the stories don't.
