Corporate Karma: Man Crafts The Perfect Revenge After His Company Tries To Fire Him

Landing a dream job is extremely hard, so it rarely happens. We all hope to achieve it, so we spend our careers working towards that one job that we’ve always dreamed of, but unfortunately, we don’t always get it. It isn’t always as simple as just getting the job. Sometimes keeping it is far more challenging.

That’s precisely what our main character experienced in this story of revenge and justice. When head engineer Alex Ivanov was unfortunately forced out by his company, he didn’t take it lying down. He fought hard and got the ultimate revenge on the naïve business. Instead of leaving without a fuss, he decided to get the last laugh by bringing the company to its knees. How’d he do it? Let’s find out.

Here’s Alex

Meet the hero of our story, head engineer Alex Ivanov. Alex is a 63-year-old gentleman who lives in New York City. He’s a loved and well-respected family man who cherishes spending time with his grandson. But there’s one thing that he enjoys more than family time.

Alex loves walking through Central Park, playing with his grandson, playing Chess, and eating Russian food, but none of these are his true passions. His life was devoted to something else. He lived for problem-solving, and he had always been an engineer at his core.

An Engineering Mindset

Alex’s true passion was studying things, disassembling them, and then fixing them. He loved nothing more than understanding how things, especially machines, worked. This came in handy in his life, and perhaps this is why getting the perfect revenge came so easily to him.

When Alex was fired, he decided to fight back. He used his engineering brain and worked out how to fix his issue. He did the only thing he knew, solve the problem. The company had no idea what he had in store for them.

Head Engineer

Alex was fantastic at what he did. He had been working at the same civil engineering firm in New York for over 25 years, and he planned on staying there for the long haul. He figured, “Why stop doing something that you’re great at and that you love?”

Sadly, the decision to stay on wouldn’t be his to make. It’s a reality so many people face. He had spent so much of his life working his way up at the company, just to be betrayed and mistreated by them. It wasn’t fair.

Many Challenges

Though this was truly unfair, Alex had been prepared for it. He had been through many tough situations since childhood. All of which gave him the strength, determination, and courage to get through losing his job and the subsequent situations with a smile.

His whole life had been an uphill battle, as he had to fight for what he wanted much harder than many others in his company. His bosses clearly underestimated just how strong and resilient Alex truly was. He’d never backed down without a fight. Not since childhood.

A Tough Life

Alex had been born in Moscow Russia, amidst great tensions and fear within the country. In 1970 he and his family fled from the USSR to live in the USA. That meant leaving everything he knew behind, but it was necessary.

At a young age, he had to learn an entirely new language, integrate with radically different cultures and beliefs, make new friends, and navigate his way around the stigma and backlash that arose in the aftermath of the Cold War. It was a tough childhood, but it made him who he is today.

A Growing Skillset

Alex and the people surrounding him knew he would grow up to be an engineer from a very young age, especially following one significant and proud moment of his young life, where he proved his skills in a surprising way.

When Alex was still very young, his father had a deep passion for music and loved nothing more than collecting records, especially American vinyl records. One day when his record player seemed irreversibly broken, he came home to discover that Alex had disassembled and fixed it all by himself.  

Career Oriented

It was clear to everyone that he had a gift that he needed to take advantage of. Alex worked hard to pursue his dreams, and when he reached the age of 17, he was offered a scholarship to MIT for engineering. Needless to say, this was another proud moment.

Alex graduated top of his class in the 1980s and left feeling hopeful and excited about his career prospects. But like so many of us find out soon enough, it wasn’t as easy as he first thought. As you may have guessed, this was primarily due to prejudice and discrimination.

Treated Unfairly

As mentioned earlier, Alex graduated at a time when there was still a lot of hostility and paranoia surrounding the USSR and the Cold War. Many people of European descent were treated unjustly in the US, and Alex was no different.

Despite being a highly qualified and exceptional engineer, he struggled to get work. People heard his accent and couldn’t wait to get rid of him. This experience left Alex feeling ashamed and unappreciated. He had fled the USSR to escape hostility, but he was still feeling it in New York.

A Lucky Day

Alex had no choice but to take odd jobs, they didn’t pay very well and had no opportunity for career progression, but he had no choice. He needed money to survive. There were times when he even had to resort to free meals just to stay alive.

It felt like he was stuck in Limbo and that life wouldn’t get better for someone like him until one day changed his life forever. Doing something as simple as fixing a radio flipped his world upside down and changed it for the better. But how?

Recognized for His Talents

Alex was hired for a simple job; repairing a housewife’s radio. What he did not know was that this housewife just so happened to be married to the CEO of one of the top civil engineering firms in the city.

The woman told her husband about Alex’s work, and he was so impressed that he encouraged him to apply for an open position at the company. Alex leaped at the opportunity and accepted the invitation to an interview as soon as the could organize one.

A Challenging Interview

The position was quite competitive, and as such, it was a difficult job to secure. He was competing with many other candidates, some of whom had more experience in the field, but Alex was determined, and this shined through in his interview.

The interviewers were extremely impressed with his knowledge, expertise, unique approach, and passion for the role, and before he knew it, the job was his! It felt like his life had improved forever. But there were still some terrible hardships to come.

Troubles Yet to Come

For a long time, this job was a huge part of his life. He stayed at the company, and years passed by. He got married, started a family, and created a life for himself, all while working there. It even got him through one excruciating ordeal.

When he was around 60 years old, the doctors discovered that his wife had a brain tumor and she died soon after. The job was the only thing that helped him through it, and for that, he was extremely grateful. That said, he was terrified of losing the job for one specific reason.

Getting Old

He was 63 and not as quick or efficient as he had been in his younger years. He could feel the world changing around him, and the company had been doing the same. It felt as if he was being left in the past and being pushed out.

He was struggling to keep up with their ever-changing technology and changes to their methods and solutions, and unfortunately, the company wasn’t helping him keep up. He could feel his career slipping away and was made even more certain of it when the company went through one major change.

A Change of CEO’s

One unfortunate day, the CEO that Alex had known and loved decided to step down from his position. This was the son of the original CEO who hired him, so Alex had a close bond and relationship with him. But it wasn’t just the relationship that he was scared of losing.

The firm had hired a new CEO from outside of the company as a way of revolutionizing and modernizing the business, and Alex wasn’t a fan. The new CEO was extremely different from what he was used to, and it quickly became apparent that the walls were closing in on Alex.

A Modern Approach

The new CEO was very different from the last two that Alex had worked with. He was a typical Silicon Valley type executive who wore hoodies and athletic clothing instead of the old-fashioned suit and tie approach. It sounds innocent enough, but Alex interpreted this as bad news.

The CEO upgraded the technology and changed their way of working overnight. Instead of emails, there were voice notes, and instead of meetings, there were video calls. It all felt like too drastic of a change, and Alex stood out like a sore thumb.

A Message From HR

Before too long, Alex found himself being called in for a meeting with HR. In his 25 years at the company, this was the first time that he had ever had a meeting with HR. He couldn’t understand what was happening.

He had an excellent relationship with all of his colleagues and managers, and he hadn’t done anything wrong as far as he was aware. As such, Alex had suspicions that it was all to do with the new CEO and that it would be bad news. He would soon be proved right.

A ‘Check-Up’

Alex made his way to Human Resources and felt sick to his stomach. He was so nervous and anxious to learn what the meeting was about. When he finally arrived at the door, he took a deep breath and headed in. He was right to be worried.

A woman named Vivian welcomed him and asked him to take a seat. She had a great big smile, but it felt fake to Alex, and that’s when he knew he was in trouble though he had no idea why. She started by claiming that she just wanted to check in with him.

It Gets Worse

The meeting got progressively worse from there and soon turned into what felt like passive-aggressive threats to his position. She informed him that her job was to remove weaknesses from the company and that she understood that his age could make the changes confusing and difficult.

Alex felt embarrassed but also extremely angry. He had been with the company for over 25 years, and now Vivian was implying that his ‘maturity’ was a weakness to the business. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. But the more she spoke, the worse it got.

A Serious Warning

Vivian went on to say, “Something has been brought to our attention, and we really can’t have it happening again, so I just wanted to make sure we’re all on the same page. Someone noticed that you’ve been allowing unauthorized personnel into the building, and we just can’t have that now, can we?”

Alex was perplexed. He had no idea what she was talking about until it finally hit him. The week before, he held the door open for some engineers behind him at the entrance. Was he being punished for politeness? It was clear this wasn’t the true reason for the meeting, regardless of what Vivian said.

Broken and Hurt

This whole time, Vivian kept her fake smile and pleasant manner about her before promptly ending the meeting and instructing Alex to go back to work. The walk back to his desk was humiliating. He was heartbroken to be treated in such a way in a place that he loved.

Alex finished his work for the day and slowly walked home. He thought about how some of his other colleagues had taken early retirements and how it all seemed to be more than just a coincidence, and he felt devastated. That night he went to bed feeling beaten for the first time in years.

Not Backing Down

The next day, Alex woke up filled with dread and anxiety. He couldn’t stand the thought of going to work again until suddenly, it struck him. He was amazing at his job, and he loved what he did. They couldn’t get rid of him for something that trivial.

He had a fire in his belly, and he wasn’t going down without a fight. He spent that day planning the ultimate revenge. The company had changed overnight, and so would he. He was determined to punish them for how they had treated him and his colleagues. Finally, the perfect plan came to him.

An Unexpected Solution

Alex desperately wanted to prove the new CEO wrong. He wanted to show him that experts matter, regardless of their age. Over the next few weeks, Alex worked harder than he ever had before. He started early and left work late.

At first, his colleagues and bosses just assumed he was desperate to keep his job and that he was putting in overtime just to prove his value. But they were dead wrong. In reality, it was quite the opposite. Alex had a cunning plan to get his own.

The Day of Reckoning

Alex continued like this for weeks. He became their most valuable asset. He even wore his smartest suits and brought Russian sweets to the office. Then finally, the day came when he would reveal all, and he simply could not wait.

He walked to the office with confidence, and then with a huge grin on his face, he walked down to Vivian’s office with a resignation letter in hand. At first, she ignored him and carried on talking on the phone, but when he slammed the letter on the desk, she was shocked.

A Desperate Conversation

Alex gave Vivian an opportunity to read the letter while he gathered his belongings and said his goodbyes. He didn’t even need to stay for his notice period as he’d saved up enough holiday days to cover it already. It’s safe to say he felt good.

Alex finally left the building. He was hardly on the street when his phone began to buzz. It was Vivian. She was audibly desperate and frantic. She begged and pleaded with him to come back, saying that the company deserved better than that. Alex had only one reply.

A Fulfilling Reply

Alex was very calm, as Vivian practically screamed with anxiety and concern. He gently informed her that it was not his job anymore, so he didn’t have to do anything and that he certainly didn’t owe the company anything. It felt good to finally be able to say that. 

He could almost hear the disbelief in Vivian’s voice. She was stunned into silence. Alex wished her a good day and hung up before continuing his peaceful walk through the park while the office was in absolute chaos trying to fix their mistakes. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Proving His Worth

You see, Alex got his revenge in the best way he possibly could have. He showed them how much of an asset he was, and then he took it away. In the weeks running up to his resignation, he took on jobs that only he had the skill and experience to manage.

Without Alex there, there was nobody to do those jobs. The company would be in a frenzy. They would have to find someone to replace him, which would take a lot of time and money, whereas if they had treated him better, they never would have been in this mess in the first place.

That Wasn’t All

Alex’s revenge didn’t stop there, though. In fact, it got a whole lot worse. He had also been secretly changing minute details in the engineering plans and blueprints. Tiny details that only an expert would notice. He knew they were in serious trouble.

Though small, these changes made an enormous impact. In fact, they were the difference between perfect structure and absolute fatal mistakes. Fortunately, Alex left all of his changes in his letter of resignation. He just wanted to prove that they wouldn’t notice the mistakes.

Bigger Impact Than He Thought

In addition to these changes, Alex had also switched passwords, WiFi connections, and keycards. He knew this would have a big impact, but he never could have guessed just how big. It became immediately apparent that the new CEO and his team couldn’t keep up with the work, and the changes didn’t help.

The new CEO was overwhelmed. He quickly realized that despite his top tier education, he didn’t know enough about the industry. They were in serious trouble, and there was only one person who could help them. It was karma at its best. Can you guess who they turned to?

An Unexpected Visitor

One night, Alex got a knock on the door. He rushed to it, expecting it to be a lawyer or a police officer investigating what he’d done to the company documents, but he was very wrong. It was the new CEO, Trent.

Trent begged and pleaded with Alex. He apologized for how he’d treated the senior employees, but he desperately needed his help. Alex debated for a while, but in the end, it was just in his nature to provide help to people who needed it. So he offered to return with a few conditions.

Coming to an Agreement

Alex ultimately agreed to return to work for a week just to fix his adjustments and wrap his work up. After devoting so much of his life to the company, he wanted to leave on good terms and leave that world behind him. 

However, he did make the CEO do one thing for him. He made the company sign up for an age discrimination seminar to ensure that they never treated any senior members that badly again. Alex also made them promise to provide better severance packages to his other colleagues.

A Bright Future

When Alex’s final week was up, he had one final big decision to make. Was it time to retire? After a long time debating this, he decided he wasn’t ready to leave the engineering world behind him just yet. Retirement would have to wait.

He took some interviews and landed a job as a consultant. His new colleagues not only respected him, but they also looked to him for his wisdom and experience. Alex finally got the happy ending he deserved and put the horrible company in his past, safe in the knowledge that he got the last laugh.