Life has a strange habit of circling back to unfinished business.

So when a corporate decision-maker was approached by a small business consultant who once blew him off in a job interview 20 years ago, it was like the past walked straight into his office.

And he made sure the meeting felt just as uncomfortable as the first one.

Keep reading for the full story.

Waste my time interviewing for a job? I’ll get you back, even if I have to wait 20 years.

Around 1990, I was looking to change jobs and landed an interview at a large broking firm.

This applicant didn’t exactly get the best first impression from this place.

When I got there, right from the start it was clear that the guy interviewing me wanted to be anywhere but doing this.

He wouldn’t make eye contact and looked uninterested as I talked through my experience and areas of knowledge.

Luckily, the applicant was confident in his abilities and his appearance.

I knew it wasn’t me because I had always been good in interviews. I was relaxed and confident without being cocky or arrogant.

I was dressed smartly in a business suit, etc.

Before long, the applicant started wishing he never even showed up at all.

The interview didn’t last long and was punctuated by him looking at his watch and staring out the office window.

I never understood why he didn’t just call ahead and cancel the interview if there was no prospect of hiring me.

So eventually, he got on his way and found something else.

Anyway, I wasn’t desperate and left thinking I would not like to work for such a jerk.

So twenty years pass, and I am now working for a large corporation in charge of commissioning professional services and the like.

But then he finds himself face to face with this guy again.

Jerkface has struck out on his own and now has a small business consultancy.

He contacts me to run through a sales pitch, obviously not remembering who I am.

So he decides to jog this guy’s memory — and it left him stammering.

As soon as he arrived, I reminded him of the strange interview and that I didn’t get hired.

To my great amusement, this threw him off course, and there followed a lackluster run-through of his company’s services.

I listened through it all without making any comment.

At the end, I just said, “Thanks, I’ll let you know if I need anything.” 😌

Revenge is best served cold, after all!

What did Reddit think?

Treating people with respect is always the safest policy.

Patience pays off.

This commenter imagines what would happen if they met yet again.

And that’s how you play the long game, folks!

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.