DEAR ABBY: I work in a small office, and every day a co-worker's adult child who works nearby comes here to have lunch with her mother. She knows everyone's business as if she worked here, and we're forced to order her something when we get takeout. Frankly, we're tired of it. How can we put a stop to this without hurting anyone's feelings? -- ONE MORE FOR LUNCH
DEAR O.M.F.L.: It appears the line between "family" and "business" has become blurred. The co-worker who is closest to the mother should approach her privately and say, "You should know that your daughter coming here every day is creating hard feelings in the office. If you want to have lunch with her every day, then you should be doing it outside the office. During our lunch time, we want to talk about things that are personal, and her presence makes that difficult."