re: I blame it all on "Human Resources".
>"At a little company years ago I confided in the HR Manager, shared some criticisms of the CEO...and eventually found out she was sleeping with him. "
Oh, that sucks. Little Peyton Places all over the place.
I worked for such an institution and when several key departments got together to complain about the manager, it got back to corporate. Oh they handled it professionally, sent in the big HR from corporate, took all our stories and NOTHING happened.
Because the manager and the CEO had been lovers for years (both men). That explains why the manager held the job without the experience and did the stupidest business moves one could imagine. Why, he was just holding down the fort. LOL