Unfiltered Story #268793

(I am a frequent reader of another site similar to this one. I also run my own business and hire artists and other creative workers from time to time. It usually goes smoothly, but this one has made me a bit more hesitant with asking for revisions.)

Me: So, I read (similar site) recently and found this story that seemed eerily familiar. Do you know anything about this?

(I hand this artist a printed off copy of the story that goes into a little too much detail and makes it obvious that it was written about me, by the artist. His eyes go wide.)

Him: Uh, no idea.

Me: Really? Because all of these details are very familiar, and yet the story has been skewed to make me look like the bad guy for asking for some revisions.

Him: I didn’t write this! And anyway, you were really demanding!

Me: In that case, I’ll make sure we don’t work with you again, and I’ll let my other demanding friends know that you’re only looking for easy work.

(I had only asked for a few revisions to make the colors fit our branding, plus I caught some of my own spelling mistakes and asked him to fix those for me. I know some of the commenters will doubt this, but I was completely reasonable. He called back a week later apologizing for submitting a story about me, and I have worked with him twice since then without issue.)