Bauer Publishing’s tabloids traffic in gossip, but recently, the gossip has been all about them. Last week, it was rumored that the company’s Life & Style might be shutting down or folded into sister publication In Touch. Then on Monday, Bauer sent out a nice press release announcing the resignation of the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Mark Pasetsky. But a Bauer source tells us Pasetsky didn’t so much “resign,” as get canned. “He was totally stunned, as he was expecting to be made number one in the whole company in the next few years,” the source tells us. “He’d even told friends in the last few months he thought he’d eventually become Bauer’s CEO.” Ouch! “No, don’t feel bad for him,” our source says. Apparently, in addition to the fun rumors about Pasetsky — that he wore foundation, kept employees in Englewood Cliffs late into the night, brought in a feng shui expert to rearrange the office’s chi — he was also “a nightmare boss,” says our source. “He really kicked down his employees.” After being offered a Bauer job that was “much lower than he expected,” Pasetsky’s back at his old job, with marketing firm Mark Allen and Co.

Related: Red Flags for Life & Style [Portfolio]