There’s something inherently awkward about randomly seeing your boss out in the public.

Things can get even more awkward if they catch you in a compromising situation like, say making a sensitive purchase.

Whether it be birth control or medication, there are some things you’d rather your boss not know about you.

But for this user’s cousin, apparently the most embarrassing thing her boss could catch her doing was buying toilet paper.

Check it out!

AITA for laughing at my cousin after she had an absolute melt down after her boss saw her buying toilet paper at Costco?

Yesterday I tagged along with my cousin on her trip to Costco. She has always been very high strung but for the most part we were having a nice time.

As we were in the check out line a very pleasant man in his 50s or 60s and said hello.

My cousin introduced him as the man who owns the company she works for.

I sort of stood by as they had normal small talk and he even complimented her on helping out with a huge sale even though she’s not in sales.

He even said that they were still working out what the bonus was going to be but it was going to be more than they initially thought.

I mean all and all, it seemed like a great interaction to have with a boss when you see them out in public.

But apparently, OP’s cousin wasn’t as thrilled about the conversation as she seemed!

Shortly after he left she started almost hyperventilating saying “oh my god, oh my god, I can’t believe that just happened.”

I had no idea what she was talking about and then she started saying “we have to leave, we have to get out of here, that was horrible.”

I said I had $300 worth of groceries and I can’t come to Costco, so I couldn’t leave.

So while her cousin went to collect herself, OP continued to do what they came to Costco for in the first place: get groceries!

She actually walked away and sat down in the food court, and I was still absolutely lost.

But her leaving ended up causing an even bigger scene, because I had to go find her because the needed to scan her membership card.

She was in absolute hysterics at this point and even the cashier asked if she was ok and if they could get her some water.

And when they finally left the store, her cousin revealed what had her so shook.

We paid and walked out and she appeared to be so physically weak I told her to lay down in the back seat and I would load everything and drive.

As I was driving I finally asked her what was going on and she screamed at me “my boss just saw me buying toilet paper!!! Do you know how humiliating that is?”

I actually thought I misheard her so i said “Wait this whole thing is over toilet paper?”

She screamed “Yes I’m probably going to get fired!!”

I asked her if she seriously thought she was going to get fired for buying toilet paper.

Her cousin confirmed that yes, buying toilet paper was in fact a fireable offense.

She said yes that she can’t let anyone at work know her private life.

I told her I doubt he even noticed and I also doubt he thinks about her bathroom habits, but he also probably assumes she poops and pees like everyone else.

Then she screamed back “Your job is so easy, you couldn’t possibly understand how much pressure I’m under at work…I’m going to lose it.”

At this point I lost it and started laughing harder than I knew was possible.

Not only was it ridiculous, but I felt like she was attacking me. Instead of going back and forth I felt like finding the humor was the way to go.

OP’s laughter only got her cousin more worked up…

She said “you’re actually laughing at me? You are such a jerk. I do you a huge favor and you’re laughing at me?”

She got to my house and dropped me off and sped off with my groceries.

I called my aunt to make sure they at least got put in fridge and my aunt said my cousin overreacted, but I’ll probably need to apologize to be able to get my stuff.

AITA?

Of all the embarrassing purchases your boss could catch you making, I think toilet paper is pretty low on the totem pole.

Reddit agreed that OP’s cousin was definitely overreacting.

And this user said that while her feelings were definitely real in the moment, OP’s laughter probably made her feel even more humiliated.

Many pointed out that there are literally bathrooms at work, so unless they go completely unused all day, there was no difference.

This user said if OP’s cousin had done what she had done, she might not have lived to tell the tale.

And finally this user was reminded of when a former president got sick on another head of state, saying if the president had bodily functions, then there was nothing to be ashamed about!

Hopefully her boss never sees her use a tissue.

She probably shouldn’t have laughed…but I might have, too.

If you liked that story, check out this post about a group of employees who got together and why working from home was a good financial decision.