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Some employees get so comfortable that they forget they still answer to someone else.

One company owner dealt with that after keeping the same project manager for three years.

Over time, the man started acting less like an employee and more like someone who believed he had equal control over the business.

However, his behavior became even more concerning when he tried to pull an intern away from the company and include him in talks with other firms.

That message finally pushed the owner too far.

Read on to see what happened next.

I fired my narc manager

I’m the owner of the company and had a project manager who was with us for 3 years.

He was always a little odd, and within a year he got in a nasty divorce and has been playing the sympathy card on me for the longest time, yet always disparaging how his kids turned out.

A few months ago, he figured he could no longer work with our administrator for invoicing, so I’ve been paying him without a single invoice going out since October.

It didn’t take long for the intern to start talking.

A year ago, we hired an intern for him to mentor and work under him. During that time, he was apparently grooming him to be like “a son he never had,” yet was very controlling with how he presented himself and his mannerisms… just odd.

The three of us had lunch a couple of weeks ago, and it was the most awkward experience.

The narc also made it clear that he despises “the Boss” talk, where the reality hits him that he is not an equal partner here. He works under me!

It wasn’t long after that the intern let me know, when I mentioned him, that “I am his boss” and he’s not going anywhere. Well, that’s interesting to know.

Then, he really crossed the line.

The following evening, the narc texted me to ask what I told him and that I need to stop. He said, “He’s coming with me,” and that “he’s a part of my negotiations with other firms.”

I’m sorry, but who is paying his salary?

I will note that I had given him the go-ahead to look for another job in November after the invoicing thing while I looked for a replacement.

However, after that text, I gave him immediate termination with cause. There’s a lot more to unpack, but that’s what broke it. What a terrible person.

Wow! That guy sounds like a terrible manager.

Let’s check out how the readers over at Reddit feel about him.

This person wishes more business owners paid attention like this.

Yes, they did.

Here’s someone who dealt with similar.

If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about an employee who decided to push back against time micromanagement.

This person wants more info.

The owner made the right call by firing him.

That manager had clearly stopped respecting the difference between working for the company and having ownership in it.

Then, he crossed an even bigger line by trying to take another employee with him before he had even left.

Once someone starts treating a business and its staff like personal property, there is no reason to keep giving them more chances.