It was a typical afternoon at a café near my office. My friend and I were enjoying lunch at the counter when a man rushed past us, knocking over my coffee with his arm. The hot liquid spilled onto my dress, leaving a large stain.
Accidents happen, I told myself. I wasn’t even angry — just slightly annoyed about my ruined outfit. I expected a quick apology, maybe even an offer to help. But instead, the man turned to me with a scowl and said, ‘You should watch where you sit. This is entirely your fault.’
I blinked in shock. ‘Excuse me?’
‘You heard me,’ he continued, his voice tinged with condescension. ‘Women like you always make a scene over nothing. Maybe if you weren’t so self-absorbed, this wouldn’t have happened.’
The café fell silent, and all eyes turned to us. My friend looked like she was about to explode, but I put my hand on hers, signalling for her to stay calm. Despite his humiliating words, I decided not to argue. I just grabbed my handbag, wiped up what I could, and left the café, my cheeks burning with embarrassment and anger.
He didn’t know that our acquaintance didn’t end there.
The next day, I arrived at work early in the morning, ready for the team meeting. I work as a project manager at a medium-sized firm, and we had scheduled an interview with a new consultant for one of our most important projects. When I entered the conference room, who did I see sitting at the table waiting for the interview to begin? None other than the man from the café.
His eyes widened when he recognised me. To his credit, he tried to act calm, but the colour drained from his face when I walked straight to the head of the table.
‘Good morning, everyone,’ I said in a professional but firm tone. ‘Let’s begin the interview.’
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat when I introduced myself as the manager of the project he was hoping to join. The other members of the panel didn’t know what had happened the day before, but I could see that with each question I asked, he became more and more uncomfortable.
Throughout the interview, I remained honest and objective, but I didn’t hesitate to press him on his ability to work respectfully with a diverse team. By the end of the interview, he was visibly sweating.
After the interview, I left the room and ran into him in the hallway. He stammered, ‘Listen, about yesterday…’
I raised my hand to stop him. ‘No need to explain. Your behaviour speaks volumes. We expect a high level of professionalism and respect in this company, and I don’t think this role is right for you.’
He opened his mouth to respond, but I didn’t wait to hear what he had to say. I walked away with my head held high.
The following week, the team hired another consultant — one who was qualified, respectful, and willing to cooperate. As for the ‘authoritative’ man from the café, I can only hope that 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 saw it with my own eyes.
