Chapter 1

"So, Griffin, what do you think? This food is a hundred times better than the stuff you used to order, right?"

Wesley Hoffman lifted his chin smugly. "This place specializes in exclusive, limited-quantity meals. The owner only takes 50 orders a day. He says he'd rather make fewer meals than ruin his reputation.

"Every order is handled on a first-come, first-served basis. He refuses to compromise his principles just to make more money. He's nothing like those fast-food places that churn out hundreds of meals a day on an assembly line. There's simply no comparison."

I glanced at the takeout container in his hand.

It was packed with high-quality beef, caviar, sea urchin, and imported fruit. The food looked incredible, and it was definitely beyond the budget of an ordinary office worker.

My coworkers crowded around Wesley.

"This is amazing! Wesley, you are a lifesaver for all of us working stiffs!"

"What we used to eat was basically garbage! It was barely fit for human consumption!"

"Wesley actually treats us like human beings. Unlike certain people who spend all day pinching pennies and cutting corners on our meal budget."

My girlfriend of three years, Joyce Sullivan, deliberately picked up a piece of beef and waved it in front of my face. Her voice dripped with mockery.

"Here, try some real food for once. Stop obsessing over saving a few bucks every day.

"Not that I'm talking about you, of course. If you want to buy wilted, discounted vegetables at home, that is your business. But bringing that cheap, miserly attitude into the workplace? Seriously, who wants to put up with that?"

I stared at Joyce's sneering face, feeling a chill settle in my chest.

To find decent meals within the company's 30-dollar meal allowance, I had spent days running around under the blazing sun, visiting more than a dozen restaurants to sample their food and compare prices.

The meals from the place I chose were cheap, but the kitchen was clean, and the ingredients were fresh and reliable. The restaurant never tried to pass off inferior food as something better.

When everyone tried the meals for the first time, they had all praised them. Now, apparently, the same food was barely fit for human consumption.

Seeing how pleased everyone was, Wesley immediately made the decision for them.

"If everyone is happy with it, then it's settled! We'll order from this place every day from now on!"

I took a deep breath, pulled out my phone, and opened the company's expense reimbursement policy. "But the company's meal allowance..."

Before I could finish, Wesley cut me off, "Griffin, what is that supposed to mean? Are you upset because I stole your spotlight? Is that why you don't want us to have this?"

He quickly put on an innocent expression. "I only want everyone to have a decent, healthy meal after all those long hours of overtime. I'm not trying to compete with you or anything."

Joyce lost her temper. She slapped the takeout container out of my hand. Soup splashed across my shirt, and food scattered all over the floor.

"Griffin, will you give it a rest already? The garbage you used to order is so awful that even stray dogs would turn their noses up at it! You're too incompetent to get any decent benefits for the department, and now you are jealous of Wesley? Can you stop embarrassing yourself in front of everyone?"

My coworkers immediately joined in. One after another, they grabbed the meal boxes I had ordered for them and hurled them into the trash.

"Exactly! It's bad enough that you are cheap, but now you want to stop the rest of us from eating something decent!"

"You're such a pathetic little suck-up to management! Give you a tiny bit of authority, and suddenly you think you are somebody important!"

Wesley stood behind Joyce, hiding a smug smile as he looked at me.

Fine. If they were going to mistake my kindness for weakness, I was done helping them.

I wiped the grease off my shirt and stood up.

"Fine. Since everyone agrees, Wesley can handle all your meal orders from now on. Don't come to me about them again."

If they thought 300-dollar meals were appropriate for employees making 8,000 dollars a month, then they could eat to their hearts' content. I could hardly wait to see if they would still be smiling when payday rolled around at the end of the month!