Just when Ashley thought her office life couldn’t get more chaotic, along comes Karen, turning every rule of workplace decorum on its head. With Karen’s disruptive behavior peaking, Ashley plans a birthday surprise that could mend fences or alter office dynamics forever.
A woman sitting around table holding a tablet | Source: Unsplash
Hi everyone, I’m Ashley. I have a story about office life quirks that might sound familiar to many of you. So, buckle up, and don’t hesitate to chime in if you’ve ever found yourself in a similar situation.
Three office workers chatting and laughing | Source: Unsplash
I work at an advertising firm—a place where no two days are the same. Some days crawl by, while others whiz past so fast you barely have time to catch your breath.
A group of cheerful multi-ethnic colleagues having a party after work | Source: Pexels
Last-minute surprises? A regular feature. But despite the chaos, I genuinely enjoy what I do. I’m surrounded by awesome colleagues, and the workplace vibe is top-notch. Well, it was top-notch, until Karen came along.
A woman in a red sweater leaning on a table while working | Source: Pexels
Now, I’m all for welcoming new faces. Newcomers stir things up, bring fresh ideas and skills, and generally pump new life into the team. But Karen… well, she’s a different story. It’s not that her work is bad, per se—it’s just that there’s a lot left to be desired, particularly in the ‘attitude’ department.
Dirty glasses and plates by the sink | Source: Pexels
So, Karen was quite the character. She had this habit that drove all of us up the wall. Every day after lunch, while the rest of us made sure to clean up our dishes and keep the kitchen tidy, Karen would just leave hers in the sink. Not a care in the world, just her dirty plates piling up.
A female office worker relaxing with her feet on the table | Source: Pexels
And if that weren’t enough to test our patience, her favorite pastime during work hours was napping. But not just any napping. Picture this: Karen, sprawled out in her office chair, legs thrown up on the table, shoes marking the surface with all kinds of dirt. It was a sight.
The snoring was the worst part! It was like having a freight train running through the room. Every. Single. Day.
An indoor swimming pool | Source: Pexels
But it gets worse. Once a week, we would head to the pool for a relaxing break from the daily grind. Except Karen decided it was the perfect place to… file her feet. Right there in the shower area while we were all around. Gross, right? Super disgusting.
A woman filing her feet | Source: freepik
Then, there was the lunch incident. Imagine sitting at a restaurant, trying to enjoy your meal, and there’s Karen, at the same table, flossing her teeth. Not discreetly, but openly.
Two women having lunch outdoors | Source: Pexels
One time, a piece of whatever she had for breakfast shot out and landed smack on my friend’s and my face. We were mortified. That was it. The absolute last straw.
A woman holding a dental floss | Source: freepik
My friend, I, and nearly all our colleagues were fed up. So, we came up with a plan. Karen’s birthday was coming up, and we figured it was the perfect opportunity to clue her in on her less-than-charming habits. It was high time for a lesson, and we were just the folks to deliver it.
A group of people talking and looking at a laptop | Source: Pexels
So Karen’s birthday rolls around, and we decide to go all out. The whole department comes together, balloons floating everywhere, a big cake sitting proudly on the table, and of course, a special present just for her.
She walks in, sees the setup, and her face lights up. “Oh, guys, you shouldn’t have…” she exclaims, genuinely surprised.
Happy young women holding stacked presents | Source: Pexels
As she begins to unwrap her gift, we all gather around, watching eagerly. The moment she pulls off the last piece of wrapping paper, her expression changes dramatically.
A woman looking at a white paper in her hands | Source: Pexels
There, in her hands, is a huge poster framed beautifully but the content? Not so beautiful for her. It’s a list of etiquette and hygiene rules we all felt she desperately needed to follow.
A woman unwrapping her birthday gift | Source: Pexels
Her face turned a deep shade of purple as she read the list aloud: ‘Wash your dirty dishes, no sleeping in the office, stop the loud snoring, and please, for the love of God, stop filing your feet in the pool shower area and flossing your teeth at meals.’
The room fell silent for a moment, everyone holding their breath. But we didn’t stop there.
A fondant cake on a stand | Source: Unsplash
We made sure these new ‘rules to live by’ were impossible to miss. Each rule was also plastered on the cake and written on each balloon floating around the room. We wanted to make sure our sweet Karen wouldn’t forget them anytime soon.
A shocked woman covering her eyes with one hand | Source: Pexels
The mix of shock and realization on Karen’s face said it all. This birthday, she got a gift that would keep on giving—hopefully, a nudge towards better office etiquette.
Balloons beside a white wall | Source: Pexels
Now, before you jump to conclusions about why we took such a drastic measure when we could have just had a simple chat with Karen—trust me, we tried.
Work colleagues having a conversation | Source: Pexels
And not just a casual mention; we really sat down with her and laid it all out, super politely. We told her how her habits were affecting the office atmosphere.
A woman sitting alone next to a birthday cake and presents | Source: Pexels
She nodded, promised to be more considerate, and everything seemed like it was going to be okay. But, alas, nothing changed. It was as if our conversation never happened. So yeah, we went with the drastic step.
Why her birthday, you ask? Well, it’s not a day one easily forgets, right? And we figured it would make the message stick.
Photographs lying beside a birthday cake | Source: Pexels
Plus, we made sure to document the whole thing. Pictures, videos—the works. These weren’t just for laughs; they served as a kind of proof, something to remind Karen of her promise in case she slipped back into old habits.
After unveiling the gift, there was a tense moment. Karen was visibly upset, a mix of anger and embarrassment coloring her features.
A brown-haired woman with confetti in her hair | Source: Pexels
She wasn’t expecting to be ambushed with a ‘hygiene intervention’ in front of everyone on her special day. Honestly, it took her a moment, but once the initial shock wore off, she agreed—again—to follow the rules we’d laid out.
This time, though, there was a serious undertone to her agreement. Maybe the public nature of the intervention made the difference.
Office workers doing a high five | Source: Pexels
What about you? Have you ever dealt with a ‘Karen’ at your workplace? How would you have handled the situation? Would you have done the intervention differently, maybe more privately, or not at all? Drop your thoughts and let’s chat about the wild world of office dynamics. I’m all ears!
A woman enjoying a drink while working on her laptop | Source: Pexels
Take a look at another interesting story below:
I Served a Woman Who Mocked Me throughout High School & Finally Got My Revenge after 20 Years
Under the soft glow of the evening lights, the restaurant buzzed with the cheerful din of a successful night. Yet, as I moved between the tables, careful not to bump into any sharp table corners, a familiar and unwelcome face caught my eye—Karen.
An interior of a restaurant | Source: Pexels
She hadn’t changed at all. Even after 20 years, the same haughty expression adorned her face, a look that had tormented me throughout my school years with her cruel taunts about my lisping and stuttering.
Suddenly, I was taken back to high school where my lisp was at its worst, making me second guess speaking.
An angry woman with folded arms | Source: Pexels
School speeches were the worst part of my entire schooling life, where girls like Karen would begin laughing from behind their hands and end up hanging off their chairs, tears streaming down their faces.
I would escape to the library and spend every free moment there, just to escape the taunts.
Teenagers taking a selfie | Source: Pexels
I remember the one incident where I was clutching my books tightly to my chest, trying to make myself smaller, trying to blend into the gray of the lockers as Karen navigated the sea of students, in her impossibly high heels.
I could feel Karen’s gaze like a spotlight, singling me out from the crowd.
A row of gray lockers | Source: Pexels
“There’s Lisp-Lily, boys!” Karen’s voice boomed, drawing a circle of laughter around me.
“Give us a smile and a speech, Lily,” she said. “Show us that stellar s-s-stutter,” she mocked, her words stretching out with malicious exaggeration.
A girl sitting on a chair | Source: Pexels
I remember wanting to cry myself to sleep that night. I sat in the kitchen with my brother, Alex, and I told him all about the events of the day and how Karen had lost it.
“You should give it back to her, Lily,” my brother said, spooning ice cream into a bowl for me.
Two bowls of ice cream | Source: Pexels
“If I could, I would,” I said. “But the moment I open my mouth, you know what happens.”
My brother went off on a tangent about how I should never allow anyone to make me feel less than myself.
“You’ve got to stand up for yourself,” he said.
A smiling young man | Source: Pexels
And I did. In my own way.
Click here to find out what happened next.
I Received a Hidden Camera Video from My Husband’s Secretary
Sabrina thought that her 12-year marriage to Mark was perfect, until an email from his secretary revealed a shocking secret. Hidden camera footage exposing a double life… Fueled by heartbreak and betrayal, Sabrina devises a plan to make Mark face the truth, and pay for his lies.
I’ve been married to Mark for 12 years, and until last week, I thought we had a perfect life. We don’t have kids yet, but I figured we were just focusing on our careers and would start a family when the time was right.
He’s hardworking, successful, and charming, the kind of man who makes everything effortless. Perfect, right?
A smiling woman | Source: Midjourney
But perfection is a fragile thing.
And last week, it shattered.
It started with an email.
The sender was Emma, Mark’s secretary. We’d met a few times at office parties, and she always seemed polite and professional. When I saw her name in my inbox, I didn’t think much about it.
A woman sitting at her desk | Source: Midjourney
“She’s probably reminding me about some office brunch or something,” I muttered as the email opened.
But then I read the subject line:
You need to see this.
My heart dropped into my stomach. The email itself was short, almost apologetic:
A brunch setting | Source: Midjourney
Sabrina, I’ve debated whether to send this for months. Mark’s a good boss, but I can’t keep this to myself anymore. You deserve to know the truth.
Attached was a video file.
I hesitated.
What could she possibly have to show me? A work issue? A personal confession? A recording of Mark doing something stupid at a holiday party?
A woman sitting with her laptop | Source: Midjourney
“Don’t jump to conclusions, Brina,” I told myself, but my hands were shaking as I clicked play.
The video was grainy, the kind of security footage you’d expect from an office. The timestamp showed it was a Sunday, a day when Mark was never supposed to be there.
At first, nothing seemed unusual.
The camera caught him walking into his office, dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt. But then two small figures appeared in the frame.
A man standing in an office | Source: Midjourney
A little boy and a little girl.
I froze, my jaw open.
The children looked about four and six. Their faces lit up as they followed him inside the office, and when he sat down on the couch, he opened his arms to them.
He hugged them like he’d missed them all week. Then he pulled out toys and snacks from his bag, chatting with them and laughing in a way that felt heartbreakingly familiar.
Two smiling children | Source: Midjourney
But these weren’t just random kids.
They were his.
They had to be… or at least very closely related. The boy had Mark’s eyes and nose, and the little girl had his chin down to a tee.
I stared at the screen, my mind racing. We didn’t have kids. We didn’t have any immediate nieces or nephews. How on earth could Mark be acting so naturally, so lovingly, with these children if they weren’t his?
An upset woman | Source: Midjourney
And if they were his, then who was their mother?
The video ended, leaving me in stunned silence.
Mark had a secret family. My husband had a secret family.
For days, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have an appetite, and sleep was filled with dreams of random children showing up at our home, demanding Mark’s attention.
A close up of an upset woman | Source: Midjourney
Even during the day, whenever I had a free moment, my mind would go back to the video. To the way he looked at those kids, and the easy affection between them.
I wanted to confront him immediately. I wanted to scream. To demand answers.
But instead, I called a lawyer. I just needed to know what the repercussions would be if Mark really did have another family.
Did it mean that our marriage was legal? Was he married to me or to the mother of his kids?
A woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
Then, I called a few of my close friends, the ones who always showed up.
“Sabrina, of course, anything you need,” were the usual replies, drenched in sympathy.
But they helped me pull myself together and come up with a plan. One evening, we all met at Hayley’s, my closest friend’s, house.
“He’s a lying, cheating, backstabbing…” she began.
An angry woman standing in a kitchen | Source: Midjourney
“Enough, Hayley,” I said. “I share the sentiments, but we need proof, you know.”
“What else do we need, Brina?” she sighed, pouring us glasses of wine. “Isn’t that footage damning enough?”
“It is, but I need to know everything. I’m not going to forgive him if those kids are his, but at the same time, I just need all the information.”
Mark didn’t just break my heart. He broke our marriage vows, our trust, and the life we’d built together. He was going to pay for it. Not just emotionally, but financially, too.
A bottle of wine on a counter | Source: Midjourney
I pretended that everything was normal.
For a week, I played the part of the oblivious wife. I smiled, laughed, cooked whatever he wanted to eat. I kissed him goodnight, and waited for the right moment.
That moment came on a Friday evening.
A woman busy in a kitchen | Source: Midjourney
“Mark,” I said, curling up next to him on the couch. “We haven’t gone out for a proper date night in ages. Let’s go to our favorite restaurant tomorrow.”
His face lit up.
“That’s a great idea, babe. I’ll make the reservation. Don’t you worry about a thing. You just dress up and look pretty.”
“I’ve already made the reservation,” I said, smiling sweetly, digging into my warm cinnamon bun.
A cinnamon bun | Source: Midjourney
But what Mark didn’t know was that I’d been doing some digging. Using the contact information from my lawyer, we found records of regular payments he was making to a woman named Sarah.
With a little online sleuthing, I found her social media and pieced together the truth.
Sarah.
Sarah was Mark’s girlfriend, and the mother of his children. It was confirmed. Those beautiful, happy kids… were his.
A smiling woman | Source: Midjourney
Mark was a father.
Through some clever messaging (me pretending to be Mark), I convinced Sarah to meet me at the restaurant, along with the kids. I kept the texts vague and in Mark’s usual style.
Let’s meet at the restaurant tomorrow. Bring the kids, it’ll be a nice surprise dinner for him.
Poor thing, she didn’t suspect a thing.
A woman texting | Source: Midjourney
The next evening, Mark and I walked into the restaurant, hand in hand. He looked relaxed, confident, like a man who thought he had his life perfectly under control.
Then he saw Sarah and the kids sitting at the table.
His hand went limp in mine. His face drained of color. For a moment, he just stood there, frozen, like a deer in headlights.
A shocked man | Source: Midjourney
“Mark,” I said brightly, gesturing toward the table. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”
He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Sarah looked confused, glancing between the two of us. The kids just stared, too young to understand the tension.
“I’m Sabrina,” I said, turning to Sarah. “Mark’s wife…”
Sarah’s face crumpled in shock.
A woman standing in a restaurant | Source: Midjourney
“What? Really? He told me that you were divorced!”
I slid the divorce papers onto the table.
“Surprise, babe,” I said, keeping my voice low and steady. “You’re going to sign these. And don’t even think about fighting me on it.”
Mark stammered, trying to explain.
“Sabrina, Brina… please, I was going to tell you!”
Divorce papers on a table | Source: Midjourney
“Tell me what?” I snapped, cutting him off. “That you’ve been lying to me for years? That you’ve been supporting a secret family behind my back? That those kids are yours?”
The restaurant had gone completely silent. Diners were watching, but I didn’t care.
I turned to Sarah.
“I’m so sorry that you and these beautiful children got caught up in Mark’s lies. But now you know the truth.”
An angry woman at a restaurant | Source: Midjourney
Sarah grabbed the kids and stormed out, her face a mix of fury and ultimate heartbreak. Mark didn’t even try to stop her.
“You disgust me,” I said to him before walking out, leaving him to deal with the aftermath.
The divorce was brutal. For Mark.
An angry woman at a restaurant | Source: Midjourney
With the help of my lawyer, I made sure I got half of everything, including the beach house he’d been secretly planning to “surprise” Sarah with.
His double life unraveled completely. Sarah dumped him, and his reputation at work took a nosedive once word got out. Emma even quit, unable to work for someone she no longer respected.
As for me?
I walked away with my dignity, my freedom, and a fresh start.
A beautiful beach house | Source: Midjourney
Mark thought he could juggle two lives without consequences. He thought that I’d never find out. But honestly, how could I have been so stupid?
Mark always worked longer hours than most people I knew. And his boss was often sending him on business trips. Or so he said.
So, every time my husband had walked out the door for “work” on weekends or over the holidays, he was really just seeing his other family.
A man using a tablet | Source: Midjourney
The thought made me sick. For years, I had been sitting and waiting in the wings. I had been waiting for Mark to tell me that he was ready to start having children.
And all for what?
Absolutely nothing.
Now, I live in a studio apartment, with a new black cat, like my namesake. And I’m trying to figure out how to reclaim my life, once and for all.
A beautiful black cat | Source: Midjourney
I thought about getting revenge. But what good would that do? If anything, I just feel sorry for Mark and Sarah’s children. I still remember their smiles when they saw Mark. They had no business being sucked into this mess.
But that’s on Mark. And Sarah.
Two smiling children | Source: Midjourney
Leave a Reply