sell someone down the river

[ostap77]

"He said to me that he was going to take me on the staff if they were opening a new store but he sold me down the river and didn't even tell they had opened." Is it OK with the context and grammar?

 

[5jj]

"He said to me that he was going to take me on the staff if they were opening a new store but he sold me down the river and didn't even tell me they had opened." Is it OK with the context and grammar?

Yes, but as this expression implies betrayal, it would be more appropriate if we have something along the lines of:

"He said to me that he was going to take me on the staff if they were opening a new store but he sold me down the river and told my boss about my plans to work for a rival."

 

[ostap77]

Yes, but as this expression implies betrayal, it would be more appropriate if we have something along the lines of:

"He said to me that he was going to take me on the staff if they were opening a new store but he sold me down the river and told my boss about my plans to work for a rival."

It was more like he didn't take me on the staff because he took someone else?

 

[5jj]

It was more like he didn't take me on the staff because he took someone else?

No. My example suggests that he sold me down the river (betrayed me) by offering me a job when he never intended to give me the job; indeed, instead of acting as a friend, he acted as an enemy by revealing my hopes to my boss. This caused me embarrassment.