It was a regular afternoon at the café near my office. My friend and I were enjoying lunch at the counter when a man brushed past us, his hand knocking over my coffee. The hot liquid spilled all over my dress, leaving a large stain.
Accidents happen, I told myself. I wasn’t even angry—just mildly annoyed about my ruined outfit. I expected a quick apology, maybe an offer to help. But instead, the man turned to me with a scowl and said, “You should really watch where you’re sitting. That was completely your fault.”
I blinked, stunned. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” he continued, his voice dripping with condescension. “Women like you always make a scene over the smallest things. Maybe if you weren’t so self-absorbed, this wouldn’t have happened.”
The café fell silent, all eyes on us. My friend looked like she was about to explode, but I placed a hand on her arm, signaling her to stay calm. Despite his humiliating words, I decided not to argue. I simply picked up my purse, wiped off what I could, and left the café, my cheeks burning with a mix of embarrassment and rage.
Little did he know, that wasn’t the end of our encounter.
The next day, I arrived at work early, ready for a team meeting. I’m a project manager at a mid-sized firm, and we were scheduled to interview a new consultant for a critical project. When I walked into the conference room, who did I see sitting at the table, waiting for the interview to begin? None other than the entitled man from the café.
His eyes widened as he recognized me. To his credit, he tried to act cool, but the color drained from his face when I walked straight to the head of the table.
“Good morning, everyone,” I said, my tone professional but firm. “Let’s begin the interview.”
He squirmed in his seat as I introduced myself as the lead on the project he was hoping to join. The other members of the panel had no idea what had transpired the day before, but I could see him growing more and more uncomfortable with every question I asked.
I remained fair and objective throughout the interview, but I made sure to press him on his ability to work respectfully with a diverse team. By the end, he was visibly sweating.
After the interview, I stepped out of the room and bumped into him in the hallway. He stammered, “Look, about yesterday—”
I held up a hand to stop him. “There’s no need to explain. Your behavior spoke volumes. We expect a high level of professionalism and respect at this company, and I don’t think this role is the right fit for you.”
He opened his mouth to respond, but I didn’t wait to hear what he had to say. I walked away, my head held high.
The next week, the team hired a different consultant—someone qualified, respectful, and collaborative. As for the entitled man from the café, I can only hope he learned a valuable lesson about treating people with kindness and respect.
Sometimes, karma doesn’t take long to do its work, and this time, I got to witness it firsthand.
