Good Thing She’s Getting Out

My coworker has just put in her two-week notice. She hasn’t told anyone where she is going yet but has vaguely mentioned to me and one other person that she is getting into a completely different industry because she is tired of the type of work she has been doing. However, she hasn’t said this to our bosses, who are the owners of the company.

About halfway through her two weeks, a very bizarre string of events happens. I am not in the office that day, but the story is relayed to me later. Apparently, our bosses, who are both usually very chipper and friendly, spend half the day talking in their office or in hushed tones around the common areas, barely communicating with anyone else in the building. They look aggravated or upset anytime anyone passes by them. They also glare at my coworker whenever they see her.

Finally, at the end of the day, they approach her office and tell her to delete all of her online accounts related to the company while they watch. She obliges but is confused why they are asking her to do this — one, because she still needs some of these accounts to get work done for the next week, and two, because it is not standard protocol for an employee to delete all of these accounts themself; usually an admin will do it for them after they leave. Once she finishes doing this, they tell her to pack up her things and that she will be escorted out of the building!

Now getting very upset, she asks them why she is apparently getting fired a week before her last day. They tell her that they find it insulting and unacceptable that she would leave this company to go work for a direct competitor, bringing them all of the knowledge and trade secrets that she had learned during her time here. Extremely confused and upset, she tells them that she isn’t leaving for a competitor at all; she has accepted a position as a salesperson in a completely unrelated industry. They immediately back off, and with barely an apology, they leave her alone and return to their usual chipper selves.

The next day, the bosses tell the rest of the staff that we will be meeting at a nearby restaurant for our coworker’s going away party. They treat the whole situation like it never happened, and it is never figured out why they thought my coworker was going to work for a competitor. She spends her last week barely getting any work done since she no longer has any company accounts.