Let's say Alice needs Bob to make a decision between options 1 and 2. Bob would prefer 1. However, Alice asks Bob at such a time he cannot choose 1, so he is forced to pick 2 except in all but the most literal sense. However, it is clear to Bob that Alice could have asked him for the decision at a better time, and he is offended that Alice is being disrespectful of his agency.
Is there a word for describing Alice's behavior?
A more specific example: Alice is working for Bob. She wants to visit her family, so she buys plane tickets. She then asks Bob for permission to take the week off, explaining that she already purchased tickets. Due to a critical project going on at the time, Bob does not want Alice to take the week off, but he is unable to say no since Alice has already bought tickets (and they are non-refundable).
Another example: Bob and Alice are friends, but Bob dislikes horror movies. They agree to see a movie at Charlie's movie theater. However, when they arrive at the theater Bob becomes upset that Alice just happened to pick the one day when the only 2 movies playing are both horror movies.
In either case, the salient meaning is not the nature of the decision itself, but the fact that Alice failed to present the decision in a manner that does not undermine Bob's preference.
Best Answer
For the first situation I might say that Alice forced Bob's hand.
Phrases #3
Because she did so in a purposely inconvenient manner, I would say she forced Bob's hand unnecessarily, rudely, or prematurely (if she forced it early).
In the second situation it seems like it's just a bad coincidence, unless there's some indication that Alice knew that Bob didn't like horror movies and tricked him into coming by omission.
In either situation it could be said that Alice backed Bob into a corner. As a native speaker, I might say this is the best option because it doesn't have as much of a negative connotation.
Definition #1.3 (or whatever you call it)
I can't find a reference and I'm waffling between including "bent" or not, but you could also say that Alice has Bob over a barrel. Or bent over a barrel. Or she put Bob in a pickle.