Even the simplest objects can spark the most heated workplace disputes.

For one auto parts employee, a misplaced fan became the catalyst for a long-standing game of hide and seek.

Read on for the full tale of petty revenge!

My fan? Your fan? Who knows?!

A few years ago, the auto parts store I work at got a heat pump in the lobby area, replacing the 10,000 BTU air conditioner that died.

I set it on the lowest setting, 64°F, but it will not cool off the room to that temperature.

So they brought in reinforcements.

We had a small pedestal fan that I put in front of the pump to blow the cold air further out into the room, cooling it much better. All was well.

Fall comes, and we don’t use the pump for heat (because it’s quite inefficient), so the fan is not in use either.

In comes a main character of this story.

A co-worker (we’ll call him Jay), who does some of the backroom stuff like checking in freight, puts the fan away for the winter. No issue there.

The next spring comes, and it’s getting warmer.

But something is amiss.

I notice the same fan is on the loading dock now. Well, it doesn’t go there, so I put it in front of the heat pump for efficient cooling.

The next morning, it’s back on the loading dock. Jay comes in very early to check in freight. I don’t mind that he puts the fan on the dock to cool him off.

This isn’t efficient in the slightest.

By the time I come in, his tasks are taking him all over the place, so the fan still on the dock is benefitting essentially no one.

I move it back in front of the pump. I’m expecting (and fine with) the fan to be back on the dock the next morning, and I’ll just move it when I get here.

When I come in, there’s no fan. Not on the dock, not in front of the pump, nowhere.

So a conversation ensues.

Me: “Hey Jay, have you seen that pedestal fan?”

Jay: “Yep.”

M: “……. Ok, so where is it?”

J: “I found that fan a week ago. If I can’t use it, no one can.” And he walks off.

This didn’t bode well with this employee.

I was about to go nuclear. I’ve been at this place 23 years, and I’m vitally important to things running smoothly.

Jay has been here a few years, and his role is important, but I have absolutely no doubt that if a conflict arises, the boss is siding with me.

So they start plotting their revenge.

I decide to be more petty than nuclear.

I searched around for a cheap pedestal fan and found one. I put my name on it and set it in front of the heat pump. Now the lobby area is nice and cool.

Now it’s time to address the other fan.

I looked around often and finally found where Jay had stashed the other fan. I moved it to a spot there’s no way in heck he would look.

I brought Jay out front to see my fan.

The conversation gets heated.

Me: “See this fan, Jay?”

Jay: “Yeah, so?”

Me: “This is my fan. DO NOT TOUCH IT.”

Jay: “Whatever, where is the other one?”

Me: “You said if you can’t have it, no one can. I agree. If I can’t have it, no one can.”

It’s been 2 years, and that little fan is still where I hid it!

That’s a darn good hiding place!

What did Reddit think?

This commenter envisions the fan as a perfect parting gift.

This user LIVES for the pettiness!

Oh, Jay…

The fan’s longstanding hiding place is a testament to one employee’s victory in an epic battle of wills.

When it comes to workplace disagreements, cooler heads always prevail!

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.