Today we had some visitors at our plant. There were three people from our parent company, one of whom had worked at our facility for 5 years before he returned to Japan for his new assignment. With them were 3 people from a software consulting firm. About 10 I got a call from the person who'd worked at our plant. He said they needed to make arrangements for lunch. I asked if they needed reservations. He said no. He was sort of cagey, not really coming out and saying what he did want. Finally he said there was a large group, and they would need to take 2 cars. He asked if I could go to lunch. I said "I can go if you need me to." He did.
After we hung up, I told my boss "I just got invited to lunch. Instead of my winsome personality, I think they want my American driver's license". Indeed they did. That was fine. We were able to fit everyone in one of our company minivans. Once we got seated at the restaurant, I discovered the other reason I was invited. The server asked how many checks and we said "one". When asked who got the check, eyes were on me. At my company, the rule is normally "senior person pays." Thus, I was the last person who should have paid. But I said "I can pay and the company will reimburse me. " That was heartily accepted.
It was a very good meal. Upon arriving back at work, I told my boss "It's like we tell you. They invited me along to drive and pay." We often tell my boss that's why we take him places.
To recap: I got a nice lunch for free, spent time with a very enjoyable group of people, got paid overtime (working lunch), and I was gone from work for 2 hours. Life is hard sometimes.
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