Woman Steals Her Ungrateful Boss's Entire Client List Out from Under Him

Any story about a woman who sticks it to an ungrateful, entitled, condescending man is a feel-good story in my book, and this one is a "feel great" story. It was posted on Reddit's "Pro Revenge" subreddit with permission by the woman's (aka my new hero's) husband.

He explains that his wife was the second person hired at a consulting company "in a very specialized industry." She's been with the firm for 15 years and has been integral to the growth and success of the company. "She and the owner grew the business on the contacts, expertise, and presentation of my wife," he wrote. Basically, without her, there was no company.

Eventually, the owner took a backseat, and OP's wife took charge. "As he got more and more removed from the business, he would make overtures that he would eventually retire and sell her the business," he wrote. 

In one gross instance at a "major industry dinner party," the owner introduced his wife as "My girl Friday," basically glorifying her as a secretary. Yuck. I already don't like this guy. On top of that, he hemmed and hawed and hesitated when she tried to get an agreement in place to buy the firm from him when he eventually retired. So something was definitely up. 

Then, "one day, out of the blue," OP writes, "my wife received a raise and bonus (a very minor amount of money) and a contract that included a non-compete, non-disclosure agreement." She realized that the owner was trying to prevent her from leaving, and then she got a call from a competitor saying they were "in final stages of due diligence and they wanted to meet her."

This is when she realized that the owner was planning to sell the company... to someone other than her... without telling her. She was fuming, as she should be. She was loyal to this guy to a fault, and now he was going behind her back to sell the company out from under her. 

She ignored the NDA he sent her and took a three-week vacation during which she rented an office (in the same building! baller move!), made all the arrangements to set up a new business, and very carefully contacted her clients to sneakily, and legally, poach them. She wasn't about to let this old gross dude ruin her professional life. 

Her husband writes, "While she was on vacation, she received a panicked call from her boss. 'We lost XYZ company, do you know anything about it?' She said, 'I'm sorry, but I just sent you an email. I've resigned. All my keys and company stuff is on my desk. Buh bye." I want to give her a high-five.

Her new company took about 90 percent of the business from the old company. "Within a year, her old company closed down except for the small office her old boss ran. She sees him once in a while and he just scowls at her."

Serves him right! He was gonna screw her over, and he's just mad she did it first. It had to feel so immensely frustrating and hurtful to know what he was planning after she gave him 15 years of her life. Sometimes, revenge is the best revenge, and I'm so glad it worked. 

And commenters were equally as satisfied by this revenge tale. "Serves the idiot right. Companies should value their employees," one person wrote. 

"Entitlement isn’t a good look and your wife served him right. So proud of her for knowing when enough is enough!" another wrote.

It seems like lots of people have been in similar situations, where it becomes clear at a point that their employer doesn't value them the way they should. It is, unfortunately, a fairly universal experience, and it was fun for a lot of people to read that story and live vicariously through her for a minute there. A hero for our time.