chicken tenders

so i'm at work tonight (i'm actually still at work writing this, don't tell anyone), and around comes dinner time so some people from the office (can i call it an office? it's not really an office building, more of a complex). so three people from the complex get food from this place we frequent called angelo's, i pass because i'm not that hungry. so the food arrives and the two guys i'm with start eating right away. but the third guy, nick, can't be found anywhere in the complex.

so the aroma wafts my way and of course i start getting hungry. and i start wondering what to do in this situation. can i eat this dude's food? how long do i have to wait? i joke to my colleague brad, who got the food, that if he's not back in 5 minutes i'm eating his food. half joke, that is. i mean, i was hungry, and we all know i love food. so 5 minutes later i'm about to eat it and brad says you better give me the 8 bucks for that if you eat it. the following conversation ensues.

J - 'but nick already gave you the money for it right?'
B - 'yeah'
J - 'so i shouldn't have to pay you'
B - 'but you're eating his food, you gotta pay for it'
J - 'but not you, if nick shows up then i'll pay him'
B - 'if nick shows up he'll wonder why you're eating his food'

i realize i am stuck. i say look, i'll go look for nick so at least i can say i made an effort to make sure he didn't miss out on his food. of course i really just wanted to make sure he wasn't still here and about to burst in and see me gorging myself on his chicken tenders.

long story short, i pay brad the 8 bucks and eat the tenders, which of course were cold after all this deliberation. but i can't help feeling i got screwed here. i should've gotten that food for free, and that way, next week, if nick says anthing, i'll pay him. if he says nothing, then oh well, his loss. don't buy food and not eat it. if i were him and i came in the next week and found out someone had eaten my food, i'd feel like an ass asking for the 8 dollars for it.

this touches on another tricky food related topic. when people order food and there are leftovers, i.e. pizza slices, and everyone is full, can the guy who didn't get anything have it? does he have to pay? are the original buyers entitled to save it for tomorrow? after 4 years of encountering this in college, i still don't know the answer.