A Word Is Worth 1,000 Pictures

Story Sent in by Jane:

Brian was my former boss who I stayed in touch with after moving to a new company. We still hung out in groups, but one night he asked me to hang out with just him at a bar. I didn't think anything was going to come of it, but after a few drinks and a few laughs, I ended up giving him a few kisses in the parking lot. Sparks flew, and we started dating. The few following times we went out, I had a great time.

On our last date, he asked me if he could take a photo of the two of us kissing. I thought it would be fun (and with a glass of wine to knock down any further inhibitions) and so he snapped a selfie of me pecking him on the lips.

Just like usual, he said he'd reach out to me within the next couple of days to schedule our next date. It was all good.

But the next day, a former coworker of mine (who still worked under Brian) emailed me to say that Brian had printed out about a hundred copies of the kissing photo and had wallpapered the office with it. She sent a photo of the office hall to prove it. It was lined in row upon row of of the photo. It was grainy and black-and-white, thanks to the copier, but it was still pretty obvious that it was me in the picture.

My relationship with Brian wasn't exactly a secret, but I didn't imagine that he'd bring it into my former office in so spectacular a fashion. I called him shortly after and here's how the conversation went:

"Hi, Brian."

"Hey, Jane! What's up?"

"Just working. What's new?"

"Same here. Swamped, today. Just finished a big project and–"

"What project?"

"Oh, just some purchase orders. You remember those."

"Do they have anything to do with the photos you plastered all over the office?"

Silence. Then, "Who told you?"

"It doesn't matter. Why did you–"

"Who told you?"

"Don't use that tone with me. What are you thinking?"

"I'll use whatever tone I want! Those pictures are staying! You hear me? Staying!"

He hung up on me. I was so hurt and confused that I just stood there for close to five minutes. Finally, I decided that this was his way of ending our relationship.

The former coworker who had told me about Brian's stunt let me know, a few days later, that Brian was disciplined at work. Brian called me a few times but I never picked up and he never left a message.