Entitled coworker steals a child's birthday cake from the office fridge, then the furious parent scorches the earth in the workplace: 'Everyone is a suspect'

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Nov 19, 2024 7:00 AM EST

Work tension rose to a boiling point when this parent realized that their kid's birthday cake had been eaten by a coworker. And with nobody to claim their crime, the allegations and accusations went flying around the office, rightfully making everyone feel terrible about the entitled cake theft. 

Planning your child's birthday can be stressful. You have to consider what new theme they're interested in at the moment, there's a ton of pressure to find the perfect gift, and you're always secretly nervous that none of their friends will show up. On top of that, if you're also a working parent, you may need to cross-contaminate your party planning in the workplace to conserve precious time–just like the parent in our next story. 

After their daughter had survived a harrowing year, all this parent wanted to do was make them feel special for their birthday. With a personalized cake ordered and ready to go, the date was set, and the most glorious birthday party was planned. But after picking up the sheet cake for the big day, the original poster (OP) of this story had to go in to work for a few hours, storing the cake in the communal office fridge, which is where their parental patience was pushed far past its threshold. Scroll for the well-earned work scolding that took place when this parent's dreams of the perfect birthday party were shattered by one coworker's selfish dessert cravings. 

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  • 01
    Not just stealing a cake, cutting into a fresh cake with someone else's name on it
    via PixelsEffect from Getty Images Signature

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    AITAH for calling the person who cut themselves a slice of my daughter's personalized birthday cake that was in the shared fridge at work a worthless sh ?
    via OcelotUpstairs7876
  • 03
    It's my daughter's birthday this weekend. I had to pick up her birthday cake yesterday before work so I put it in the shared fridge with the intention to take it home when I knocked off.
    via OcelotUpstairs7876
  • 04
    Although we have had a few incidents with stolen lunches, I didn't think it would be an issue. It was a custom made birthday cake with my kid's name on it afterall. So you can imagine my shock
    via OcelotUpstairs7876
  • 05
    when I went to retrieve my lunchbox from the fridge and noticed that someone had cut themselves a slice of the cake. I lost it and went around questioning everyone and no
    via OcelotUpstairs7876
  • 06
    one admitted to it. No one saw anything either and there aren't any cameras in there. I loudly said that whomever the culprit was, they were a worthless Ish but my boss didn't appreciate that.
    via OcelotUpstairs7876
  • 07
    NixKlappt-Reddit Stealing a birthday cake, that's the rudest thing I can imagine. I would snoop around every desk to find a plate that smells like the cake.
    via NixKlappt-Reddit
  • 08
    DragonCelt25 Not just stealing a cake, cutting into a fresh cake with someone else's name on it. That's breaking so much more of the social contract I can't even imagine this person's mind.
    via DragonCelt25
  • 09
    karendonner I would demand a camera on that fridge. We have a giant shared commercial fridge that is shared with all the tenants of our floor. (different companies, ranging from 2-3 people offices
    via karendonner
  • 10
    to ones with nearly 100 employees. With every new tenant they do the "just so you know" talk that there is a cam on the fridge and they keep the video for at least a week.
    via karendonner
  • 11
    Maybe this is true, maybe not, but it works. Without confirming or denying the actual presence of a camera, the office manager says there have been zero reported thefts.
    via karendonner
  • 12
    Inevitable Pie9541 NTA. Who DOES that? Absolutely unmistakably a special cake from a bakery for an occasion. That selfish pig knew it wasn't theirs, ruined it, knew they were ruining it, didn't care. People are awful.
    via Inevitable_Pie9541
  • 13
    OcelotUpstairs7876 OP That's what I don't understand. How do you live with yourself doing something like that? They knew what they were doing
    via OcelotUpstairs7876
  • 14
    Ancient Solution 420 Since your boss did not appreciate what you said. Maybe they were the one. Oh and NTA.
    via Ancient_Solution_420
  • 15
    dw82 And assuming it wasn't the boss (which it very well might have been) they still have a thieving lying coward working for them. The boss should be ped at that person, not the person calling them out. Speaks volumes.
    via dw82
  • 16
    Daniella42157 That's the part that makes it worse. Like if it was partially cut into already, that's one thing. But you don't just cut a piece of a brand new cake with someone's name on it. It's obviously not for you.
    via Daniella42157
  • 17
    Pupperoni Poodle That cake could have MY name on it, on my birthday, and I wouldn't cut into it without permission! It could be a different person's birthday or any number of things, how do I know?
    via Pupperoni Poodle
  • 18
    cortesoft I mean, if I saw a cake that I didn't purchase with my name and birthday on it, I ABSOLUTELY would not cut into it.
    via cortesoft
  • 19
    It is pretty clearly a cake meant for me, and I assume the person who bought it wants to present it to me at some time, so I would wait until then.
    via cortesoft
  • 20
    CivilButterfly2844 Even then I'm not taking any unless a note is left that says help yourself or a memo is sent out that there's cake in the staff room or something.
    via CivilButterfly2844
  • 21
    Mechya NTA, they ruined a child's whole cake. Tell your boss instead of getting mad at your anger, do something about the workplace theft that is taking place. If they want to then they can buy the cake off you and share it
    via Mechya
  • 22
    with the whole workplace, but the fact is that you are out a full cake because someone committed theft at your workplace. I'd actually offer to apologize for my harsh words if they paid for the cake, but my apology would definitely be along
    via Mechya
  • 23
    the lines of "I'm sorry that I used harsh words, it really upset me that you ruined my child's birthday cake and I couldn't hold in my anger knowing how heartbroken she was going to be".
    via Mechya

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cake boss worker child employee manager job kid birthday work coworkers working ceo parenting employees supervisor workplace parent company coworker business parents
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