Being in a position of power in the workplace can make some people feel untouchable.

That said, arrogance often has a way of catching up.

One smug manager who set her targets on the office sweetheart soon paid dearly for her disrespect, one fruity-flavored drink at a time.

Read on for the full story!

VeryFine Apple Quencher Wasn’t So Fine (Circa 1994)

I worked for a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that provided published resources for cancer patients and oncologists.

In our office, the adult son of a prominent CIA official had a low-level job (probably some favors had been pulled), as he had an obvious intellectual disability.

It affected his speech as well, which comes into play later.

His performance and good attitude made him well-liked around the office.

His name was Thomas.

He would refile publications, take the shuttle around campus to collect mail and packages, and then deliver them.

In general, he was a sweet man who clearly took pride in his work.

We all liked him; he was as friendly and smiley as a beluga whale and never missed a day of work.

But a new manager that came onboard wasn’t near as nice.

After I started, a new female manager started who, to put it plainly, was a smug, self-satisfied jerk.

She bullied lower-level employees and was grossly obsequious to higher-ups.

I loathed her.

I was a week or so away from leaving the job since I was a marketing contractor and my period of performance was almost up.

One day, she said something particularly out of turn.

I was in her office enduring one of her narcissistic, one-sided ramblings while she had her feet up on her desk, as usual.

Thomas came in, said he had her mail to deliver, dropped it on the desk, and left to deliver the rest.

“Aw, I’m going to miss Thomas when I leave,” I said, grinning fondly.

She could hardly hold back her cruelty.

She shrugged, looked annoyed (probably because her story about herself had been interrupted), and said, “Ugh. Thomas. I can barely understand him when he talks. I don’t know why they even LET him work here.”

The smile on my face froze, and my loathing crystallized into a hard diamond of absolute hatred.

Then they saw it: The key to their revenge.

I masked it with a chuckle, watching HER chuckle and roll her eyes as she took a big swig of her omnipresent Veryfine Apple Quencher drink.

I didn’t mind her being a jerk to me, but to denigrate — even (God, I hope) out of earshot — the most harmless person imaginable, who never did or said an unkind word to anyone and who performed his tasks with efficiency and a sense of worth and contribution, broke my last cares to give.

They began a days-long reconnaissance mission.

Biding my time, the next few days I watched where in the shared fridge she stored her Apple Quencher and took notes to see if anyone else drank the same brand.

They didn’t — nor did she share hers.

So when the moment was right, they struck.

So, while no one was around, I opened her almost-brand-new Apple Quencher and deposited a nice, big mouthful of spit into it.

Then I watched her, for the last two days of my tenure, swig from that same bottle.

It gave me some slight satisfaction.

I never told anyone for years and years and never did anything like it again.

But forget her.

Her drink became just as bitter as she was!

What did Reddit think?

This commenter was low-key expecting a super-secret spy-angle to the story.

This commenter brainstorms other gross ideas for payback.

This redditor draws a cinematic parallel.

Cruelty might leave a bad taste in the mouth, but in this case, so did karma.

It was only fitting she’d get a taste of her own medicine.

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.