Co-worker must tone down offensive ‘fumes’

Dear Diane: I have a delicate situation that I need your help with.

I work in an office with 12 other women. We all get along fairly well. Some of us are closer than others, but that’s life, right?

Well, here’s the deal: One of the women I work with, “Belinda,” is someone with whom I am not close. We aren’t enemies, but let’s just say our conversations are strictly work-related. Belinda tends to wear her perfume a bit heavy. You can smell her coming a day away.

No one has the heart to tell Belinda to her face that her perfume is too strong, because she is the type of person who will get angry, belligerent, throw a hissy fit and then hold a grudge. Things are just fine in the office as it is, but if Belinda goes off, then we’ll lose the fragile peace that we’ve kept for so long.

What can we do, Diane? What is the best, most tactful way to approach Belinda without World War III breaking out?

— Needing a Gas Mask in Galveston

Dear Galveston: It’s simple. Leave an anonymous note to Belinda’s supervisor about the perfume. Let the supervisor handle it. I’m sure he or she has felt the brunt of Belinda’s chemical attacks too. This way, you and the rest of the ladies in your office are off the hook.