Moopers’s Weblog

No sooner than the day after L told her boss the big news, did he storm towards me at a company-sponsored happy hour grabbing my hand and exclaiming, loudly (and drunkenly) “CONGRATULATIONS!”  This was when I was in the midst of a conversation with a couple of other of his employees.

I couldn’t believe this high level exec would be so tactless after having been explicitly asked for discretion.  I mean it’s his job to respect a lot of secrets from a lot of people.

I thanked him and immediately reminded him straight in his ear that nobody else knows so please don’t mention it yet.

The other two employees didn’t say anything, which, in retrospect, is strange.  They must have known already, which, if true, indicates another breach of sensitive information  Discretion is hard to come by.

At the end of the evening he apologized for not being discreet and I for tamping him down somewhat forcefully.  I told him that he is the first outsider that we have told — because it had been affecting L’s job performance — which he was surprised at.  And that we don’t want to spread it around just yet because we are still in the danger zone.  He said, “I know exactly how you felt… I didn’t believe it myself until my first baby was actually born.”

His outburst alarmed me, but touched me at the same time.  L and I haven’t fully accepted it as a foregone conclusion (bocks notwithstanding), and his heartfelt congratulations made it feel more real by another notch.

- P