***All characters are over 18 and are fictional. Any resemblance to any real-life persons is purely coincidental.
...
Everyone looked over at Bob as he walked into the office. While everyone else was wearing jeans, t-shirts, sneakers, and other casual garments they would normally wear outside the office, Bob was wearing a very ugly Hawaiian shirt.
"So, it's the first casual Friday we've had in years, and Bob comes in wearing that ugly shirt," said Dale.
"Well, you guys mostly work on the phone and through emails, so nobody is going to see that," Aaron replied.
"We have to see it. Isn't that bad enough?"
They were standing in the back, checking out what everyone was wearing on their way to work. While some dressed normally, there were a few who stood out. One woman came in wearing a blouse and skirt with cat images on it, one guy dressed like he was going on spring break, and another person came in showing his love of Marvel comics.
The original company owners, who bought out the company several years ago, got rid of it as being unnecessary and unprofessional. They sold it to a corporation a few months ago, which decided to bring back casual Friday to improve employee morale and team building. There were limitations on what was allowed to be worn. The few coworkers who took it too far stayed just under the line of what was allowed.
Aaron just wanted to wear some simple blue jeans and a t-shirt with his favorite band's logo on it. Dale did the same, but with his favorite college football team.
Their coworker, Sarah, walked up to them. She poured herself some coffee and joined their conversation. For casual Friday, she was wearing skinny jeans with a blazer over a white t-shirt. Like some of the other women in the office, she chose something that was good enough for the office and if she needed to go out with friends after work.
"Ian, the temp, is wearing a death metal shirt with a picture of a human skull that has worms coming out of its mouth and eye sockets. Isn't that a violation?" Sarah asked.
"Still under the line of what's acceptable," Aaron replied. "It's only bad if there's blood or gore coming out of the skull."
Aaron was the HR manager for that branch of the company. One of the new tasks he had just been handed was making sure everyone was compliant with the casual Friday dress code. Essentially, you couldn't wear anything that's sexually explicit, show images of blood or violence on t-shirts, images that promote any criminal behavior, or other things of that nature. There were also rules against coming in wearing items that were far too casual, such as gym clothes, yoga pants, pajamas, flip-flops, Daisy Dukes, etc. So far, despite a few bad choices in clothing, Aaron has not seen or heard of any complaints about any inappropriate attire.
Even if he did see someone wear something inappropriate, Aaron would do his best not to get that person in too much trouble. He would most likely give them some general warnings and tell them what's more acceptable to wear for casual Fridays in the future.
Aaron was known for being everyone's favorite HR manager the branch had ever had. Not just because he was good at his job, but because, unlike other HR managers the branch had had before him, he didn't have a stick up his ass. Most HR managers he has known are too obsessed with policies and less focused on the culture and inner workings of the business. Aaron was in sales for several years before he moved up to HR, so he got a good idea of how the company works from the outside and how to use it to improve HR relations within his branch. When someone screws up or violates some policy, he tries to help them out to make sure they don't lose their jobs or get into too much trouble. But if someone does royally screw up, he has no choice but to punish them; there was a limit to how nice a guy he could be.
The three of them were chatting away while drinking their morning coffee when, all of a sudden, Lisa, the young receptionist, entered the office. Everyone suddenly stopped what they were doing. She was attractive enough already, being 22 and slender, with long auburn hair and a perfect hourglass figure. Now she was wearing Daisy Duke shorts and a top that not only hugged her breasts too tightly but showed off much of her midriff as well.
"Is that even allowed?" asked Dale.
"No, I'm pretty sure it's not," Aaron replied.
"Oh my God, as a woman, I find that completely unprofessional, and she should be ashamed of herself," said Sarah. "However, as a lesbian, I am loving this."
"How do you feel about it as a married lesbian?" Dale asked.
"Shut the fuck up, Dale," she replied.
Lisa came right up to the counter where the three coworkers were chatting and pretended that they were discussing other things besides her.
"Isn't casual Friday great?" Lisa asked as she made her coffee. "One day a week, I can be myself."
"Yes, it's pretty amazing," Aaron replied.
"Did you see Bob's shirt? Is that even allowed?" Lisa asked.
There was an awkward silence because nobody knew how to respond to that.
"From what I understand, he's staying under the line," Aaron assured her.
Lisa walked back to her front desk with her coffee, and they watched as every coworker she walked by looked like they were losing their minds. Even Gary, the only other gay person in the office besides Sarah, couldn't help taking a long look at her.
"Is Gary getting a boner from her?" Dale asked, looking confused.
"Oh yeah," Sarah replied. "He's obviously getting turned on by Lisa."
"He must be so confused right now," said Aaron.
"So, is that something you have to report?" Dale asked.
Aaron had to think about that long and hard. Technically speaking, it was something he had to take care of because of the inappropriate nature of her attire, and his HR duties said he needed to send her home. On the other hand, he's a guy, and he loves what he's seeing; he realizes it may make him a hypocrite, but he doesn't care.
"Technically, I can only do something if someone files a complaint," Aaron told her.
The truth was, he could do it himself if he wanted to, but he was hoping that it wouldn't have to come to that. If he was going to reprimand Lisa, which might get her to stop dressing that way, he wanted the excuse that other people had complained about it. That way, he'd be able to walk away from the situation with his hands clean because he'd claim it wasn't his fault.
"I'm not saying anything," said Sarah.
"Definitely not me," said Dale.
At that moment, Aaron's girlfriend and one of the branch's supervisors, Janice, showed up, and that's when Dale and Sarah made excuses to go back to work. They didn't hate Janice, but they did find her intimidating, and ever since she and Aaron started dating a few months ago, it made things extra awkward for them to hang out around the office.
"Good morning, sweetie," she said as she gave Aaron a small kiss on the lips.
"Good morning, babe," he replied.
"Can you believe what the slut is wearing?" she whispered to him. "I want to report her."
"Who are you talking about?"
"Who do you think? Lisa, the receptionist."
Aaron didn't know what to say. He liked Lisa, not because of how attractive she was but generally because she was a friendly person, and he would hate to see her get into trouble. Someone was going to report her eventually throughout the day. The least he could do was make it so his own girlfriend wouldn't be the one to do it.