To test my husband’s management skills, Dad sent me to do a surprise inspection of the company he was running. As soon as I walked in, I noticed a new, peculiar room in the office. Inside, there was a large pink bed and a vanity table. Moments later, a woman, dressed provocatively, emerged from the room, carrying a glass of water. I was about to step forward and confront her when her hand trembled, spilling the water onto a power switch. The entire company went dark. Annoyed, I asked an intern standing nearby, “Who hired that idiot woman?” The intern immediately shushed me. “Lower your voice! That’s our CEO’s wife. I heard this whole company belongs to her.” I froze. She’s the CEO’s wife? Then what am *I*? I pulled out my phone and called Dad. “Dad, forget the evaluation. Tell David to come to the office, and bring the divorce papers!” On my first day secretly inspecting my husband’s company, I immediately noticed it felt different. The old nursery had been turned into a pink princess room. Curious, I watched a young, provocatively dressed woman walk out of it. I asked an intern standing near me, “Who is that woman?” The intern seemed scared of her. He leaned in, whispering, “Quiet! That’s Tiffany Reed, our CEO’s wife. You must be new here, right? You’ll get used to it.” She’s Mrs. Hayes? So what does that make *me*? I couldn’t believe David would cheat so brazenly! He even moved his mistress’s *bed* into the company building! The intern sighed and continued, “She usually just stays in the private room Mr. Hayes gave her, playing games or watching TV. She doesn’t really interact with us. Mr. Hayes must be out for a meeting today, and no one’s around to entertain her, so she came out to play.” His words made my head buzz. “Her private room? The one with the huge pink bed? This is a company, not a resort!” I tried my best to control my anger. The intern shook his head and said, “What can we do? Our CEO just dotes on his wife.” He saw the look on my face and asked with concern, “Are you okay? You look terrible.” I forced a smile. “I’m fine, just a little surprised. It’s certainly… an eye-opener to see someone like that in a company.” The intern gave a wry smile and shrugged. “You’ll get used to it. She doesn’t really do anything harmful. We just have to tolerate it, and pray she gets bored and goes back to her room.” I didn’t say anything more. I watched Tiffany skip away from the lounge area, humming a tune. I pulled out my phone, ready to call Dad directly. But after a moment’s thought, I put it back. Leaving now would be letting David off too easy. Dad had sent me to evaluate his capabilities. Now, it seemed, his competence, and his character, were both seriously flawed. I wanted to see just how ridiculous this company had become under his management. I straightened my clothes and walked to the reception desk. “Hi, I’m Ashley Miller, from corporate, here for a project review.” “Could you please arrange a temporary workstation for me? Somewhere quiet, if possible.” “Also, this inspection is internal, so I’d prefer Mr. Hayes doesn’t know I’m here.” The receptionist nodded respectfully. I walked into the office area, found a corner desk, and settled in, my gaze fixed on Tiffany, who was not far away. She was holding a glass of water, curiously studying a fire alarm button on the wall, seemingly debating whether to press it.
David wasn’t in that morning. Tiffany must have gotten bored playing games in his office. She strolled out of the General Manager’s office again. She wandered around the office floor. One moment, she was poking at a colleague’s newly drawn design sketch. The next, she was messing with another colleague’s keyboard, typing out gibberish. Everyone was furious but dared not speak up. They just held their breath when she approached, and frantically checked their work after she left, hoping it hadn’t been ruined. She drifted over to the water cooler. She was probably thirsty again, so she picked up a disposable cup to get some water. Either she didn’t hold it steady, or it was on purpose. Her hand trembled. A full cup of water, precisely, accurately, splashed directly onto the wall next to the water cooler. Right where the main power switch for the entire office floor was located. There was a loud *CRACK*, followed by a shower of blinding sparks. The lights across the entire office instantly went out. Every computer screen, without exception, turned black. A few seconds later, the office erupted in a chorus of groans and frustrated shouts. “My code! I spent all morning on it! It’s not saved!” “My design draft! The client has been hounding me, it was just one step away!” “My report! It’s due at 2 PM! It’s over, everything’s ruined!” Mark Johnson, the Head of the Tech Department, rushed out of his office first, drawn by the commotion. He saw Tiffany standing there, looking utterly innocent despite the mess she’d caused, and his face instantly turned ashen. His lips moved, his fists clenched and then relaxed, but he ultimately swallowed his words. Tiffany, however, spoke first, her voice dripping with indignation. “What happened?” “This switch is so cheap! It broke just from a little water. Why is everything in this company such low quality?” Her ability to lie so brazenly was truly astonishing. Sarah WilDavids, the Head of Administration, also hurried over. She first looked at the chaotic, smoking power switch, then at Tiffany. She immediately plastered on a forced, subservient smile. “Tiffany, are you hurt? Did it scare you?” “It’s not your fault at all. It must be old wiring. We’ll fix it right away. I’ll get someone to replace it with a new, waterproof one immediately!” “Why don’t you go back to the office and rest? We’ll handle things here.” Tiffany pouted, seemingly not entirely satisfied with this outcome, but said nothing more and turned back into David’s office. Only then did the Head of Administration wipe the cold sweat from her brow and start directing the tech team to fix the problem. As she passed my desk, I called out to her. “Ms. WilDavids, does this happen often?” She glanced at me, recognized me as being from corporate, and a bitter expression crossed her face. She pulled me into the stairwell of the fire escape, lowering her voice. “You’re an auditor, right? There are some things I shouldn’t say, but today’s incident…” She sighed and continued. “Honestly, she’s Mr. Hayes’s wife. We can’t do anything.” “Mr. Hayes is away for a meeting today, so no one can control her.” “Normally, when Mr. Hayes is here, he can at least keep her locked in his office…” Her face was filled with helplessness and despair. “Last time, she ‘accidentally’ knocked over a cup of coffee.” “That coffee spilled right onto our main server.” “All our company data was corrupted. The tech department pulled all-nighters for a week to restore it. We all lost an entire week’s worth of work!” “And what happened then?” I asked. “Mr. Hayes said our tech department was negligent in supervision, that the server’s location posed a safety hazard, and he docked our entire department’s quarterly bonuses.” “He said it was a ‘lesson’ for us.” My heart sank, heavy and cold. This was David’s management style. He was letting an idiot run wild, then making all his hard-working employees pay for her stupidity. David, you’re truly something. Just then, the door to the General Manager’s office opened again. Tiffany poked her head out and yelled, “I’m so bored! Why isn’t the power back on? My phone’s almost dead! Are there any snacks in the breakroom?” No one answered her. The entire office floor was filled with an oppressive, absolute silence.
Just as the engineering team finished restoring power, Dad called. He asked me to retrieve some core data from the Marketing Department. He said the company’s board meeting that afternoon needed the file, and that I absolutely had to handle it myself, without any mistakes. I took my USB drive, copied the data from the Marketing Director, and went to the print room. I had just finished organizing the documents and clipping them together when the print room door swung open. Tiffany strolled in, holding a bubble tea. Her eyes lit up when she spotted the stapler next to my hand. “Hey, can I borrow that? My snack bag came open.” She said, reaching out to grab it as if it were hers by right. I instinctively pulled the documents and stapler back, out of her reach. These documents were highly confidential company information. Her hand grasped at air. Her body, propelled by momentum, lurched forward, and her foot caught on a cable. The bubble tea in her hand flew out. The brown liquid arced in a perfect parabola through the air, landing squarely on the confidential documents I had just printed. The thick stack of A4 papers was instantly soaked through with bubble tea, turning into a sticky, ruined mess. I looked at the destroyed files, unable to maintain my detached composure any longer. I looked up, my gaze falling on Tiffany’s face. She showed no remorse. Instead, she seemed annoyed that I hadn’t lent her the stapler. My voice was icy. “Can you even begin to pay for the damage you’ve done to these files?” Tiffany was probably experiencing someone in the company questioning her with such a tone for the first time. She froze for a moment. Then, her face contorted with fury. “How dare you speak to me like that?!” “Do you even know who I am?” She puffed out her chest, looking indignant. “I’m Mr. Hayes’s wife!” I looked at her, my insides completely calm, almost amused. “Oh?” I calmly countered. “Mr. Hayes’s wife can just freely destroy company property? She can ignore company rules and regulations?” My retort clearly challenged her authority. She became furious, pointing a finger at my nose. “Of course I can!” “This company belongs to my husband, so it belongs to me! I can do whatever I want!” Her voice grew shrill, like fingernails on a chalkboard. “Who do you think you are? A new hire telling *me* what to do?!” Colleagues, hearing the commotion, started to gather. Seeing the scene, they were terrified, barely daring to breathe. A few female colleagues from Admin quietly tugged at my sleeve, their eyes pleading, signaling me to apologize quickly. I didn’t move. I just watched her silently. Tiffany, seeing that I was unmoved, felt she was losing face in front of everyone. She pulled out her phone, a smirk of triumph on her face. “Fine, you wanna play tough? Think you can defy me?” “I’m calling my husband right now to tell you who *I* am, and who *you* are!” She immediately FaceTimed David. The call connected quickly. She held the phone screen towards herself, ready for David to come to her rescue.
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