My Manager Bad-Mouthed Me To The CEO And Got Me Fired—I Decided To Make Her Lose Everything

My manager bad-mouthed me to the executive director, resulting in my unjust termination. I resolved to reverse the situation, reclaim my position, and take hers.

I’m Kate, a newly hired assistant manager at a major company in New York. The company owner rarely visits the office as he oversees multiple businesses. Therefore, the company is managed by Elina, the CEO, who personally hired me.

Since Elina primarily worked the second shift and I was hired for the first shift, I was placed under the supervision of Eva, a long-time manager.

Eva wasn’t the most pleasant person to work with, but I believed her mentorship would help me grow, considering her five years of experience at the company.

However, my interactions with Eva were always tense. No matter how hard I tried, she made me feel like a failure. With prior experience in major corporations, I was confident in my abilities, but to Eva, nothing I did was ever good enough.

One day, I was reviewing customer files at my desk. My workspace was slightly cluttered but organized. Eva walked in, her eyes immediately narrowing on my desk.

“Kate, look at your desk!” she shouted. “This is a workplace, not a dumping ground! If you can’t keep your desk tidy, how can you work professionally?”

Startled, I looked up, confused by her sudden outburst. “I’m sorry, Eva. I was sorting through some documents—” I began to explain.
She cut me off sharply. “No excuses! This is a company, not your personal space to do as you please!”

I glanced at a nearby colleague’s desk, which was strewn with food wrappers and old coffee cups, far messier than mine. Yet Eva paid no attention to it. Why was I her sole target?

Another time, during work hours, my phone vibrated from an incoming message. Though I kept it on silent to avoid disturbing anyone, Eva still scowled at me.

“Turn off that vibration immediately!” she yelled. “Can’t you see people are trying to work? You’re disrupting everyone!”

I apologized, feeling as though I had committed a grave offense. But barely ten minutes later, Eva’s phone rang loudly. She answered it with a laugh, speaking animatedly in the middle of the office. I watched her, seething with frustration.

“She just scolded me for the same thing!” I thought, suppressing my irritation.

Once, I came up with an idea to streamline the department’s workflow. Confident it would reduce workload and improve efficiency, I presented it in a meeting, feeling proud and hopeful for support. Eva immediately crushed my confidence.

“Kate, do you think you can change the company’s entire workflow with an idea like this? This isn’t the place to experiment with your nonsense!” she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

I froze, feeling as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over me. “I just thought it could help the team,” I murmured, my voice shrinking.

Eva didn’t let me finish. “If everyone shared their ‘great ideas’ like you, this company would be in chaos!”

The room grew uncomfortably silent. I could feel my colleagues’ pitying gazes on me.

Incidents like these became increasingly frequent. Eva criticized everything I did, from minor mistakes in printing documents to how I presented reports. Many of her complaints were baseless, yet she seemed determined to undermine me.

I began to wonder: “Does she look down on me because I’m new? Or is she deliberately trying to push me out?”

No matter how hard I tried, Eva always found a way to make me feel inadequate. Over time, her relentless negativity drained me, leaving me exhausted and doubting my abilities.

And finally, what I had always feared came to pass. That day, while working at my desk, I received a message from Elina, the CEO: “Kate, meet me in the conference room at 7 PM.”

My heart began to race, an uneasy feeling creeping into my chest. I tried to reassure myself it was just a regular meeting. But the reality was far harsher.

At exactly 7 PM, I entered the conference room. The atmosphere was cold and tense. Elina was already seated, her sharp eyes peering at me through her glasses.

“Kate,” she began, her tone calm but chilling. “I’ve thought a lot about your performance over the past months. And I feel you’re not meeting the company’s expectations.”

Her words hit me like a slap across the face. I froze, struggling to process what I had just heard. I had worked tirelessly, doing everything I could to fulfill my responsibilities. And this was how she evaluated me?

“Could you be more specific about where I’ve fallen short?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady as a lump formed in my throat.

Elina took a breath, tilting her head as if deliberating. “You’ve made errors that, after six months, someone in your position shouldn’t still be making.”
“What errors, exactly?” I pressed, unable to hide my frustration.

She glanced down at a list on the desk in front of her, then back at me. “For example, the time you missed a deadline for sending a client report. Or when you failed to update the project file with complete information.”

I struggled to remain composed, but her examples made me want to laugh bitterly. “That time I submitted the report late, it was because of a system malfunction, and I explained the situation clearly to my manager. As for the project file, I delayed updating it because the client was dealing with personal issues and requested an extension. I followed up immediately afterward.”

Elina frowned slightly but maintained her icy demeanor. “Regardless of the reasons, these are mistakes someone in your role shouldn’t be making.”

Frustration bubbled up inside me. The issues she pointed out were minor, or long since resolved. I looked her straight in the eye. “So this isn’t an objective evaluation of my performance—it’s a setup, isn’t it?”

Elina raised an eyebrow. “The decision has been made, Kate. You’ll need to leave the company. This is not up for discussion.”

Her final words slammed the door shut on any remaining hope. I bit my lip, fighting back tears.

As I walked out of the conference room, my mind felt blank. Curious eyes from colleagues followed me as I returned to my desk to pack my belongings.

No one dared to approach or ask questions. Perhaps they already knew what was happening. I carefully placed my personal items into a small box: a family photo, a few notebooks, and my favorite pen.

When I finally left the office, I glanced back one last time, feeling a mix of bitterness and relief.

This wasn’t just the end of a job—it was the end of all the pressure Eva and the company had piled onto me for months. Yet a question lingered in my mind: Why? Who was truly behind all of this?

I sat quietly in the corner of a café beneath the office building, waiting for my taxi. Chaotic thoughts from the earlier meeting swirled relentlessly in my head. Suddenly, I saw Eva and Elina entering the café, laughing and chatting like close friends. The sight made me frown instinctively. Could their closeness be the reason behind my dismissal?

Eva laughed loudly, her voice carrying clearly: “Ask anyone in the company if they like Kate. She bad-mouthed the whole place, created cliques, and made everyone resent each other. Then she fudged numbers to make herself look like an exceptional employee.”

Elina nodded slightly, setting her coffee cup down on the table.
“Yeah, good thing you warned me. If she’d stayed longer, your department would’ve been in complete chaos.”

It felt like a hand was gripping my chest. So this was it. Eva had been the one all along, slandering and fabricating lies about me to Elina.

Anger boiled inside me. I decided to stand up and fight against this injustice.

I began digging for information about Eva online and through a few trusted sources. What I uncovered was shocking. Three months ago, Eva had been arrested for driving under the influence in a neighboring state. Court records revealed she was scheduled to appear in court in a few weeks.

This wasn’t just a blow to her personal reputation but also jeopardized her professional standing. State regulations required management license holders to report any criminal charges. Being arrested for a DUI typically resulted in license suspension until the court proceedings concluded.

I realized I had a critical piece of leverage. Eva thought she was untouchable, that no one would find out. She underestimated her opponent.

I picked up my phone and called Mr. Mitchell, the company owner, a man known for his fairness and transparency. “Mr. Mitchell, I’m a former employee who was recently terminated,” I began, keeping my voice calm and clear. I then recounted all the unfair treatment I endured at the company and how Eva was at the center of it all.

“Eva was arrested for driving under the influence three months ago in a neighboring state. Court records show she’s due in court soon.”
There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by a heavy sigh. “Are you certain about this, Kate?” he asked.

“I have all the documents to prove it. If you’d like, I can send them to you right away.”
“Send them. Immediately.”

It didn’t take long. After Mr. Mitchell verified the information, he called me back to the company to discuss further. He acknowledged Eva’s concealment of the incident, which was unacceptable—especially since it directly affected the company’s licensing credibility.

“Kate, I want you to return,” he said, his tone serious. “Not just to return, but to take Eva’s position. You’ll have a one-month probation period. If you perform well, I’ll make it official.”

“Thank you, Mr. Mitchell. I’ll do my best,” I replied, barely able to hide my happiness. The sense of victory was truly sweet, but I knew I had to wait for the truth to fully unfold.

The next morning, I arrived at the office earlier than usual. As I stepped in, I saw Eva standing outside Mr. Mitchell’s office, her eyes red and tears streaming down her face. She was pleading:
“Please, give me another chance. I need this job. I promise to do better…”

But Mr. Mitchell’s gaze was cold, devoid of any patience.
“Eva, you didn’t just break my trust; you’ve also put the company at legal risk. I can’t keep you here.”

At that moment, Eva turned and saw me. Her expression changed quickly, shifting from surprise to fear. Her face turned pale as if she had just seen a nightmare.

“You… You did this?” Eva stammered, her voice filled with anger and panic.

I merely smirked. “Good luck on the 23rd.” That was the date she would have to appear in court for her DUI charge.

Without giving her a chance to respond, I walked straight into my new office—or rather, Eva’s former office. I sat down in the large swivel chair, a wave of comfort and pride washing over me.

From outside, I could hear the heavy sound of Eva’s footsteps as she left the company. That day, I didn’t just regain my job—I proved that truth and justice always prevail. And with my new position and salary, I knew I had reclaimed everything: my career, my dignity, and my confidence.

This story draws inspiration from real-life events and individuals, but it has been adapted and fictionalized for creative expression. Names, characters, and specific details have been altered to protect individuals’ privacy and to enhance the storyline. Any similarity to real persons, living or deceased, or actual events is coincidental and unintentional.