My company is holding a large annual event this week for our clients. VP of the company today asked if I would like to go to dinner with the rest of the company (under 30 employees, family-owned biz) the night before the event starts, and that all of the office staff (the only 3 non-exempt employees in the whole company) are invited.
I’m assuming most of the talk at dinner will be about the event, thus it would be a working meal. There will likely be key topics discussed that are important (I can’t imagine this is solely a social event), but this job is just a paycheck for me and I don’t care to engage in off-hours social time with anyone nor spend more time working than necessary.
Should I accept the invitation on condition that I’m paid for my time? If I’m paid to be at the dinner, should I assume I’ll be financially responsible for my meal?