Thank you threez for the encouragement,

I blushed knowing that someone as accomplished as you read my post. Your advice is noted with thanks. Let me attempt another one.

I hate working with friends. I always thought working with people I knew would be a great thing, but time and time again, I realize that just isn't true.

Something bound to fuck up.

Maybe it's just me.
When I first took over the business, R.Foo was the classic office bitch. It was highly possible she single-handedly ran the company into the ground. Well, it's a safe assumption when we realise she is the only one doing the shipment documentation, accounts and all other admin work. She would come into the office at 10am and leave at 11.30pm.

EVERY single day.

I thought she was hard working until I realise...
1) work was simply not done. Accounts were 2-3 years behind.
2) she locks her office door and cooks.

...Damn.

Now Kelly was introduced to me from an ex-worker who couldn't come back to help us as she had cancer. (Hope she's better.) She and I worked together just ok.

I fired R.Foo and started the dreary work of clearing backdated work. Imagine having to go through invoices that are hand written
.... and in Chinese.

and having to calculate each and every one of those invoices
...line by line.

Most of the tedious paper work I've already done before Kelly came onboard. After that, I simply hired more people to work.

Lithian was a Secondary School friend of mine. In those days, she was.... rather "well-rounded". I have nothing against being "Well-rounded". In fact, I was probably the first to befriend her (When others avoided her) and even gotten her home number.

Well, those were the days before Mobile Phones and Pagers. She came to work after losing her job in some Law firm. We didn't really keep in touch before, but I met her a couple of times at pubs and manage to exchange numbers again.

When she lost her job, I offered to hire her.

She lost weight. Serious amounts of it...but she wouldn't be considered Slim.
At best... Heavy.

So my staff and I were...surprised at her number of boyfriends.

Boyfriends of Quality.
Boyfriends that qualified for Manhunt competitions.
Boyfriends that were ACTUALLY in the competition.

Some drove sports cars and others were.... well.... rather gay.

She flashed pictures and dropped names. That usually would annoy people...especially in an office environment but in reality, we were tickled. Amused even. And I felt bad feeling that way.

You see, she was the classic groupie. She meets these men at the Gym she goes to... and when they talk or be nice to her, they automatically become boyfriends "of the special sort."

One even came over to the farm and parked outside the gate in his flashy red car. Chatted with her for a couple of minutes and left...with a few guppies she packed for him. When she came back, she announced that THAT was her latest boyfriend.

Should I have said anything? Sometimes, I wonder what sort of a friend I am.

She did her work well, and mastered the repetitive work with ease. And the day I told her about her increment after her probation, she tendered her resignation.

HUH?

"I found my dream job."
"Ok. What is it?"

"I'm hired as a dancer at a pub."
"...What?"

"I always wanted to be a dancer."

Dancer? Dream Job? Maybe I am the asshole, but man... it was cruel to my imagination. After that I found out that she became a waitress at a pub and any dancing was probably accidental. She's now back in another Law firm being someone's PA. I think.

I'm no Shanton Way and that will always be a problem.

MJ was another friend I hired. An insurance agent, it was quite a few tough years recently, and I hired him as an operations manager OJT. I have only one Golden Rule at my work place. "Work Comes First." My MC taking rate from my workers is practically Zero. I actually reimburse 100% of the MCs presented to me.

MJ was working for me a couple of weeks before I had to go for an extended trip to Europe. It was in Germany when I heard about him going AWOL. His uncle had passed on and he was very close to MJ. As his uncle had no children of his own, it was up to him to send him off.

Now, MOST companies wouldn't accept that half-baked reason for compassionate leave. In fact, even fewer would give you more than 3 days of compassionate leave...and that is for immediate family only.

He took his own time off with little or no preparation to the rest of the Staff.

Grumbles Rumbled through the company.

I wrote to him, asking him to come back to the company at least in the mornings and he refused to do so until 3 days later...on a Saturday.... and said, "There is nothing for me to do...why ask me to come back?"

As an export firm, we operate 7 days a week, and Sundays are our busiest day, as goods have to arrive on Monday in the receiving countries. So Saturdays are busy with preparation work.

I asked him not to come back to work after I verified with him that he really said what he did in front of others.

Moral: Never hired friends. Cause after that, you're usually one short.