I saw a colleague at work palm a long service pin (in box) at an informal ceremony held in a boardroom. I kept an eye on him. He placed it in a drawer in the recipient's desk. Much searching ensued during which he made many suggestions to which members of the department would respond in various ways along with offering similar suggestions. I said nothing of his ruse even though it bothered me. Afterward, I said to him, that was cruel. He smiled and said, "Yeah but I had fun." That part pissed me off greatly... a 30 year service pin?

Doubtful that such occurred in the op's instance, especially since one actually could palm and pocket such a case but I see great difficulty in executing same with a stool.