Microsoft Office Christmas party
Another photo incident was plotted at another Microsoft Office party event. And that event took place at Christmas in 1998. That year a younger Chinese man, John, approached me at a Microsoft Toastmasters meeting. That was the perfect opportunity to get in contact with me because we didn’t work together, but these informal meetings gave him the opportunity to meet me.
At the beginning he seemed like a nice guy, and I’m a person who doesn’t turn my back on someone who approaches me. I trust people and give them the benefit of doubt until they prove otherwise. As soon I found out that he wanted to get to know me closer, I’ll made it clear to him that I wasn’t interested in any close relationship with him, but I kept on talking with him even when he stopped unannounced by my house.
In the year when I met John, he invited me to the Office Christmas party at a hotel in downtown Seattle. I accepted his offer because I lived by myself, had nothing else planned, and thought it would be fun to attend the Office Christmas party.
John picked me up at my new house in Redmond. In September that year I had bought a house in Redmond, just around the corner of the main campus from Microsoft. When he picked me up for the party, he showed up with dark roses and a toy-box with a Mercedes car in it. At the time I just thought that these are strange gifts to bring. I had told him already that I wasn’t interested in any intimate relationship with him therefore I found the roses inappropriate for the occasion and the car toy a very unusual Christmas gift. Now I know that his acts were carefully planned and not only by himself.
Before we drove to the party, we stopped by his friend’s house Lucius in Bellevue who accompanied us at the party. Lucius was a German guy working at Microsoft, too, and he was married to a good looking woman from Hawaii. I believe I met Lucius the first time at this occasion. Lucius, his wife and sister-in-law were at the house, and a Christmas tree was set up in the living room.
When I arrived at Lucius house, the women weren’t ready yet and we had to wait a little bit. While waiting Lucius’ wife asked me for a photo with John in front of their Christmas tree. I wrote already that I don’t like having photos taken of me and especially not with someone I hardly know, but on that evening I felt compelled to take a photo with John. He had invited me to the Christmas Office party, he had bought me some flowers, and it was Christmas. And I didn’t want to snub him on Christmas in front of his friends. Reluctantly I took this photo though I may have smiled. I actually have never seen this photo. I don’t know what they did with it. Later I asked John about the whereabouts of this photo, and he told me that he doesn’t have it. Now I ask myself for what devious plan they used it.
At the Office party I danced a little bit, John pulled an act like a jealous admirer, and I was glad when this show was over, and I was again at home by myself.
I’m not sure whether other pictures were taken of me during that evening, but I can imagine that this has been the case. Now I know that luring me into certain situations had been carefully planned not only once. Therefore I can imagine that more photos of me were taken that evening.