Tuesday's your new favorite day of the week. I love that.
Welcome Awkward Tuesday.
Welcome to the Brooke and Jeffrey of course Second Date podcast. But today is always a little special with our Awkward Tuesday phone call. And all I'll say is one of our listeners dabbled in workplace romance and I'm definitely backfired.
Yeah, backfired.
Yeah.
So hey, thank you for all the comments on last week's Awkward Tuesday.
We've got so many. Yeah, you guys love it and it makes me so happy.
Yes.
Sarah Herbie wrote, Oh my god, thanks for posting this so fast. I heard the first half of my way to work yesterday and was excited to hear the rest of it, which I always forget that a lot of podcast listeners listen to part of us on the radio on their commune.
Yeah great.
Matt Bright just simply said that was absolutely brutal, which I think is a compliment.
I think that.
Describes a lot of all we have, brutal.
So always keep your comments coming.
We love it, whether that's on the podcast as or on our socials at Brook and Jeffrey. And don't forget to order your limited edition Second Date Update merch for a cause. But you can get it now. The link is in the show notes. And let's get this awkward started.
It's awkward.
It's Tuesday.
It's awkward Tuesday phone call. For years, I would always get the best office gossip from the head of our HR department. She would tell me all of the dirt about everybody here.
I know exactly what you're talking about. I'm not sure why they let her go.
Wait, she get you dirt.
Oh, she's give me dirt.
Took about best, but apparently she was talking about.
Me to Oh, I know some stuff about you. But look, certain work issues are too awkward to bring to HR. Then you got to take the elevator all the way down to the basement of morality and be honest.
HR is only there to protect the company, not protecting.
And we're I'm able to protect anybody.
That's why you can always tell us whatever's going on in your life, which is why our listener Dave has reached out with a work problem too scandalous for H.
Dave, welcome to the show.
Thank you guys.
Are you second guessing your decision after that intro?
Well, I have a really awkward situation and I really didn't want to do it on the radio, but I don't know what else to do.
Here.
We go.
Whatever dirt that you want to share, we promise we won't share it with anybody else.
Oh no, I'm telling everybody, But I don't know where your office is, so it's fine.
Yeah, okay, Well what's going on?
So? Uh?
Not too long ago, I was at a company and I ended up having a fling with one of my younger coworkers.
Co workers, is key. It wasn't like somebody you were the.
Boss that I was her boss.
That's important detail. It's like a power dynamic you can't do, you know.
That's exactly what Brooke tried to do with me when I first started working here on the show as a promotions kid.
I never tried to hook up with you, and I still she just did have zero injury.
Remember HR told me everything I told you you were taking advantage of. So anyway, that's an awkward situation for you to be in Dave with one of your subordinates.
But you did it to yourself.
Yeah, and unlike Brooke, she liked me.
Okay, okay, listen, buddy. Just because she liked it, you still can't do it. You're the boss, I know, so, yes.
So we were keeping everything on the d L, keeping everything on the down low because, like you guys are saying, we could both get in trouble.
Yeah, okay, But then we got to.
The point where we wanted to bring it out into the public, let everybody know, and stop sneaking around.
I felt that way. She felt that way.
Wait, so you were both on the same page about this.
Yes, okay, but we felt like if we did that, our coworkers would be really weirded out by it, especially if they find out how long it was going on before we told them. And so we were talking. She gave me this idea. It's like, if we didn't work together, we would.
Have a problem.
Okay, I mean that's true.
So I thought, yeah, she's right.
And I thought, Okay, what I'm going to do is I have more job experience. I could get a job more easily than she could.
So I put in my notice and.
Should have inspired her.
You guys, he should have gotten another job before you put in your notice.
Anybody.
I was able to get another job less money, but I did get another job for it. Well, so this is the part where it might not have been worth it, because ever since I quit, the relationships gone kind of cold. I mean, it was really hot and heavy for the first month, but now it seems like she's distancing herself from me.
Wait, how long were you dating before you quit your job?
A month?
That's wow?
You could it be that forbidden fruit thing where it's like, since you're doing it and sneaking around, it's kind of fun and exciting, but now that it's out in the open, it's lost its luster.
I have no idea because she won't respond to my text, she won't respond to my call, no explanation, and meanwhile, I'm over here, like what the hell I went and quit my job for you, and now I'm out.
I hate to say it, but it sounds kind of like she broke up with you.
Yeah, she just I mean a couple of months. I feel like that's the point where you know, if you're into someone orn and she probably feels bad. It's not like she wanted you to quit your job.
But the thing was, she was all for it when I said I was going to do it, I know, but like.
That's a lot of pressure on her for you to bring it up. If she wasn't really sure on the relationship, you know, like.
Well that was to quote Adam Sandler, that's information I needed to know yesterday.
Okay, maybe it's Adam Sale.
I see, you're just looking for an explanation.
You want to know what's going on.
Okay, that's fair.
And it says in your email here that you're only forty six years older than her, so hopefully that's.
What I'm just kidding.
I'm just.
You, guys, it's not like that. It's like they hooked up.
No, I don't have dementia.
I know what's going on now.
I'm worried.
Is there a huge age gap between you two twelve years?
She's twelve years younger than I'm crazy.
That's not crazy A lot worse.
It is crazy that she agreed to like tell him, hey, go quit your job and we can be together, and then a month later she's out.
Crazy that after a month he's like, I'm gonna quit my job. You like, what is she supposed to say? I would feel backed into a corner.
We weren't there, Brooke. I don't know if she reacted like.
That, only that would just be my reaction.
Yes, let's come back, We're gonna let Dave call his ex U.
We don't know for sure.
I was gonna say his ex coworker, And we'll see if she picks up and has an explanation for him for why she told him, go ahead, quit your job and then ghost it again.
Not on her, put on her.
The facts are she's ghosting.
That's true.
So let's see if she has.
Anything to say about it when we come back and do your awkward Tuesday phone call right after this. It's awkward. It's awkward Tuesday phone call. We always ask the question, what are you willing to do for true love?
Oh?
Yeah, well, our listener Dave was willing to quit his job for it. Literally, he was dating one of his younger subordinates in secret until they both agreed. If we want to keep this thing going and go public with it, the best bet is for Dave to leave the company and get himself a new job.
Yeah, yeah, cuts out all the awkwardness.
It's funny, how normal you read that? But yeah, someone literally quit his career.
Would be that crazy if it wasn't after a month of talking.
Yeah, that is the crazy. It wouldn't be crazy if he was dating a year.
They say, what you know you know.
But the weird part is a month after he quit, she suddenly ghosted completely with no response, no explanation for where she's gone. So understandably, Dave is feeling confused and a little left out in the lurch, which is why he wants our help to call her.
Now.
We need to give him some advice, Jose, what do you think Dave needs to keep in mind saying goodbye?
Oh, like you're gonna be the one that is okay with the breakup.
You tell her you haven't talked to me for months, and I hate the feeling like I'm talking to myself or I'm bugging somebody. So you just say goodbye, thank you for the wonderful memories. I can take a hint and I wish you the best.
Are you just saying this from personal experience that they all come crawling?
Yeah, you say.
A minute, take back the power by saying goodbye first.
Well, I don't want to say goodbye without knowing what happened.
Okay, it's very risky because he does want an explanation.
So maybe Brooke, you have some advice on that front.
I mean, closure is always hard to come by, Dave.
I really think that no matter what you do to get someone to open up, you need to go in with compliments.
You need to say how you felt.
About her and what a great time you had together, not that, and then maybe just say you know, I was hoping for more time with you. Is there something I can do to make things better?
I think Brooke is wanting a compliment from you, Da.
Can you just practice on her first?
You have a lovely voice, brook Wow, almost believed it.
So use some compliments to soften her up.
A little bit and say goodbye before she can say goodbye.
Take back the power.
You're really pretty by.
Hopefully that helps. But I'm gonna dial your ex co worker. What's her name, by the way, Nicole? Okay, all right, me write that down, Nicole. I'm dialing Nicole's number and we will step away. Let you make your awkward Tuesday phone call.
Here we go.
Hello, Hey, Hey, it's me.
Oh I'm sorry?
What who says? It's Dave? It's me Dave?
Okay?
Hi?
Uh?
What?
Wow?
I wish you were I wish you were a little more excited to hear from me because I haven't heard from you in a while.
You know, I missed talking to you. I miss hearing your lovely voice.
Okay, Hi, how are you doing.
Well?
How funny you should ask.
That's why I'm calling to see how we're doing, because you haven't answered my calls, you haven't answered my texts, and I literally quit my job so we could be together. So I just I just want to know what's going on.
Yeah, I know, And thank you so much for doing that. By the way, that was really sweet, and I promise I'll never forget that.
Well, I mean I did it because you are the fantastic person, and I think we were fantastic together.
I've never I've.
Never been with somebody's as beautiful and smart as you are. Well, thank you so much for Okay, I mean, you know, if you're if you're too uncomfortable Lewis on the phone, I can come into the office, we can sit down, we can talk in person.
You know.
Now, I wouldn't do that, and I don't think the supervisor was like so, I feel like, what the west?
What do you mean the supervisor won't let me?
I mean I was pretty real wife at that place.
I think there have been some changes in staff here and that would be very awkward and uncomfortable.
What kind of.
What kind of changes are you talking about?
You'll be a league here? What's going on over there?
Okay, well I didn't know how to tell you this, but after you quit, they came to me and they offered me a promotion and it's to your job.
Oh well, we wait, what you took my old job?
I mean, I make a lot more money now.
And yeah, I'm sure you would because I know how much I made and I know how much you made.
I mean, so it was a bit hard for me to say no, and you weren't there.
So I I of course I wasn't there. We agreed that I quit.
Thank god?
Who is this? What's going on? I'm not understand what's going on right now.
It's kind of like a conference call.
Yeah, with a conference call with a whole morning show called Brook and Jeffrey in the morning.
I'm I'm feeling a bit ambushed for you.
You don't need to, by the way, congrats on your promotion. Yeah, that's good news, But.
I don't congratulate her.
I'm taking my job.
Well, why did you.
Plan on this?
Is this why you got me to quit so you could have my job?
No, I'm sorry, I am just so shocked. I didn't know that this was going to happen.
No, totally.
It was a great opportunity to pass it up, and you decided to quit and I took it.
But you were the one who told me to leave.
You said it would be better for both of us if I did that.
It was it was better for her.
Yeah, he brought that up to me. I never went to him and said you should quit your job.
Oh no, no, no, no, you brought that up.
To me and I agreed.
No, I told you that I was just as shocked as you. They came to me. I did not go to them and ask for you.
Really, I'm going to take you to word now what.
She didn't lie him about. It doesn't sound like she lied to you about anything.
No, that she shocked.
I find it hard to believe that she's shocked, you.
Know, Dave, I really don't want to be rude, but everyone at work really likes me more than you. I reinstated fun Fridays. You took that away, and everyone's really happy with the job that I'm doing right now, So I don't need you to yell at me, and especially on a radio show. I'm sorry that that happened. But from my perspective, you decided to quit and they came to me.
Okay, wow, I.
Mean it does kind of sound like you you made your own grave there, Dave.
Yeah, and she dug it for me?
Did she.
Did?
There was no job before you left. It's not like she knew that that was going to happen.
Into the cemetery. He went to the boss and quit.
Yeah, and he was dating someone that was you know, you can't do that. She was getting a boss and dates somebody below you.
Here's the question that we don't have that I think Dave wants from Nicole, is that why did you ghost him?
Like?
Why did you break off the romantic relationship with no explanation?
So I would say the majority of the things that we talked about had to do with work, and it was something that I couldn't talk to him about anymore.
Work is what bonded you together.
So once that was taken away, there was nothing left to keep the relationship going.
You don't have faith that he would have celebrated your big job promotion to his job.
Yeah. Yeah, maybe you could have taken me out to dinner with your big race.
It's his money, yeah, look, I feel really bad and maybe if you're up for it, we could get together and have a coffee and you can give me some tips on the job. Since you've done it before, I would love to come.
In and help you get more ahead.
On you said you cared about her. Someone had to take your job.
It might as well be somebody that you cared about.
For her, somebody who puts the knife in my back.
The okay on your big promotion.
Yeah and cool on fun fridays to really good idea.
Thank you. I don't know what else to say. This has been an.
Maybe I should go in and talk to HR.
You know, maybe what we were doing.
You're sounding kind of petty my friend.
Yeah, oh yes, you can call me Tom.
Okay, Oh Tom petty Okay.
Dad.
I'm sorry this played out how it did.
And Nicole, I know you're a supervisor now and you probably know this, but one rule is do not date any of your subordinates.
I don't think she's going to make It usually doesn't work.
Out very well, and you know what, trust me, I will not I have a really hard job now with extra responsibilities, and I really need to focus on that day.
Freaking Jeffrey in the morning,