MicroFiction: surreptitious & mendacious
Elaina had been observing the man who had recently been promoted to the role of her supervisor for a long while. She had hoped that the owners would make a different choice but Bart was outwardly hearty and friendly, especially with the owners, and her hopes had never been high in that regard. But she had also been tracking his surreptitious actions and collecting evidence of his petty thefts which added up to a substantial amount of goods and money over the years. She also had also collected evidence of his not so petty racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. He was, at heart, a perfect storm of male privilege and oh-so-white to boot.
She had copies of her evidence stashed in a few different places when she requested a meeting with him. After enduring his hearty greeting and faux friendly smile, she sat across from him and silently handed him a file with copies of her evidence. She watched as he opened it and his smile slipped slowly from his face. He turned pale and then snarled at her. “What do you want, you mendacious little …”
Ah ah ah,” she said, waggling her finger at him. “I don’t think we need to add anything to this evidence and I’m rec“ording our meeting.”
“What do you want?!” he roared. “My job?!”
“No,” she said, “I never did - I like my work. I simply want you to resign. Today. I’ll be watching. This is a small industry and everyone knows everyone else. Wherever you take a new position, I’ll ask a colleague to watch over you. One step over the line, and this information will be released … industry wide.”
He stood. She didn't. "Who knows?" he asked.
"There's no need for you to have a list of names to bully," she answered. "I won't wait long. If you haven't given your resignation by the end of the day - perhaps you'll have a sudden family emergency - I will hand the files to the owners. I believe your ensuing departure will be much more humiliating after they read this over. But keep this copy of the files for yourself. Consider it a parting gift and a set of lessons on how to keep your next position. Remember - we'll be watching."