Freelance work often comes with a certain level of unpredictability, but some companies still manage to cross the line.

One contractor agreed to collaborate in good faith, only to find herself blindsided and replaced the very next day. So when the company reached out to work with her again, she wondered whether burning a bridge was necessary or petty.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for refusing to work with company again after they used me and fired me?

I was hired as a part-time contractor for a small company to manage their social media.

At first, everything was working out well.

I told them upfront I had other clients—they said no problem.

I built their whole strategy, set up their accounts, created content, everything.

She received what she thought was a routine request.

Then they hired a full-time marketing person, asked me to give her admin access “for analytics,” and the next day invited me to a “meeting to review edits.”

But then everything changed.

Turned out it was a setup—they fired me, saying they wanted someone in-house. Not performance-related, just done with me.

She was slow to forget how they had treated her, much to the displeasure of those close to her.

I moved on, but when they tried to reconnect through a mutual contact, I said no.

Now I’m being told I’m being petty and unprofessional for holding a grudge.

AITA for not wanting to work with them again after how they handled it?

Professionalism is a two-way street.

What did Reddit think?

Regardless of what others might say, putting the interests of your business first is professional.

On the other hand, working with them again could be a good opportunity to negotiate better terms.

No one wants to work for a toxic company anyway.

This company has shown their true colors.

Some people may see it as holding a grudge, but she sees it as drawing a necessary line.

She’s not wrong for refusing to open a door that was once slammed in her face.

If you liked that story, check out this post about a group of employees who got together and why working from home was a good financial decision.