I forget which Apple engineer posted this anecdote, but Steve Jobs threatened to fire him and he agonized over a detailed response email.

But he ultimately just sent something like “Steve, you know how I feel. But you’re the boss. Let me know tomorrow if I’m fired or not”. He never heard back and just kept working at Apple.

Now I personally think the engineer’s like-kind response is probably what let him keep his job. But there’s something elegant about straightforwardness like this.