Fired by My CEO Wife

The company-wide management meeting was a total drag. Veronica's assistant, Ashley, was posted at the door checking IDs.

She was all sunshine and rainbows for everyone else—but the second I walked up, her smile dropped. She let out this little scoff, like I'd just tracked mud on her favorite rug.

I flashed my badge, making sure she saw the "Head of Cybersecurity" title, but she didn't even look.

"Oh please, Kyle," she said with a smirk. "Veronica gave you that title out of pity. Don't let it go to your head."

I didn't bother arguing. Just pulled out my phone and dialed the CEO's direct line.

"Hey, is my job a charity case or something?" I asked when she picked up.

Veronica's voice was ice-cold. "Are you serious? That's what you're calling about? I'm swamped—gotta go."

I could tell she was already on her way. Ashley must've heard it too—she rolled her eyes so hard I thought they'd get stuck—but finally waved me in.

I figured the worst was over. But the moment I stepped into the conference room, it was like I was carrying some kind of curse. Every time I tried to sit down, someone would jump up and move within seconds.

I raised an eyebrow but didn't let it get to me. Fitting in was never my thing anyway. People talked—I'd learned to tune it out.

"Alright everyone, thanks for coming," Ashley announced, taking the podium. "Veronica's running a bit late, so I'll get us started."

She launched into the usual corporate spiel—department updates, personnel shuffles, the whole nine yards. I was zoning out, scrolling through my phone.

Then she dropped the bomb.

"…And since company profits are down 3% this quarter, the board has decided some cost-cutting measures are necessary."

That's when I noticed it—all these grins aimed right at me. Like I was the punchline of a joke I hadn't heard.

Ashley turned my way, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. "Kyle, we're dissolving the Cybersecurity department. Let's be honest—you haven't brought in any profit these past few years. It's just you. Don't you get bored clinging to a title with nothing to show for it? It doesn't reflect well on the company."

So that's what all the weirdness was about.

"You're serious?" I kept my voice steady. "You're shutting down my department?"

She scoffed like I'd asked if water was wet.

Then the others jumped in.

"Come on, Kyle, read the room."

"Maybe if you paid attention instead of being on your phone all meeting…"

"Disrespecting Ashley is like disrespecting Veronica herself, you know that?"

I shook my head. "I'm monitoring firewall traffic. Making sure no one tries to breach our systems while we're all sitting in here. How is that disrespectful?"

They had no clue. No idea what I even did.

A few people snorted.

"What threats? We've never even been hacked."

"Yeah, you're probably just hiding in your office watching cat videos."

"Putting on a show because Veronica's about to walk in."

I looked around at all their smug faces. I never realized how many people had it out for me.