I (F39) work for a fortune 100 company, and we have employees across the US.
Last time I went on a work trip, I went out to dinner with someone (M51) to network. This is normal at my company, I've never felt unsafe doing so. At dinner he mentioned I'm very attractive, he said he meant it as a compliment only, and he wasn't trying to be unprofessional. I brushed it off. After dinner, we chatted for a while about the company and potential career moves. He had my number because we had texted about where to eat.
After dinner, he texted me that night saying he enjoyed our conversations, then he texted me the next morning. I made it a point of ignoring many of the texts, as they were harmless, I just didn't need to talk to him that much. I had also made it clear that I'm happily married, and he was too, we had talked about family, so I hadn't thought much of anything. We talked more (virtually) at work over the next month, mostly about work things and catching up about some home life things.
At some point, he asked if we could be close friends. Seemed a bit odd but I was open to friendship. My husband was trying to join the company and he had talked to my husband to help with interview skills.
When I said yes to friendship, the flood gates open. He texted at least 10 times per day. Shared pictures about what his family was up to, things on his mind, family history, past struggles, etc. Then he wanted to go to snap chat, I said no. He settled for signal, saying his daughter looked through texts often. We moved to signal and he shared that his wife wouldn't understand our conversations, that he was doing nothing wrong but she would get jealous. (At that point, our conversations were not about anything I would consider inappropriate) Conversations then moved to questions about my sex life with my husband. I drew the line, said I wouldn't be the woman that had conversations his wife wouldn't be okay with.
He said he would work on being more respectful and started to back off. Then a few days later, he started asking about my favorite parts of my body, I avoided it and said I didn't really have one.
Then he said he hated himself for checking to see if he had a message from me every hour and that he missed me. I had already been feeling uneasy, but this really upset me.
At the same time, I had a family issue arise. I asked for distance to deal with what was going on in my life and that we only talk at work if needed. I was also questioning what to do, but figured that would give me space and time.
He said he would respect that, and then hours later asked if my health was okay. I told him I appreciated the care, but didn't want to talk about what was going on. He texted that night saying he hoped I was okay, then again in the morning. The next morning he asked if my husband and I were okay. I again, told him to stop asking, thanks for caring, but leave me alone, and I wouldn't share if there was a problem in my marriage. He apologized and tried to say he meant were my husband and son okay.
Another text at night saying he hoped I was okay. The twice daily texts kept happening and I finally told him this was all making me extremely uncomfortable. I told him I didn't want to come between him and his wife, that he wasn't respecting my boundaries, and I no longer wanted to be friends. If we had to talk at work, fine, otherwise, please leave me alone.
He apologized, asked me to delete all our conversations, and I got two days silence. I didn't respond to his ask, because of course I am keeping records for my own safety.
Two days later, he texts me from a new number with a "last note before putting our friendship to bed." He apologized for discomfort, thanked me for setting boundaries and helping him grow, said he shared everything with his family and he feels horrible, and he hopes for a friendship in the future, and thanks for not reporting him to HR.
Well, I wasn't going to report him, but now I feel unsafe. I hadn't even blocked his number because I didn't feel the need. But the fact that he sent me a text from a new one is unsettling and feels like very stalker-type behavior.
I'm a leader at my company, fairly high up, and working on furthering my career. He knows a lot of people, and I worry about how messy this could get.
Do I tell him to never contact me again or I will report him, or do I report this now? On the off chance we run into each other in the office (we are in different work groups now and neither of us live at the main location), I know I will be in a panic.
TLDR: Do I report someone who is not really sexually harassing me but won't stop texting me outside of work and is making me feel uncomfortable?