"That's completely different. Conrad's got a family to support, a wife and kids. Not like you. Thirty years old and still single. If you're not the one treating, who should be?"

A cold weight settled in my chest.

In their eyes, being thirty and unmarried made me the easiest target in the room.

Mercedes watched the crowd rally to her side, and the triumph in her eyes was barely contained.

"Matilda, why put yourself through this? You already offended the whole department yesterday. If you still won't admit you were wrong today, the only person who's going to suffer is you."

"Trust me. All it takes is one word from me about you not being a team player, and the manager will make sure your performance bonus and your client list both take a hit this quarter. And when that happens, not a single person here will have your back."

Everyone within earshot heard what she said. Not a single person spoke up. They all pretended they hadn't heard a thing.

Their seamless solidarity made the whole scene feel pointless.

"Fine. Then let's see if you actually have the pull to back that up."

I turned back to my work and tried to focus.

But the stares coming from every direction never let up. Not for a second.

Someone muttered just loud enough to be heard:

"Must be nice earning so much. Even a cup of coffee is too precious to share."

I acted like I hadn't heard.

I barely survived until the end of the day. I was packing up to leave when my phone started buzzing nonstop.

Someone had dropped a screenshot into the company-wide group chat.

I tapped on it, and the blood rushed straight to my head.

It was my pay stub from last month. Base salary, bonus, project commission. Every single line item, laid bare.

And beneath the screenshot, someone had added a caption that burned itself into my eyes:

"$6,000 a month, and she won't even treat the department to an afternoon coffee run. What's the point of keeping someone like that around?"

The group chat erupted.

"$6,000 a month? No wonder she acts like she's above everyone."

"Making that much and she can't even spring for coffee? Why do we even keep her?"

I stared at the wall of messages, and something inside me sank, slow and heavy.

A leaked pay stub was a serious violation. But not a single person in that chat cared who had posted it.

All they cared about was why I wasn't spending my money on them.