He did work for a couple of years. When he tried to quit - it ended on uncomfortable terms because they didn't want him to quit. Now, he can't even use them as

He did work for a couple of years. When he tried to quit - it ended on uncomfortable terms because they didn't want him to quit. Now, he can't even use them as reference or something, because he's afraid they might say bad stuff about him (I highly doubt this! He fears too much). This is the situation he's trying to avoid.