The Bar For Impressing Your Coworker Is High
While I was in college, I came home for summer vacation and got a summer job working at a warehouse. During the lunch break, I was speaking to someone who had worked there for much longer than I had.
Coworker: “This job is what pays the bills, but during the weekend, I work as a bouncer. That job’s as much for fun as to make money, though. I could take you there sometime if you want.”
Me: “Oh, no, thanks. I don’t drink, and I spent enough time around a bar as a kid to last me my whole life, thanks.”
Coworker: “Okay, suit yourself. But if you ever change your mind and want to come down to the [Bar] on a weekend, come look me up.
Me: “Wait, you work at [Bar]? Really?”
Coworker: “Yeah, you know it?”
Me: “That is the only bar in this state I do know, and way too well. My dad used to own it when I was a kid. How’s it doing nowadays?”
Coworker: “What? You’re [Owner]’s son?”
Me: “No, no, my dad sold it to him a few years ago, and he was renting it from us for years before that. Actually, the sale is working out really well for us; he’s paying us 13% interest and barely pays enough each month to cover the interest so it’s just like free money each month.”
Coworker: “There is no way your dad owned the [Bar].”
Me: “Umm, I’m pretty sure he did. My sister even had one of her birthday parties in the restaurant half one year.”
Coworker: “If your dad is rich enough to own a bar, why are you working here?”
Me: “He isn’t as rich as you seem to think. When he owned it the bar barely made a profit and all that went into fixing it up. If it weren’t for those rental properties in the back parking lot, I’m pretty sure it would have lost money; turns out the real money is in being a slum lord! It really didn’t pay him enough to be worth the effort he put in until he started renting it to [Current Owner] and just kept the rental properties.”
Coworker: “No way you would be working here if your dad owns a bar.”
Me: “My parents expect me to pay my own way through college; they think I’ll appreciate it more if I earn it myself. They put a bit into our college fund every Christmas, but my sister and I still have to cover the rest.”
Coworker: “Fine, what’s your dad’s name?”
Me: “It’s [Dad], why?”
He grins at me a little smugly
Coworker: “I’ll just ask [Current Owner] if your dad really used to own the [Bar].”
Me: “Umm, okay, you can do that.”
A week later, my father comes back from running some errands.
Dad: “So, what’s this about you bragging that you use to own the [Bar]?”
That coworker avoided me for a week or two after that, apparently embarrassed once it was confirmed that my dad did own the bar just as I had said.
The funny thing is that I wasn’t trying to brag; it hardly seemed worth bragging about to me. I was so sick of that bar after being forced to hang out in the restaurant half for hours on end as a kid while my father dealt with the latest crises. I was more than happy to be rid of the place when my father started renting it out.