He Exposed Me for Laughs, I Cut Funding

On my wedding anniversary, I go to Anthony Scroll's company in an attempt to surprise him.

No one at the front desk stops me from entering. But what stops me in my tracks is the fact that a photo of me is printed on the welcome mat outside the CEO's office.

There's also a sentence printed on the mat that says, "You'll be bestowed with wealth if you step on her face."

My hands start trembling out of rage. As soon as I open the door to the office and try to bring up the topic in front of Anthony, Alexis Timmer, a shareholder, as well as one of Anthony's "boys", throws a stack of useless documents at my face instantly.

The sharp edges of the papers leave papercuts on my cheek, sending white-hot pain flaring through my senses.

Alexis has one leg crossed over the other as she chews on a piece of gum innocently.

"Oh, hey Kimberly! Sorry about that. The papers came flying out of my hand for no reason. You see, the programmers are extremely stressed, so the mat is meant for them to vent their stress.

"Anthony has agreed to the usage of your photo, by the way. After all, it makes things even livelier for the company. A housewife like you will never understand our niche humor."

Anthony takes off his earphones before shooting me a berating glance. Then, he passes a bottle of water to Alexis.

"Alex is just like one of the boys. Stop using your own rules to restrict her."

As Alexis twists open the bottle cap, she tilts her chin in my direction smugly.

"Also, Anthony hates it whenever you show up at the company with your stupid surprises, Kimberly. The food that you bring him always ends up getting eaten by us as a form of punishment."

I followed Alexis Timmer's finger to see that she was pointing at the trash can.

Tossed carelessly into it were the handmade pastries I had brought over last time. Grandma had woken up early in the morning and painstakingly shelled walnuts for hours for me to bake with back then.

Now, however, I could see that someone had even spat on them.

My mind went blank at the sight.

Anthony Scoll walked over and began pushing at my shoulders impatiently to herd me out of his office.

"Do you have any sense at all? Can't you see that we're in the middle of working on the critical code? And what are you wearing? What if the investor sees you? What would they think then? Hurry up and go home. You'll just humiliate us both if you stay here."

I looked Anthony straight in the eyes and said, "Anthony, today's our third wedding anniversary."

He paused momentarily before scoffing. "Wedding anniversary? Only people with too much time on their hands like you celebrate those occasions. We're here trying to change the world. As if I would have the time to play house with