{"id":20488,"date":"2024-10-26T16:10:44","date_gmt":"2024-10-26T14:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/?p=20488"},"modified":"2024-10-26T16:10:44","modified_gmt":"2024-10-26T14:10:44","slug":"my-boss-tricked-me-out-of-400-and-paid-the-price","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/?p=20488","title":{"rendered":"My Boss Tricked Me Out of $400 and Paid the Price"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jackson, working as a contractor, is used to different bosses and different jobs all the time. But nobody has been worse than Steve. While trying to impress the staff at one site, Steve has Jackson doing multiple food runs, always saying that the company will take up all the expenses and reimburse him. But that doesn\u2019t happen, so he has to teach Steve a lesson.<\/p>\n

Working as a contractor, you get used to different jobs, different bosses, and the occasional bit of chaos. But this job? Wow. This one had a twist I didn\u2019t see coming.<\/p>\n

I was working on a project in some backwoods county facility, so remote that it felt like you\u2019d driven off the map completely. The boss, Steve, had this great idea.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nA man working as a contractor | Source: Midjourney<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s get some tacos for breakfast,\u201d he said. \u201cLike for the entire staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, not a problem,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

The staff had been letting us use their equipment, among other things, for free all week. And it seemed simple enough. He gave me the green light to handle it by myself.<\/p>\n

So, I did.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nAn older man wearing a suit | Source: Midjourney<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there anything to worry about? In terms of costing, I mean?\u201d I asked Steve.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, just go for it, Jackson,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ve been helping us out, so we\u2019ll cover it. No problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

I went all out. These weren\u2019t some drive-thru tacos either. They were the proper good stuff, with all the added sides. We really wanted to thank the staff, so this was a perfect way to do it.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nA close up of tacos | Source: Midjourney<\/p>\n

Also, it wasn\u2019t my money. So, hundreds of dollars\u2019 worth of tacos seemed like a pretty good deal. Steve had given me the verbal approval I needed, and we had a solid working relationship.<\/p>\n

What could go wrong?<\/p>\n

Well, it turns out, everything.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nA close up of a man | Source: Midjourney<\/p>\n

During the rest of my time there, Steve had me running around getting food for everyone. One day it was a box of donuts, the next day it was fresh fruit. The day after, it was chocolate croissants and turkey sandwiches.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou guys just love to spoil us!\u201d Gloria, one of the staff, said. \u201cAnd we love this extra special treatment. It\u2019s good to feel valued.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should have gotten it in writing.\u201d
\nWhen I submitted my expenses at the end of the month, I wasn\u2019t expecting any issues.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nA box of sandwiches | Source: Midjourney<\/p>\n

I attached the receipts and my credit card statement, highlighting all the food runs I had been on for work. I thought that I\u2019d get my reimbursement, no problem.<\/p>\n

But then the email came through: Declined.<\/p>\n

I thought it was a mistake at first, so I called Steve, trying to keep my cool.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nA man using a laptop | Source: Midjourney<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Steve,\u201d I started. \u201cI just wanted to check in about the food receipts. You know, the ones you said we could expense?\u201d<\/p>\n

Steve didn\u2019t miss a beat.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally, Jackson?\u201d he said. \u201cYou should have gotten it in writing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those words hit like a slap. My blood simmered, and I knew that Steve had just made a big mistake.<\/p>\n

Honestly, I was stunned. I mean, seriously? We\u2019d had an agreement. Those tacos weren\u2019t even my idea! None of the food runs were! Steve would just call me if I wasn\u2019t in the office or walk up to me if I was on-site.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Jackson,\u201d he would say. \u201cDon\u2019t you want to be the hero of the day and do a food run?\u201d<\/p>\n

And of course, I would want to be a hero.<\/p>\n

But still, I was stunned. I tried to reason with him, but he brushed it off like it was nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cShould\u2019ve gotten it in writing,\u201d was all he had to say over and over again.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t furious. Not yet. But I could feel it building. It was Steve\u2019s smug, careless attitude that set me off. I mean, who did this guy think he was? He had said one thing, and suddenly he was all nonchalant and smirking all the time.<\/p>\n

He knew exactly what he had done. But still, I made a mental note. Steve had cost me around $400, and I wasn\u2019t going to forget it.<\/p>\n

Fast forward a couple of months. I had moved on to other projects when, out of the blue, Steve called me. This time, he wasn\u2019t sounding smug at all. He was just a desperate man who needed something.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Jackson,\u201d he said over the phone. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a big project coming up. A new client. Huge deal for us and big money. We really need you on board. Nights, weekends, just working until the project is over. Whatever it takes. Can you do it?\u201d<\/p>\n

I leaned back in my chair, nibbling on a bowl of peanuts, listening to him ramble on about how crucial this job was and how much they needed me. Steve was basically begging by the end of the conversation, which only made the decision that much easier.<\/p>\n

I knew right then and there that I wasn\u2019t going to do it. Despite how great the money sounded, I wasn\u2019t going to work for Steve.<\/p>\n

I played along, haggled over the rate a bit, and made it seem like I was all in. Finally, we settled on a start date for the following month. Steve sounded relieved, but I already had other plans for him.<\/p>\n

A couple of days before the project was set to kick off, Steve called while I was at the gym.<\/p>\n

\u201cJackson,\u201d he said immediately. \u201cWe\u2019re all good to go, yes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should have gotten it in writing, Steve,\u201d I said.
\nHe was all business this time and much more confident that he didn\u2019t have to beg.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe paperwork for the new project\u2019s on its way,\u201d he said. \u201cCheck your emails so we can get everything sorted. If you want physical copies, just let me know. I\u2019ll send them over with Rudy.\u201d<\/p>\n

I let him finish his speech, and when he was done, I delivered my well-rehearsed line with all the calm I could muster.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Steve,\u201d I said, grinning to myself. \u201cAbout this project\u2026 I\u2019ve decided that I\u2019m not going to work on this project after all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d Steve\u2019s tone went from surprised to angry in a matter of seconds. \u201cJackson, you agreed to this weeks ago! We\u2019re counting on you! The entire team is aware that you\u2019ll be handling this. What the hell do you mean that you\u2019re not doing it?\u201d<\/p>\n

I bit my tongue to keep from laughing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should have gotten it in writing, Steve,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

Silence. Three minutes of blissful silence. I could hear him trying to process what I\u2019d just said. Well, they weren\u2019t new words to him, were they? They were the same words he\u2019d thrown at me when he refused to cover the food expenses.<\/p>\n

Now it was his turn to eat those words.<\/p>\n

Soon, the silence was broken.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you kidding me, Jackson?\u201d he exploded. \u201cYou said that you\u2019d work this job! We need you! We are counting on you!\u201d<\/p>\n

I kept my cool.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should\u2019ve gotten it in writing,\u201d I repeated, slow and steady. I was speaking to Steve like he wouldn\u2019t understand what I was saying. I knew that would anger him more.<\/p>\n

Then he lost it. I mean, he completely lost it. He was practically screeching through the phone, going off about deadlines, clients, and how screwed the team was without me.<\/p>\n

Too bad.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t raise my voice, I didn\u2019t argue. I just let him rage on while I sat on a bench at the gym, feeling like I\u2019d finally evened the score between us.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, Steve,\u201d I said. \u201cYou\u2019re just wasting my time. I told you that I won\u2019t do it. So nothing you say will change my mind. If you were serious about it, then you would have given it to me in writing. Like you said to me the last time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJackson, you\u2019re talking to me like I\u2019m a fool, and I don\u2019t appreciate it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBye, Steve,\u201d I said, ending the call.<\/p>\n

I knew he and his team would be scrambling. This wasn\u2019t just some small project; it was pretty big. And they were desperate to impress. And now they were down a key contractor. Too bad.<\/p>\n

Well, good luck to Steve and his gang for finding a last-minute replacement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jackson, working as a contractor, is used to different bosses and different jobs all the time. But nobody has been worse than Steve. While trying to impress the staff at one site, Steve has Jackson doing multiple food runs, always saying that the company will take up all the expenses and reimburse him. But that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20488"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20495,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20488\/revisions\/20495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}