Meet Gary, the self-proclaimed king of the office. He strutted around like a peacock, convinced that his mere presence made the workplace a better place. Gary’s favorite hobby? Reminding everyone how much they depended on him.
“You’re welcome for the air you breathe,” he’d often joke. Except, it wasn’t really a joke. Gary believed every word.
Every meeting, Gary dominated the conversation. Every project? He claimed it as his idea. Even if it wasn’t. The team had grown used to nodding and smiling, mostly to avoid being drawn into his black hole of self-praise.
One afternoon, during a team meeting, Gary announced, “I’ve been thinking about restructuring the department. I mean, we need someone with my vision in charge, don’t you think?”
Before anyone could respond, Susan, the quiet but sharp HR manager, raised her hand. “Actually, Gary, we’ve had an evaluation process going on for months now, and leadership has already made some decisions.”
Gary’s chest puffed out. “Well, naturally. Who else but me? I’ll be guiding this company into the future. Let me guess, I’m going to be in charge of the entire division?” He leaned back, folding his arms smugly.
Susan blinked. “Uh, no. That’s not what I meant.” She cleared her throat. “You’re actually being reassigned.”
The room fell silent.
Gary’s grin wavered, “Reassigned? You must mean promoted.”
Susan smiled awkwardly. “Not quite. Leadership decided that your talents are... well, unique. So, they’ve given you a new role that suits your... particular strengths.”
Gary was visibly confused. “Particular strengths?”
Susan handed him a sealed envelope with his new assignment. As he opened it, his expression changed from smugness to disbelief.
“You’re joking,” he stammered. “I’m... I’m being moved to the company’s social media team?”
“That’s right,” Susan said, looking relieved. “You’ll be handling our Twitter and Instagram accounts. Your ability to talk about yourself for hours on end? Perfect for crafting posts!”
Before Gary could protest, she added, “Oh, and you’ll be reporting to Stacey, our new intern.”
Gary’s jaw dropped. “The intern? I’m being demoted under the intern?”
Stacey, a bright-eyed college student sitting quietly in the corner, smiled and waved. “Hi, Gary! Can’t wait to work with you. I have so many ideas about improving our social media presence.”
Gary, who had always viewed himself as superior, was at a loss for words. For the first time in his career, he wasn’t the center of the universe. And worse—he had to take orders from Stacey.
As the team shuffled out of the meeting room, Gary slumped in his chair, muttering to himself. Just when he thought things couldn’t get any worse, Stacey’s voice rang out behind him.
“Oh, Gary, by the way—I think it’d be fun if you did a TikTok dance challenge for our next post. The audience would love it!”
Gary’s face paled. The king had fallen, and his new kingdom was a social media feed.
The first TikTok video goes viral, and Gary becomes an overnight sensation… as Stacey’s sidekick!
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