When I ended things with Alex, I thought I was finally taking control of my life.
It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was the right one.
He wasn’t the person I thought he was, and I knew I deserved better.
What I didn’t realize was just how far Alex would go to make me regret leaving.
We worked together, which meant I couldn’t avoid him entirely. I told myself we could keep things professional, but Alex had other ideas.
The whispers, the pointed comments, the subtle sabotage—I ignored it all.
After all, I’d moved on.
But Alex? He was determined to pull me back into the mess I’d just escaped.
Little did I know, his pettiness would be his undoing.
Bitter Breakup, Bitterer Revenge
Breaking up with Alex was one of the hardest things I’d ever done.
Not because I had any doubts—I didn’t—but because I knew he wouldn’t take it well.
He had a way of making everything about him, and I could already hear the accusations: You’re giving up too easily. You’re selfish. You’ll regret this.
We’d been dating for a year, keeping things quiet at work because we didn’t want to mix business with our personal lives. At least, that’s what we told ourselves.
Looking back, I think we both knew we wouldn’t last, and secrecy made it easier to pretend we didn’t see the cracks forming.
The breakup itself wasn’t dramatic. I told him I needed space, that I didn’t feel happy or supported in the relationship, and that I thought it was better for both of us to go our separate ways.
He didn’t shout or cry. He just stared at me with this cold, calculating expression that sent a chill down my spine.
“If that’s what you want,” he said finally.
But the way he said it made it clear—this wasn’t over.
At first, I thought I’d imagined it. We stayed civil at work, exchanging polite hellos and keeping our distance in meetings.
But then the comments started.
“Jordan’s always been ambitious,” he’d say during team discussions, with a pointed tone that made “ambitious” sound like a dirty word.
Or he’d conveniently “forget” to copy me on important emails, leaving me scrambling to catch up on projects.
It was subtle enough that I couldn’t call him out without looking paranoid, but it was clear to me—and anyone paying attention—that he was trying to undermine me.
I decided to rise above it. People like Alex thrive on attention, and I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d gotten under my skin.
But the harder I tried to ignore him, the more desperate he became to make me notice.
From Schemes to Scandals
I first heard about the rumors from Lydia, one of my closest friends at the office.
We were grabbing lunch at the café downstairs when she leaned in, her voice low.
“So… have you heard what Alex has been saying about you?”
I blinked. “No. Should I?”
Lydia hesitated, glancing around to make sure no one could overhear. “He’s been telling people that your promotion wasn’t exactly earned.”
I felt my stomach drop. “What does that mean?”
“He’s implying… well, that you had some help. From Brian.”
Brian was our department head. Married, with kids.
The suggestion was as ridiculous as it was offensive, but I knew how office gossip worked. A seed of doubt was all it took to tarnish someone’s reputation.
I clenched my jaw. “He actually said that?”
Lydia nodded. “I told him to knock it off, but you know how people are. They love a good story.”
I thanked her, but I didn’t let myself react.
If Alex wanted to paint me as the office villain, he could try. I wasn’t going to sink to his level.
But Alex wasn’t done.
A week later, during a team meeting, I caught him messing with the files I’d prepared for a presentation.
I’d stepped out to grab coffee, and when I came back, he was sitting at my desk, casually scrolling through my laptop.
“What are you doing?” I asked, keeping my tone steady.
“Oh, just pulling up the project timeline,” he said, flashing me a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
The timeline was wrong, of course. When I opened the file during the presentation, it was missing half the data I’d spent hours compiling.
Alex sat there, looking pleased with himself, as I scrambled to improvise.
But I wasn’t about to let him win.
“Looks like the file didn’t save correctly,” I said calmly, pulling out a backup copy I’d prepared just in case. “Good thing I always have a plan B.”
The rest of the team barely noticed the hiccup, but I saw the flicker of frustration in Alex’s expression. He didn’t expect me to recover so smoothly.
It was a small victory, but it was enough to remind me that I wasn’t going to let Alex control the narrative.
Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was planning something bigger.
The Email That Ruined Everything
I was still seething when I sat down at my desk later that afternoon.
After Alex’s little stunt in the meeting, I had decided I needed to give him a piece of my mind.
The problem with Alex wasn’t just that he was bitter; it was that he thought he could get away with treating me like I was inferior to him.
It wasn’t just the subtle jabs or the backhanded comments anymore—he had crossed a line.
I had already drafted a response to him in my head, but as I looked at my computer screen, something caught my attention.
A new email from Alex had popped up. The subject line read: “Need to Discuss Some Thoughts”.
I rolled my eyes and clicked on it, expecting the usual passive-aggressive nonsense. But as I opened it, my fingers froze above the keyboard.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t this.
The email had been clearly written in frustration, the words coming out in a frantic stream of consciousness.
Alex was ranting about how he couldn’t stand me anymore—how my promotion had been a fluke, how I was “getting ahead” because I played favorites with Megan.
He even accused me of being “completely clueless” about how the office really worked, clearly underestimating just how much I had already noticed.
And then there was the personal stuff—how my dating life was somehow a scandal, and how he was the only one who had truly “seen through me.”
It went on and on, getting nastier with every line.
But something was wrong. As I kept scrolling down, I saw the name that made my stomach lurch—Megan.
Megan, our boss, who was supposed to be just on the CC line.
Alex had intended to send this email directly to me. He’d drafted it out, likely hoping it would get under my skin or get me to lash out at him.
But in his frustration—and his own laziness—he had added Megan’s name to the email, not realizing she was copied on the entire thing.
I felt a wave of cold dread wash over me.
I had no idea what Megan would think of this, but one thing was certain: Alex was about to suffer consequences.
Revenge Served Cold
The next morning, whispers filled the office.
The email was everywhere. Alex’s petty rant about me had spread like wildfire, and I was doing my best to ignore the stares.
But it was impossible. The damage was done.
Around 10 AM, my phone buzzed with a message from Megan: “Jordan, I need to speak with you in my office. Immediately.”
Uh oh. My stomach dropped.
I’d been bracing for this. As much as I tried to keep my cool, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something big was coming my way.
When I walked into her office, Megan was already sitting behind her desk, her expression unreadable.
She looked up when I entered. “Jordan, I just want to address the email Alex sent yesterday.”
I exhaled a quiet breath. “I don’t know what to say. I didn’t ask for it, and I didn’t respond to it.”
Megan nodded, her face serious. “I know. The whole situation is a mess. I’ll be handling it, but I want you to know you’re not in trouble here. This was Alex’s mistake, and I’m dealing with it.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And what does that mean?”
Megan leaned back, clearly weighing her words. “It means that I’m assigning him to the Ellis Project. He’ll be taking it over immediately.”
My stomach fluttered at the news.
The Ellis Project. No one wanted that project.
It was cursed—endless deadlines, impossible clients, and the kind of work that made people lose sleep. I wasn’t sure whether to feel sympathy for Alex or glee.
“This is a big assignment,” Megan continued, “and I know he’s been making waves in the office, but I’m hoping this will serve as a wake-up call. The Ellis Project is a sink-or-swim kind of task.”
She gave me a pointed look, as if to say, This is his mess now.
“I’ll make sure you’re not dragged into any of this, Jordan. You’ve been doing great work, and I want to keep it that way. But Alex… he’s going to have to deal with this now.”
I smiled, though I tried to keep it subtle. Alex is about to drown.
Just as I was about to leave her office, I heard a door slam open from down the hallway. Alex’s voice followed, rising in anger. “This is bullshit, Megan!”
I froze. The shouting continued, and it was clear that Alex wasn’t going down without a fight.
I stepped out of Megan’s office just in time to see Alex storm into the break room, his face red with fury.
“You can’t just do this to me!” he shouted, his voice shaking with rage. “I’ve been busting my ass here for years, and now you’re going to throw me into that nightmare of a project? Are you trying to ruin me?!”
The entire office was now watching, and the tension in the air was palpable.
People were pretending to be busy, but I could see the glances.
Whispers were exchanged. Everyone knew what had just happened—Alex had crossed the line, and now he was paying the price.
Megan appeared at the entrance of the break room, her expression stern but calm.
“Alex, I’m not going to argue with you. The decision’s made. You’ll be taking over the Ellis Project. If you want to keep your job, you’ll get to work.”
Alex opened his mouth to argue further but then closed it, his face twisted in frustration
He knew there was no point. The entire office had heard the exchange, and his outburst had only made him look weaker.
He turned, storming past me, his shoulders hunched as if he was trying to shrink into himself. The rage had evaporated, replaced by something else—defeat.
His eyes flashed briefly to me, but he said nothing. It didn’t matter. The damage was done.
I didn’t even try to hide my satisfaction.
The entire office had witnessed Alex’s temper tantrum. His effort to undermine me had backfired, spectacularly.
And now, he was the one who was publicly humiliated.
Not only was he stuck with the Ellis Project, but everyone knew it was a punishment.
The fallout wasn’t over.
Throughout the day, I saw Alex everywhere—walking around with that same defeated look on his face. He’d gone from the office’s charming bad boy to a joke, and he knew it.
I couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take for him to break under the pressure of the Ellis Project. No one survived it with their dignity intact, and now it was his turn to learn the hard way.
As I watched him slink through the office, his shoulders hunched, I couldn’t help but think back to the email he’d sent, the one he thought would ruin me.