Broke the Rules by Accident?

Anonymous Candy Petal #284 · General Confessions

I work as an office administrator for a small company and I've been feeling particularly stressed this week. Everything seemed to pile up at once, deadlines, emails needing replies, calls for meetings, and on top of that, my boss asked me to keep closer tabs on his expenses. So naturally, when I got hungry during lunch today, I didn't think about the rules he's laid out and just grabbed a few snacks from the office pantry without asking him first. In our dynamic, he acts as more of a disciplinarian figure. He’s not my traditional Daddy/Mommy type caregiver, but there are definite DDLG elements to how we interact, especially when it comes to rules about personal expenses and professional boundaries. He's very clear on what is allowed in terms of using the office space for personal use. After lunch, I started feeling guilty right away. The snacks weren't expensive at all, but they were clearly off-limits according to his rules. I know he wouldn’t be thrilled that I broke them without even thinking about it first. The guilt kept gnawing at me as the day went on. Should I just ignore this and pretend nothing happened? Or should I come clean? I'm conflicted because part of me knows this is a small thing in the grand scheme of things, but within our dynamic, these little infractions can have bigger implications, especially when it comes to trust and boundaries. And that's what worries me most right now. So here’s where I’m at: how do you balance your own needs with someone else’s rules? Is bending those rules for a small thing like this really such a big deal? Or should I just suck up my pride, admit it to him tonight over the phone call we’re scheduled to have, and hope he doesn’t see me as a complete rule-breaker? I guess part of what feels so strange is that within this dynamic, it's not about breaking rules for a quick thrill or something overtly naughty. It’s more about following guidelines to maintain trust and consistency in our relationship, professional though it might be. So here I am, debating whether an honest admission will cause more damage than just letting it slide would.