I am Lila, a 32-year-old dedicated hotel administrator navigating the constant, high-pressure demands of this very busy establishment. The work requires meticulous attention and unwavering commitment, qualities that, regrettably, some of my coworkers do not possess. Among the most frustrating is Sam, who is responsible for crucial night shift operations. He possesses a notorious reputation for conveniently falling “ill” at the last possible moment, frequently forcing others into unpaid, exhausting overtime. My reliability had clearly become his personal safety net, a fact he seemed to take absolute pleasure in exploiting. This ongoing, irresponsible pattern of behavior had quietly created a deep, simmering resentment inside me for weeks.
One particularly chaotic evening, just as my regular shift was finally concluding, the manager intercepted me with an urgent, desperate request. “Lila,” he stated, “you have no choice but to work overtime; Sam for the night shift is seriously sick and cannot come in.” Reluctantly, and primarily to prevent the night’s entire operations from collapsing entirely, I immediately agreed to pick up the substantial slack. I genuinely hate disappointing the management and causing any trouble; therefore, I accepted the sudden, eight-hour shift. I spent the next period diligently managing Sam’s critical duties alongside my own, sacrificing my planned evening entirely to cover his unexpected absence.
Later, during one of the brief lulls in the hotel’s activity, I scrolled through my personal phone and saw something instantly enraging. A mutual friend’s social media story clearly showed Sam laughing, absolutely fine, and socializing vibrantly at a large, bustling party across town. My exhaustion immediately transformed into pure, white-hot fury at the utter nerve of him to manipulate my professional duty so callously. When I eventually confronted him directly the next morning, his response was worse than simple denial. He just laughed cruelly and scoffed, “You deserve it, as usual. Someone has to pick up the slack, and it is always the reliable one.”
In that singular moment, I lost every remaining shred of professional restraint and decided that simply informing HR was not sufficient retribution for his prolonged abuse. I realized that a verbal warning would certainly not teach Sam the painful lesson he truly required about responsibility and respect. I needed to inflict a consequence that perfectly matched the devastating scale of his intentional sabotage and complete disregard for our entire team’s well-being. Instead of notifying the management about the blatant deception, I resolved to utilize my deep system access as an administrator to execute a form of revenge that was surgical, completely untraceable, and utterly devastating to his immediate social life.
The following day, I quietly accessed the shared employee scheduling system during a time I knew no one would be reviewing the extensive changes. With meticulous care, I completely swapped his existing shifts, specifically assigning him a sequence of double shifts throughout the busiest, most demanding parts of the coming month. I ensured the new calendar included every single peak night he notoriously hated working, including the upcoming lucrative holiday weekend he had repeatedly boasted about enjoying off. Furthermore, I ruthlessly burdened his schedule with the most tedious, complex administrative tasks he consistently avoided, thereby ensuring his entire next few weeks were effectively ruined.
I said absolutely nothing to him about the alteration until he arrived for the first devastating double shift. When he checked his professional schedule for the evening and fully comprehended the monumental, inescapable workload that awaited him, the sheer, sudden horror displayed on his face was utterly priceless. It truly felt incredibly satisfying to see the arrogant coworker finally face genuine consequences for his despicable actions. Yet, now, I cannot completely shake the unsettling feeling of having crossed a significant ethical line. While Sam definitely deserved the retribution, I constantly reflect on whether such dramatic, personal revenge was truly the appropriate response, or if I should have adhered to the prescribed professional protocol, regardless of the momentary, sweet satisfaction.
