I
innocent joker
Guest
In the course of a business-related message to a female coworker, I included what I thought was a joke, an exaggeration of how upset I was that she didn't agree with me on some minor points. Now she has claimed to her supervisor that I sent her a threatening e-mail, and he has taken the issue to my supervisor, so things are getting way out of hand. Since we had worked closely together for two years, I thought she knew me well enough to know that I was joking and certainly meant her no harm, but now my reputation and personnel record are in danger of being permanently damaged over a joke. Is this legal? What should I do in my defense?