I Got Fired but Kept Pretending to Work—Then Everything Took a Wild Turn

I never thought pretending to have a job would actually lead me to this. But after getting fired by email, no warning, no severance, not even a goodbye, I made a choice. I kept showing up like nothing happened.

What started as denial turned into something bigger. And when the CEO messaged me weeks later, everything changed.

This is probably the weirdest thing I’ve ever done, but it still doesn’t feel real.

So. Last year, I got fired. By email. Just like that. No meeting, no phone call, no warning.

One minute I was working on a report, the next minute I get this cold, two-line message in my inbox: “Your position has been terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service.” That was it.

No notice. No severance. No transition. Just gone.

But the weird part, that they didn’t revoke my company email. Or remove me from the Slack. Or take me off the calendar invites. Nothing. It was like I still existed in the system.

So I panicked. And then I just rolled with it.

I told no one. Not my coworkers, not my friends, not even my family. I got up the next morning, put on a clean shirt, logged into Zoom, and joined the morning meeting like everything was totally normal.

I cracked a joke in the chat. I gave an update on a project I was no longer assigned to. And nobody questioned a thing.

For weeks, I kept up the act. I posted on LinkedIn about “exciting momentum” and “collaboration wins.” I replied to emails. I booked fake meetings on my calendar.

I even showed up at the office a couple of times, just to keep the illusion alive. I’d bring a coffee and walk around like I belonged. Honestly, no one batted an eye.

The truth is, I was desperate. I was applying to jobs like crazy, but nothing was landing. And I felt ashamed. Embarrassed. Like I’d failed somehow. Pretending to still be employed felt better than admitting I was just drifting.

Then one afternoon, after about two months of this routine, I got a message.

Then one afternoon, out of nowhere, I received a message from the CEO. It said, “Hey! I really liked your ideas in the last meeting. Do you want to be the head of our new project? Please let me know by the end of the day.”

I just sat there, stunned. My jaw actually dropped. This was it. My star moment. So I took a deep breath and replied.

I wrote, “Thank you so much. I’m truly honored. But I have to be honest. I was actually fired a couple of months ago. I just kept joining the meetings because I put my whole heart into this company. I believed in the work. Even if I wasn’t getting paid, I still wanted to contribute.”

A few minutes later, he replied again. And he was impressed. Like, genuinely moved. He said he’d had no idea and wanted to get to the bottom of it. A day later, he called me directly and officially offered me the project lead role.

Turns out HR had quietly decided to downsize a few people without looping in the board or even notifying the CEO. Just slashed staff behind the scenes and hoped no one would notice.

And somehow, all that pretending actually led me to a better position than the one I started with.

So yeah. The system is messy. But sometimes, sticking around with a little heart pays off in the weirdest way.

If I can give one piece of advice, it’s this: show up. Even when it feels pointless. Even when no one’s watching.

You never know who’s paying attention or what might come from just caring a little more than expected. It’s not always about the paycheck. Sometimes, it’s about proving you still believe in what you do.

“My 12-year-old stepson is glued to his phone. His room looks like a dump, and he snaps or gets rude over the smallest requests. So I took away his gadgets — my house isn’t a free resort, and I’m not a maid. He slammed the door. Hours later, I found something that stopped me cold...” Click here to read the full story!