Bookstore boss asks employee to train new hire, employee discovers new hire is the bosses son going by a different last name: 'Nobody else on staff seems to know.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Jul 13, 2026 8:30 PM EDT

Is it wrong for them to hide their mother-son relationship from the rest of the staff? 

A lot of people hate nepotism babies for understandable reasons. It's not fair that Margaret Qualley has a movie-star mom and Bronny James has an NBA star dad, whose names helped them become an actress and a professional basketball player, respectively. If you wanted to be a movie star but grew up in a low-income family, nowhere near Hollywood, you might resent the fact that other people have it so much easier because of the family they were born into. Unfortunately, that's life! We can't control who our parents are, and all we can really do is work with the hand that we are dealt. 

Sports fans hate professional sports nepotism much less because sporting ability is much more genetic than acting ability. While certain features might be genetic, "star quality" is not in the same way that athletic ability is. In a lot of cases of nepotism, it's clear that the child is not as good as their parent in their prime, and they're being given the benefit of the doubt because of their last name. 

What about nepotism in other industries? We are always hearing about nepo babies in the most high-earning industries, but what about nepo babies in trades? What about nepo babies in law firms? There will always be some nepotism in hiring, and it's not uncommon for nepotism in family businesses to create discord in the workplace. The new employee in this story has intentionally hidden the fact that he is the boss's son. One of the employees discovered the truth after seeing a form she wasn't supposed to, and now she doesn't know how to proceed. 

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  • The boss's son works his first day at a bookstore, using a different last name than he usually uses.
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    The boss's son works his first day at a bookstore, using a different last name than he usually uses.

    The photo uses a model to tell the story. 

  • My boss asked me to train the new hire, and I just found out it's her son using a fake last name.

    I work at a small independent bookstore, five of us on staff plus the owner (my boss). Last week she told me we were hiring someone new and asked me to train them since I've been there the longest.
    via u/Crazy_COOOP
  • The new guy showed up Monday, seemed nice, learned the register fast, asked good questions. Nothing weird until yesterday when I saw his direct deposit form on the desk (my boss had left it out by
    via u/Crazy_COOOP
  • accident) and the last name matched hers. Same last name, and I remembered she mentioned her son was between things a few months back.
    via u/Crazy_COOOP
  • Bookstore boss tells her coworkers that her son is between jobs at the moment.
    via A. C. (Unsplash+)

    Bookstore boss tells her coworkers that her son is between jobs at the moment. 

    The picture is representative of the situation. 

  • I didn't say anything to him. Today I just casually asked if he was from around here and he got kind of cagey and changed the subject, which pretty much confirmed it for me.
    via u/Crazy_COOOP
  • Here's the thing, he introduced himself to the team using a different last name than what was on that form. Nobody else on staff seems to know. I don't think he's doing anything wrong at work, he's
    via u/Crazy_COOOP
  • actually a solid employee, but it feels strange that my boss set this up without just telling us "hey, my son is joining the team." Now I feel like I'm sitting on information I wasn't supposed to see, and I'm not
    via u/Crazy_COOOP
  • sure if I should treat him differently, mention it to my boss, or just pretend I never saw the form.
    via u/Crazy_COOOP
  • samanime Perhaps they are doing it BECAUSE they don't want you to treat him differently. And since seeing this has you wondering if you should be treating him differently... it was probably a smart call. If his direct deposit stuff has his real last name, they aren't committing any sort of fraud or anything. And if this is an independent bookstore, the owner is free to do what she wants. I'd say just pretend you didnt' see it and treat him like you would any other employee.
    via u/samanime
  • Crazy_COOOP OP maybe it kind of proves itself, the second I found out, I started overthinking how to act around him. So maybe hiding it was the right call after all. Nothing shady going on, just a mom easing her kid into a job without the whole team treating him like the owner's son on day one. I'll drop it and just keep training him normally.
    via u/Crazy_COOOP
  • samanime Yeah. Honestly, it's probably a good boss move. If you all started treating him like the boss' kid, you might let him get away with stuff a regular employee wouldn't. By hiding that fact and getting you to treat him as any other random new hire, he actually has to do his job properly.
    via u/samanime
  • Crazy_COOOP OP That's the read I keep coming back to. If people know who his mom is, standards slip without anyone meaning for it to happen. This way he gets judged the same as anyone clocking in for the first time, which seems like the point.
    via u/Crazy_COOOP
  • madmaxturbator maybe. it could also be to hide the fact that OP is training the boss's son to take OP's job. I don't know why y'all are so quick to make this very friendly assumption. I've never seen anyone do this - even good bosses & managers. I would certainly never deceive employees and confuse them. you can directly say a lot of this stuff, and maintain trust.
    via u/madmaxturbator
  • Reasonable_Tiger_121 This was an issue I had when I worked for my dad's company during college. I was always the boss's son so it often felt like I was treated with kiddie gloves which actually bothered me quite a bit. That is a valid reason they may be hiding it so I agree, I think OP should just carry on as normal like they don't know.
    via u/Reasonable_Tiger_121
  • ItsRehok Honestly, I'd pretend you never saw it. You found out because your boss accidentally left private paperwork out, not because anyone told you. He may be using a different last name for totally normal personal reasons, or maybe your boss didn't want the staff treating him differently because he's her son. If he's doing the job well and not getting special treatment in front of you, I wouldn't make it weird. Just train him like you would any other new hire. The only thing I might mention p
    via u/ItsRehok
  • goldenstream I'll add that so few bookshop's still exist that I'm in favor of anything they can do to survive
    via u/goldenstream
  • Crazy_COOOP OP This is where I've landed too. It's not really my business how he introduces himself or why she structured it this way, my job is to train him well, and so far that part's easy. I'll probably say something low key to her about the paperwork being left out, just so it doesn't happen with someone else's info down the line.
    via u/Crazy_COOOP
  • TempestFloof That's wild. All the places I've worked like that had zero problem with upfront nepotism.
    via u/TempestFloof
  • Crazy_COOOP OP Yeah, that's] where I ended up too. Family hires aren't unusual at a small shop like this the weird part was just the secrecy, and even that makes sense once you think of it as him wanting a fair shot instead of an automatic pass.
    via u/Crazy_COOOP

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nepotism boss employee new hire deception training last names mom son bookstore
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