Resentful manager goes from bonding immediately with new server to sabotaging her every move: 'Looking back, it suddenly made a lot more sense why she seemed to go from friendly mentor to treating me like public enemy number one'

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Olivia Arocena • Writer and Editor
Jun 24, 2026 8:00 AM EDT

Bonded so much it ended badly

Some things we can only figure out in retrospect. People often act in ways we deem incoherent and irrational, and only after everything ends can we see the underlying motives for their behaviour.

Becoming too close way too fast with someone might be a cause for concern. I don't mean to instill paranoia, because sometimes it just means we're going to become friends forever with the person. Still, more often than not, it might mean something toxic is about to emerge with the same intensity that the 'friendship' began.

This time, it happened to a server who bonded too rapidly with the general manager and was hired on a whim. Could she have done anything to change the course of events?

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