I got a job once at this little video production company, and everyone was always trying to find pens. I'm pretty sure this one smart ass there was stealing them just because he thought it was funny that no one could ever find one...
Anyway, it was probably my second week on the job and I got pissed off because there were like 10 cups that were supposed to have pens in them at all times and I couldn't find a single one, so I went to the grocery store across the street and bought like 3 boxes of pens and filled all the cups again with the warning that these were my pens that everyone was welcome to use but if they all went missing I would start keeping them locked in my car. Everyone seemed happy to have pens again.
I got hauled into the managers office 2 hours later and questioned as to why I spent my own money on office supplies, why I didn't just requisition more pens, told never to do that again and handed a check for $11 for "stationary supplies".
That was the last time I ever bought anything for anybody at work ever again lol