Usually, the best way to teach a bad boss a lesson is to give them exactly what they asked for.

So, what would you do if your supervisor demanded that you hire someone who clearly wasn’t qualified for a position, just because he had a crush on her?

Would you fight back and risk your job? Or would you give him what he wants and let the chips fall where they may?

In the following story, one hiring team member finds themselves in this situation and follows orders.

Here’s how it all went down.

Hire Her, No Matter What. As you wish.

I am part of a small hiring team at my workplace, and I take my position very seriously.

Sometime ago, we were looking to fill a key role that required someone sharp, organized, and ready to work under pressure. We had a solid shortlist after several interviews, and then my department supervisor pulled me aside.

He told me, flat-out, to hire one candidate in particular, not because she was the best fit but because he wanted me to.

He said it was a direct order.

I later heard through office rumors that she was an “almost-girlfriend,” basically Someone he had a thing for and was trying to impress. He said I should, but just make it work, and he will take the heat if needed.

I refused at first, showing him her results of the interview. She was one of the least ranked. She was late to the interview, gave vague answers, and couldn’t explain basic industry terms.

But he wouldn’t listen and said it was a direct order.

Unfortunately, she was making mistake after mistake.

So, I did exactly what he asked: I hired her, gave her all the support I could, and even offered extra onboarding help.

Within a month, she accidentally sent a confidential client file to the wrong company. Then, she once approved a purchase order for 10x the budgeted amount because she obviously didn’t read through all those numbers.

It was from one wrong to another. We lost a major client over the email slip, and another pulled back on their contract due to delays on her end.

He tried to avoid claiming responsibility, but HR had records.

When upper management started asking questions, my manager tried to dodge responsibility. But HR already had the hiring records.

I made sure all instructions, including his, were documented, which was intentionally done in case a situation like this came up—and it did. He was reassigned within the quarter. She quietly disappeared not long after.

Turns out, hiring your crush isn’t as cute when the company starts bleeding money.

Yikes! That was a costly mistake.

Let’s check out what the readers over at Reddit think about what happened.

This person says never let crushes guide your management decisions.

This did not end well.

Well, this probably wouldn’t have been appropriate.

This reader had something similar happen.

Hey, you have to follow orders.

It’s just lucky that she documented everything and saved herself the headache.

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.