At the company’s annual gala, my wife Mira had already prepared the grand prize for our top salesperson: A villa, a Porsche, and a hundred thousand in cash… I half-joked, “Mira, why don’t you just give him my company while you’re at it?” Mira frowned. “Do you have any idea how much value Marcus has created for you this year?” “You’re the boss—can’t you be a little more generous?” I smiled and said nothing more. Until the day of the gala, during the prize draw game on the big screen, our top salesperson drew Mira herself. Marcus panicked immediately. “Who’s playing such a sick joke, putting the boss’s wife up as my prize?” “Henry, let me explain—someone’s obviously trying to set me up!” I walked forward and patted his shoulder. “This is the gift I specially prepared for you.” The moment my words fell, the entire banquet hall became silent as death. Marcus, our three-year consecutive top salesperson, froze center stage. He stared at me, his whole body trembling uncontrollably. “Henry…” His throat was dry, his vocal cords producing a rusty sound. “Which deal did I mess up? What didn’t I do right?” “Please, just tell me—don’t joke around like this!” “You and Mira are perfect together. I don’t understand this kind of joke!” I raised my hand to straighten his tie, my fingertips brushing past his throat. I could feel his heart pounding wildly beneath. “I’m not joking with you.” “You’ve done excellent work. You’re the best employee I’ve ever had.” My voice wasn’t loud, but I wore a smile. “That’s exactly why I’m rewarding you with Mira.” The next second, the silent air shattered. “Henry!” Mira’s high heels clicked sharply as she cut through the crowd. In her red dress, she blazed like a fierce flame all the way to the stage. “Even jokes have limits!” She pointed at me, her fingertip trembling almost into my pupils. “Apologize to Marcus. Apologize to me. Now!” I lowered my eyes, looking at the emerald bracelet on her wrist—the one I’d won at Sotheby’s last anniversary, named “Forever and Always.” But after seeing the gifts Mira had prepared for our top salesperson yesterday, I knew this relationship had already developed irreparable cracks in places I couldn’t see. “I’m not joking.” I stepped aside, making room to expose Mira completely in the spotlight. “I can afford the villa and the Porsche—why not you?” Gasps echoed through the hall. Some people had already pulled out their phones. “Hasn’t Henry always doted on Mira the most? Why this sudden scene…” “Is Henry really joking, or is he trying to teach Marcus a lesson?” Marcus took half a step back, his eyes full of fear. Mira’s pupils contracted sharply, the red dress making her face appear deathly pale. “Henry, have you lost your mind?” I smiled and said gently: “Don’t worry. After the gala ends, the lawyers will deliver the divorce papers to your office. From today on, you belong to him. The company belongs to me.”
Mira stood in the light, the color draining from her face instantly. When she spoke again, her voice was exceptionally cold. “Henry, are you done with your performance?” She stepped forward, her high heels thumping dully on the carpet. “If you don’t want to give out year-end bonuses, just say so. Using me as your shield, treating the whole company like fools?” The crowd first showed slight confusion, then murmurs of sudden understanding, as if I really was just trying to avoid paying bonuses by deliberately making things difficult for our top salesperson. Buzzing agreement immediately emerged from the crowd: “Yeah, last year Marcus single-handedly achieved over half the department’s performance. Anyone would deserve that award.” “You promised everyone bonuses based on performance, and now you’re backing out?” “Using your wife as a prize—that’s just absurd. Clearly trying to humiliate Marcus…” I swept my gaze across them. My eyes were like the flat of a blade, instantly cutting the murmurs silent. But Marcus suddenly dropped to his knees with a “thud.” “Henry!” His forehead pressed against the floor, a picture of complete pitifulness. “If I messed up any deal or offended any client, just tell me! I’ll accept any punishment, but please don’t… don’t joke about Mira!” “If you don’t want to give bonuses, I can go without—just please don’t make things difficult for me.” “I have two elderly parents to support at home. Henry, I can’t lose this job!” Mira immediately chimed in, her voice rising: “Henry, listen to him. Even your employee understands gratitude better than you. If you’re afraid to pay out, fine—transfer the equity. I, Mira, will pay it. From today on, you don’t deserve to sit in that position.” She turned to face the crowd. “Everyone, whoever wants to work with me, come over here. Year-end bonuses—I’ll double them.” The banquet hall first fell into deathly silence, then the sound of chairs scraping rose in waves. Several young women from the marketing department stood up first. The operations director hesitated for half a second, then kicked his chair back. Even the usually laid-back old security guard sighed, removed his badge, and gently placed it on the table. The crowd slowly gathered behind Mira. I counted. Two-thirds. The remaining third were the old guard from tech and supply chain. I was glad they could stand by my side without hesitation. I lowered my head and smiled. “Mira,” I raised my hand and brushed nonexistent dust off my suit sleeve. “Are you trying to take over my company?” A meaningful cold smile appeared at the corner of Mira’s mouth. “Henry, someone as stingy as you, who doesn’t appreciate employees’ contributions at all—you just want to drain every last drop of value from them.” “You don’t deserve to be the boss.” As soon as Mira finished speaking, scattered applause erupted. “Mira’s right!” I looked coldly at the employees standing behind Mira and said disappointedly, “You really think I’ve treated you badly? Then who gave you those year-end bonuses you’re holding right now?” “So you’re going to bite the hand that feeds you for this woman?”
Marcus’s knees were trembling, but Mira grabbed his wrist firmly. “Stand up.” Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a leader’s authority. “From today on, you’re with me. I, Mira, always keep my word. The villa, the Porsche, the bonus—you won’t miss a penny.” Focus returned to Marcus’s pupils. He first stole a glance at me, confirming I wasn’t stopping him, before using Mira’s strength to straighten his spine inch by inch. The moment he stood straight, as if Mira had given him tremendous courage, his voice boomed loud enough to lift the roof: “Everyone, I’ve been with this company for five years. From a street peddler to three-time champion—it wasn’t luck. It was Mira giving me resources, backing me up all the way.” “Today Henry’s using Mira as a prize, making a fool of me. I accept it. But you all saw—even Mira can’t stand watching this.” “Who still wants to follow someone who goes back on his word and uses his own wife as a bargaining chip?” He suddenly raised his hand, pointing at me, his fingertip almost touching my nose. “I, Marcus, am putting it out there—whoever wants to follow Mira, come over now. Bonuses—Mira will sign right here, doubled. Those who don’t want to—stay with Henry and see what he uses you for in next year’s lottery.” The crowd seemed to have a stun grenade thrown into it. The team leader from Sales Division Two smashed his wine glass with a “crack” and was the first to walk over. The finance girl clutched her folders, jogged a few steps, then turned back to bow ninety degrees to me. Even John from supply chain, usually the most silent, sighed and hesitated whether to remove his badge. Mira watched the line rapidly expand, her red lips curving into a curved blade. She raised her hand in a gesture for silence. Applause, footsteps, whispers were instantly cut in two. “Henry…” For the first time, she looked down at me from a superior position, like viewing prey pinned to a cutting board. “See that? Once hearts grow cold, it’s hard to win them back.” I shrugged, too lazy to respond. She took my silence as agreement and pushed further, her high heel clicking onto the stage edge. The light stretched her shadow long, like a spear at my throat. “I’ll give you two choices…” “First—now, immediately, right away—hand over the company seal, legal seal, equity documents, everything. If I’m in a good mood, I might leave you five percent so you can buy a decent tie with your year-end dividend.” “Second…” She paused, smiling victoriously. “Tomorrow I’ll call an emergency shareholders’ meeting and initiate a special resolution to remove you as chairman and general manager.” “Oh, and we’ll sign the divorce agreement too. I’ll note the husband’s major fault. Don’t worry—you won’t get a penny.” “Henry, which one?” Below the stage, her new camp erupted in unified cheering: “Step down! Step down! Step down!” The sound shook the chandeliers. I lowered my head and methodically unfastened my cufflinks. When I looked up again, I raised one finger at her and gently shook it. “Mira, you seem to have gotten something wrong.” I raised my eyes, my gaze sweeping past her, past Marcus, past those faces shouting “step down.” “I built this company from scratch. It’s not me begging anyone to stay—it’s me allowing people to stay and share the pie.” Mira looked displeased. “Henry, you’ve already lost everyone’s support. You still want to act tough?” I didn’t respond, just smiled and pulled out a black USB drive from my pocket. “Everyone, aren’t you curious why I’d give my own wife to an employee?” I waved the USB drive in my hand. “Once you watch this, you’ll understand.”
“Deceiving people!” Mira’s face darkened as she roared at me. “Henry, if you dare show whatever fake content is on that USB today, tomorrow I’ll have my legal team sue you for defamation and slander. Prison food is guaranteed.” The employees behind her nodded in unison. Marcus even stepped forward half a step, his eyes red-rimmed, like a lamb I’d cornered on a cliff. “Everyone, don’t be fooled by his USB drive.” He first bowed to the crowd, then turned and pointed at me: “Three years ago, I accompanied Henry to City A for client negotiations. At eleven at night, he had me deliver an urgent contract to his suite. When the door opened, a woman came out—not Mira. Afraid of being silenced, I bought a ticket and flew back that same night. The next day, he docked my entire year’s commission, saying I ‘mishandled client reception’!” “That’s not all. Last September, I saw him with my own eyes kissing a female influencer in the underground parking garage. Afraid of retaliation, I could only endure it. Today, he can even give away Mira as a prize—what won’t he do?” As his words landed, phone cameras throughout the banquet hall all pointed at me. I lowered my head and smiled, refastening my cufflinks. “Marcus, you’re so good at making up stories, it’s a shame you’re not writing scripts… Too bad it’s all fake.” I raised the USB drive, waving it at the projector port in the front row. “Just three minutes. I guarantee you’ll all look at me differently.” “You wouldn’t dare!” Mira’s high heel clicked once, almost cracking the stage. “Grandpa will be here any minute. If you dare play it, just wait for the legal notices!” “Grandpa?” I raised an eyebrow, feigning confusion. “Didn’t you say he was recuperating abroad and wouldn’t be back until next week at the earliest?” She choked, her face alternating between pale and flushed. I sneered and turned to insert the USB into the port. “Stop!” An aged but vigorous voice rang out. The crowd parted like an invisible cane had pushed them aside, opening a straight path. Mira’s grandfather, Busby—sixty-eight years old, the true anchor of M Group. He leaned on an ebony cane, wearing a suit. I paused my motion and nodded to him respectfully. “Mr. Busby, you’re a bit early. The show’s just reaching its climax.” Mira clutched at this lifeline like a drowning person, rushing up to him, her voice instantly softening to gentle spring water: “Grandpa, why did you come yourself? Your health…” “If I didn’t come, you’d have completely disgraced me!” Busby cut her off coldly, but his gaze passed over her, looking straight at me—or more precisely, at the USB drive in my hand. “Henry,” his voice wasn’t loud, but carried the raspy quality of old-time underworld figures, “give me face. Don’t play it.” I smiled. “I give you face, but have they ever given me face?” “If you play it now, you’ll be making an enemy of the entire M Group.” “If you people were reasonable, I’d naturally treat you with courtesy.” I raised my eyes, my gaze colliding with his across the space. The air solidified to near suffocation. Suddenly, Busby said to me: “Henry, I know what’s on that USB better than you do.” One sentence, and the entire hall erupted. Mira’s head snapped up sharply, her pupils like an earthquake: “Grandpa?” Busby didn’t look at his granddaughter, only stared at me. “Give me ten minutes. I’ll tell everyone the real story. After I finish, if you still want to play it, I’ll press the mouse button for you myself.”
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