after experiencing this a Lot, i think it works like this:
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supervisor gets mad at you for something they don't want to bring up directly, maybe because it would be rude or make them look bad
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they criticize something else you're doing, assuming that you'll know what they actually mean (they want an acknowledgement or apology for the first thing but by framing the conversation as being about a minor detail, they let either you or them save face)
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you don't know what they're really talking about, and try to make sense of the thing they're literally saying
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if you mean what you say literally, it's not a problem. but they don't know that you mean it literally- they think you're also indirectly alluding to the other thing, in which case pointing out that what they said to you doesn't make sense would be an attempt to embarrass them and an indirect rejection of their attempt to resolve the other conflict
basically like. allistic people handle workplace problems like they're in a regency era social politicking drama, and they assume you're doing the same, so they see backhanded stealth insults in a harmless comment. the normal thing that you meant literally is how they would talk if they wanted to subtly insult someone
i have had so many of these conversations that at one point in high school i became entirely separated from reality and delusional. the specific delusions i suffered from the most were Truman Show delusions because allistics would make so little sense to me in conversation that it felt like they were being fed lines through an earpiece.
i turned my bedroom upside down multiple times at my worst moments, trying desperately to find hidden cameras.
but of course, it wasn't me who was broken or weird or anything. my delusions weren't caused by me having a mental illness, it was because allistics just talk out the side of their fucking mouths.
