Don't Hang Around People Who Mistreat You

When I was a young wife and mother, I took a part-time job working for a rich old man, whose sole purpose in life was tracking every penny he spent.

To give you an example of his penny-tracking ways, one day the receptionist called him on his mobile phone to share something she deemed important. Mobile phones were very rare and costly back then, and before she could finish her sentence, the old penny tracker yelled, “Darlene, do you know this is gonna cost me 25 cents!” Poor Darlene. She’d been there 14 years and had chosen to endure his madness, I suppose.

One afternoon, not long after he hired me, Mr. Rich Man inquired about a certain deposit slip. I told him I didn’t have it and hadn’t seen it. “Well, I gave you that deposit slip this morning,” he bellowed, standing over me like a demonic missile at countdown.

Remaining calm, cool and collected, I said, “No, sir. You didn’t give me a deposit slip.” Upon hearing the news, he spat out insults, stomped to his massive corner office, slammed the door shut and commenced banging drawers opened and closed.

A few hours later he emerged, and I casually asked if he had located the deposit slip. Oh, yes, he said. It was in his coat pocket.

Did he apologize for attacking and accusing me? No. Did I work for him very long? Less than five months, to be exact, and the end was delightfully sweet.

On my way to lunch one afternoon, I whispered to Darlene, “I won’t be back.” It was an uncharacteristically impromptu move on my part, but I felt lighter than a feather as I exited the tall building and skipped merrily into the sunshine, never to hear old Mr. Rich Man bellow again.

I shared that to say two things: First, money can make you mean. Second, if you're hanging around someone who treats you like trash, abuses your emotions, and punishes you for things you didn’t do, don't hang around too long. You’re more valuable than that, and they won’t miss you when you leave.