My supervisor at my office job often invites two of my other colleagues to have lunch with her, so she has someone to talk to after her good friend left. My supervisor once shared an office space with her good friend, but now she’s alone. She’s been at this job for 30+ years and is much older than me.
My colleagues do oblige her and eat with her, but I always have to decline her few invitations. For one, because she asks me if I want to eat lunch with her, and I say, 'No, I’m good,' or 'I’m not hungry right now,' or 'I’m using my lunch break for other stuff.'
She basically gives me the option to eat with her and doesn’t make it mandatory, so I decline until it’s made mandatory. I prefer to eat alone because I hate eating on someone else’s schedule, and I like my alone time with my food. That’s it.
But apparently, my colleague told me that my supervisor feels some type of way and said she’s going to continue asking me until I say yes.
What boundary can I set so that my supervisor knows my answer is no indefinitely unless it’s mandatory?