There’s “workplace drama,” and then there’s “psychopath trying to ruin your life” drama. One Reddit user just found himself in the middle of the latter, all because he wouldn’t flirt back with a coworker. What he did about it is a masterclass in self-preservation, and honestly, a little bit savage.
Our narrator, a 28-year-old man, has a 26-year-old female coworker who, by all accounts, loves to flirt with “all of the men at work.” Our narrator is a married man, and his wife knows about this coworker and how he feels about her. The coworker, to her credit, mostly stays away from him… unless it’s work related. Why? Because he “shot her down a few times” and explicitly told her (earlier in the week) that if she didn’t “knock it off,” he would report her to HR. This is a clear boundary, clearly communicated.
So, how does our flirty coworker respond to this boundary? Does she stop? Does she reflect? Does she, perhaps, focus on her job? Oh no, honey. She goes full nuclear.
Not long after, this coworker found his wife’s social media. And she messaged her. And what did she say? She told his wife that he is a “creep,” that he “won’t leave her alone,” and that he “tried to pay her for s*x.”
I am screaming. The level of blatant, unhinged lying. He says he was “honestly disgusted.” And why wouldn’t he be? This woman, for absolutely no reason other than being rejected, decided to try and blow up his marriage and ruin his reputation. This isn’t just “flirting”; this is a calculated, malicious attack.
So, what does a reasonable person do when faced with such an unhinged accusation? They gather evidence. Our narrator, being smart, went into work with his phone in his hand. He recorded their conversation when he confronted her. And because he’s extra smart, the camera was “facing the floor,” so all that was shown was their shoes. This is important for “one-party consent” laws, depending on the state/country, but also just good common sense.
After some “back and forth” (which I desperately wish we could hear), she admitted it. She admitted she was mad that he threatened HR, and she “hoped my wife would force me to quit my job so I wasn’t a ‘problem’ anymore.”
Oh. My. God. She wasn’t just trying to cause trouble; she was actively trying to get him fired. She wanted him gone. This wasn’t about “flirting gone wrong”; this was a premeditated career assassination attempt.
So, armed with the text messages to his wife and the recording of her confession, he went straight to HR. And, as you’d expect, “she was fired immediately.” Because lying, defaming, and attempting to get a coworker fired is, generally speaking, frowned upon in professional environments.
On the way out of the building, she screamed at him, calling him an “ahole” and threatening to sue him for recording her without permission. Because, you know, the only thing worse than being a liar is being a caught liar.
And then, his own coworkers weighed in. A “few” of them said he was “wrong for it” and that he “should have just showed HR the messages.” And then, the classic guilt trip: “how she’s a single mom and I just cost her kids their livelihood.”
I am screaming. Her “kids’ livelihood” was jeopardized by her own actions, not his. He didn’t “cost” her anything; she earned her termination with her own malicious, lying behavior. Being a single mom is not a shield against accountability when you try to destroy someone else’s life.
So, AITA? Absolutely not. N-T-A. You are not the ahole. You defended your marriage, your reputation, and your job. You gathered evidence, you followed procedure, and you got a dangerous, manipulative person out of your workplace. You didn’t just win; you annihilated.