Keeping food in a shared office fridge can sometimes create problems.

In this story, an employee was having a rough night and noticed a can of Red Bull in the fridge that hadn’t been consumed for about 2 months already.

Nobody knew who it belonged to. So after asking around, she decided nobody wanted it and drank it herself.

Now, the owner showed up and was furious that someone had taken her drink without permission.

Uh oh! Looks like it’s going to be a big argument. Read the full story below to find out more.

AITA for drinking the energy drink in our work fridge?

I work in a pretty small office, but we do have another company that basically uses our office as a mailing address.

For that other office, they have an employee that comes in maybe once a month.

Especially if they need to meet with a client or will pick up their mail.

This employee was having a rough night

I had a rough night last week, and I was in desperate need of a pick-me-up.

There was this coconut berry Red Bull in the fridge that had been there for about 2 months.

This is a full-size fridge stocked with Coke, Diet Coke, snacks, random things from marketers.

Sometimes, there is a random bottle of wine in there from a marketer, and stuff like this is typically up for grabs.

She and her colleagues agreed that she could have the Red Bull.

We all respect each other’s personal snacks and lunch.

It is pretty clear, since there are only 3 of us that actively use the fridge every day, what is whose.

I asked my other coworkers about the Red Bull, and neither knew who it belonged to.

They guessed it could’ve been brought in by a marketer with a gift basket or something.

We collectively agreed that after months of it being in there, I could take it.

She later learned that the owner was looking for it and got upset that she drank it.

Well, I come to find out, it belonged to the random other person who barely is ever in this office.

Yesterday at work, I was out of office, and this lady apparently was very upset because she remembered she had a Red Bull in the fridge.

She asked around about who drank it. I have no idea how she even remembered it was in there.

But she apparently felt very disrespected that her belongings were stolen from her.

I found out about it this morning, so I am hearing from my coworkers how distraught she was.

She offered to pay for the energy drink she consumed.

I immediately emailed the lady and asked if I could pay her back for the drink.

Her response was that it isn’t about the money. It is about the principle of my actions.

I genuinely need to know if I am the jerk here. Did I totally break office code here?

I feel bad that she got so upset.

But I am sitting here thinking about how if this happened to me and someone drank my energy drink because they had a rough night, I wouldn’t care at all.

So, AITA?

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Uh oh! Looks like OP got into trouble for drinking someone else’s beverage in the fridge.

Even if it hadn’t been consumed for months, the drink still technically belonged to another person.

It’s obviously clear it was an honest mistake, and she even apologized and offered to pay for it.

I think the owner’s reaction seems much more intense than the situation warranted.

Do you think so, too? Let’s read the responses of other people to this story.

This user shares their personal thoughts.

This person makes a valid point.

Here’s another one siding with OP.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a widow who returned to a store to thank employees for their kindness to her late husband.

People need to chill, says this one.

Finally, here’s a suggestion.

Even an innocent mistake can make some people infuriated.