Olya watched with visible pleasure as his self-confidence evaporated. It seemed that during the time they had been talking, his face had gone through the entire spectrum of human emotions — from superiority to obsequiousness. How wrong she had been about him, how petty and insignificant he turned out to be, as soon as the balance of power on the chessboard of life shifted.
Olya first stepped into the office on a gloomy October day. She remembered standing at the entrance — a fragile figure in a light beige coat, clutching a thin folder with documents. The new world of corporate games and endless reports scared her so much her knees trembled. The first month she spent like a mouse hiding in its hole: only work, no unnecessary conversations, no glances around.
When the smell of fresh coffee stopped making her nauseous, and the corporate accounting system no longer caused panic attacks, Olya slowly started to look around. And there she ran into him — Oleg. Imagine a peacock in human form: a flawless suit, a dazzling smile, a gaze that made the secretaries’ knees go weak. He walked through the office as if he were already a minister, not just a middle-level manager.
You know what’s interesting? Oleg didn’t even try to hide that he felt irresistible. Quite the opposite. He seemed to say: “Look at me! Am I not good enough?” Winking at female colleagues, careless compliments in the hallway, a light touch on the elbow during conversation… This was his territory, his hunting ground. And the new girl with big eyes and an uncertain gait, of course, caught his attention.
Their first conversation took place by the coffee machine. Oleg then said some banalities and made a couple of overly flirtatious compliments. Olya blinked in confusion but, instead of getting offended, for some reason felt her cheeks flush. What a brazen man! But what confidence he had…
The romance spun rapidly, like a spring flood. Oleg turned out to be a considerate suitor: he gave her rides home, sent sweet messages throughout the day, gave flowers for no reason. And Olya… What about Olya? She blossomed before his eyes, becoming more feminine and tender. Like a spring flower reaching for the sun, she couldn’t resist his charm.
The office romance quickly grew into something more. Oleg began talking about their future together — living in a spacious apartment overlooking the park, traveling on weekends, and throwing loud parties for friends. He introduced Olya to his mother — a plump lady with a peculiar outlook on life that immediately showed in her attitude toward her daughter-in-law.
“You’re too thin to be the future mother of my grandchildren,” she declared at their first meeting, scrutinizing Olya with a critical eye. “And that haircut… I don’t know… My daughter-in-law should look more… presentable.”
Olya swallowed her resentment along with a piece of cake politely offered to her. Meanwhile, Oleg spent the whole evening trying to smooth over the awkwardness, hugging her shoulders and whispering sweet words in her ear. “Mom’s just worried about me,” he later justified in the car.
Strangely, whenever it came to meetings with Olya’s parents, she always found excuses. Either their business trips were extended, or they were too busy, or some other reason. Oleg didn’t insist — it was enough for him that their relationship was developing the way he wanted.
“Let’s just register the marriage for now,” Olya suggested one evening as they lay on the couch watching an old movie. “We’ll have the wedding later, when my parents return from their trip.”
Oleg agreed. He felt as though he had already won the grand prize — a young, beautiful wife who looked at him with adoration. Why rush with a lavish wedding and expensive events? Life was just beginning, and it promised to be wonderful.
In those days, Olya often caught herself wanting to tell everything. As if that silence could harm their relationship. But every time Oleg kissed her or gave her flowers, those doubts subsided.
And no one could then imagine what surprises fate would bring. Neither Olya with her hidden secrets, nor Oleg with his confident plans for the future. They both played their roles in the play called “love,” not suspecting that the curtain was about to rise and the next act would begin.
The news of Oleg’s promotion swept through the office like a hurricane. In an instant, he transformed from an ordinary manager to head of the sales department. The new status made his head spin even more than the sparkling wine at the corporate party. Every morning now he parked his newly purchased used BMW as close to the entrance as possible, ostentatiously waving his car keys at colleagues.
“Do you know what the most important thing in life is?” he preached during lunch breaks, gathering a group of subordinates around him. “It’s knowing how to make money and manage it wisely. For example, now I can afford everything: from expensive watches to trips to the Maldives.”
Olya watched these transformations with growing anxiety. It became especially unpleasant when Oleg started his monologues in her presence. Once, at a department meeting, he suddenly addressed his wife:
“Darling, maybe it’s time to update your wardrobe? Your husband can now afford to dress you in the best boutiques in the city. These modest dresses… They just don’t match your new status as the sales department head’s wife.”
Olya felt her cheeks burn with shame. Laughter broke out around, some openly smirked. She sighed and calmly replied:
“I like what I wear. I’m sure that a person’s success is determined not by the price tag on their clothes, but by their actions and professionalism.”
“But now we have the means!” Oleg insisted, clearly enjoying his position. “Imagine how our photos will look: you in a designer dress, me in Brioni… The perfect couple!”
At that moment, Olya noticed several employees looking away, hiding their smirks. The situation was becoming more and more awkward. Later, in the car, she tried to talk to her husband:
“Maybe it’s not worth discussing our private life so openly at work?”
“What are you talking about?” Oleg was surprised. “Now we can afford that! Success must be shown. It motivates others to strive for better too.”
Day by day his behavior became more arrogant. He began giving advice to literally everyone he met:
“Petrov, you need to buy a good suit! Stop embarrassing us in front of clients.”
“And you, Ivanova, shouldn’t neglect yourself. A woman must look impeccable!”
“Markov, your car is old. Either change it or park it far from our office.”
Subordinates began avoiding the new boss. Meetings fell into oppressive silence whenever Oleg entered the room. Olya noticed how the atmosphere in the team changed. Oleg’s old friends became cold toward him, new subordinates only did the bare minimum. The department’s results began to fall, but Oleg didn’t notice — he was too busy making a list of VIP clubs he and Olya should visit.
Olya watched this with mixed feelings of shame and disappointment. Her husband, once so attentive and sensitive, was turning into a haughty boss willing to sacrifice relationships for external gloss. And worst of all — he didn’t realize it at all.
“What’s happening to our department?” one of the lead managers asked Olya once. “We used to have a great team, but now everyone walks around like they’re crushed…”
Olya didn’t know what to answer. She saw the reasons but couldn’t fix them. Her husband, her Oleg, was turning into that typical “boss from jokes” whom everyone fears and no one respects. And the worst part — he genuinely believed he was doing the right thing.
One evening, reviewing the department’s reports, Olya noticed a worrying trend: the number of clients was shrinking, the average check was falling, and the refusal rate was growing. The company was losing money, but Oleg kept pretending everything was fine.
The evening was quiet, almost homely. Oleg carelessly threw his tie over the back of a chair and reached for a glass of wine. His confidence hadn’t gone anywhere, even after hearing news of upcoming changes.
“Imagine, I have a new boss. We’re meeting tomorrow,” he said with a slight smirk. “They say the guy is completely green, knows nothing about sales. Probably the son of some company owner’s friend.”
Olya slowly put down the book she had been trying to read all evening and looked at her husband. Something strange flashed in her eyes, but Oleg was too absorbed in his thoughts to notice.
“Good luck tomorrow,” she said calmly, adding with slight irony: “Who knows, maybe this person will be exactly what you need?”
Oleg laughed, clearly not taking her words seriously.
In the morning, the office buzzed like a disturbed beehive. Rumors about the new boss multiplied every minute: some said he was a foreigner, others claimed a young business school graduate. Oleg, humming under his breath, confidently strode to the new manager’s office.
Pushing the door open, he froze in the doorway. Behind a large oak desk sat Olga. Her hair was pulled into a strict bun, and her face bore an expression of cold businesslike seriousness. She looked up and stared at the stunned Oleg in the doorway.
“What… are you doing here?” he blurted, feeling himself pale.
“I’m your new boss,” Olga replied evenly. “Sit down, we need to talk.”
Oleg mechanically sat down, unable to look away from his wife.
“You see, my father owns this company,” Olya began, opening a folder of documents. “He always believed that before taking a leadership position, I needed to understand how the company works from the inside. So I started at the very bottom.”
Oleg swallowed hard, trying to process what he had just heard.
“You… all this time…” he mumbled.
“Yes, all this time I was an ordinary employee,” Olya continued. “And then I asked my father for your promotion. You know, I really believed in you. I thought you’d become a great leader.”
Her voice hardened:
“But instead, I saw a man who lost touch with reality after his first success. A man who started lecturing others about life, forgetting his own shortcomings. Who destroyed the team and managed to crash sales by 40%.”
Oleg tried to say something, but Olya raised her hand, stopping him.
“You showed your true face when you got power. You showed how you treat people who, in your opinion, are beneath you. Especially me. Your constant remarks about my clothes in front of colleagues, your desire to show me off as some kind of trophy… It was a mistake to ask for your promotion. And an even bigger mistake to marry you.”
A heavy silence hung in the room. Oleg felt his confidence evaporate like morning fog under the sun.
“I watched you all these months and realized one important thing,” Olya continued. “You never appreciated what you had. Neither your job, nor colleagues, nor even me. You always wanted only one thing — to look successful in the eyes of others, without thinking about how you achieve it.”
When Olya finished speaking, Oleg no longer looked like the confident man who had entered the office minutes ago. His face showed a whole range of emotions: from initial surprise to full realization, from attempts to justify himself to suppressed silence.
Olya stood up from the desk and walked to the window. The city outside the glass lived its usual life, completely unaware of the drama unfolding in this office.
“If you knew I was going to punish you, would you talk to me like that?” the wife smiled.
The pause stretched. Oleg opened his mouth to say something, but Olya interrupted him:
“You don’t have to answer. I’m sure I know the answer to that question.”
She turned and looked him straight in the eyes:
“Today you write your resignation. We will get a divorce. And let’s be honest — that will be better for both of us. You will find a place where you can start over without the burden of past mistakes. And I… I will continue building my life the way I see fit.”
Oleg slowly rose from the chair. His shoulders slumped, and his gaze dropped to the floor. When he silently left the office, Olya allowed herself a deep breath.
Closing the office door, she smiled at her reflection in the glass. Sometimes, losses become the most valuable gains in life.