A Debugged Marriage

Synopsis

At the company-wide meeting, my wife called out my name three times in front of over two hundred people. "Hayden, effective immediately, you're being transferred to the Document Shredding Department." The conference room went dead silent. I was sitting in the last row, holding a half-finished cup of instant spaghetti. A few new hires nearby were trying not to laugh as they secretly filmed everything. Standing next to my wife was her most trusted man, Jett Sully. He pushed up his glasses and read aloud my list of "offenses." "Bottom-tier performance for three months straight, sleeping on the job, watching videos, slacking off. The company will not tolerate this behavior." People snickered. Everyone assumed that I, the "president's husband," was finally being kicked out. No one knew the truth. I built the company's entire server and security system from scratch. That "watching videos" they mocked? That was me staying up night after night hunting down vulnerabilities. That "nap" they criticized? I hadn't slept for over twenty hours before that. But I didn't say a word. That night, I booked a flight abroad. Right before turning off my phone, HR texted me again, reminding me to report to the Document Shredding Department the next day. I deleted the message. Three days later, the company's systems collapsed. Client data leaked, warehouses shut down, and hundreds of employees stood at the door, unable to get past facial recognition. And me? I was lying on a beach, soaking up the sun.