Chapter 3

The Slack group exploded the moment the message was sent out.

"Oh my God, thank you, Ms. Knox!"

"What? The Palmives? I've been dreaming of going there!"

"And with a budget of 10,000 dollars per person too? What kind of amazing company is this?"

"I love you, Ms. Knox!"

I remained expressionless as I looked at the screen full of stickers, emojis, and praises for me.

The very same people who were calling me "heartless" and accusing me of "money laundering" just a while ago were now sending grateful, overjoyed stickers and emojis in the chat.

Lucy said, "Thank you so much for your generosity, Ms. Knox! I knew that having you as my boss was the best choice ever!"

Gerard then said, "Thanks so much, Ms. Knox! I'll go check out the travel agenda right now!"

Fiona said, "Wait, I need to go shopping first! I wanna look nice in my photos!"

They sure changed their minds more quickly than a woman would.

Just as everyone was getting excited for the trip, an untimely message popped up.

It was from Alice.

"The Palives? That's a place for the nouveau riche. It's too hot and tacky."

Everyone in the group chat stopped talking at once.

She continued.

"Who the hell is still going to the islands for vacations these days? It's always packed full of tourists. The real class is going to Northern Yewrope to see the Northern Lights while staying in a glass igloo. That's a real-life experience!"

She then tagged me in the chat and said, "You're not trying to save money just by picking an island, are you? Or is your taste just stuck at this stage?"

I looked at the screen as a grin curled on my lips. I then replied to her.

"Going to Northern Yewrope at this time of the year? It's polar night, and temperatures range from -4 to -20 at night. You won't be able to do anything but stay indoors the whole time.

"Also, the visa processing for Northern Yewrope is complicated and very time-consuming. We're going next month, and there's not enough time to get all the paperwork done."

Alice replied at once.

"The visa is an administrative problem. It's on you if you can't get it done. As for the cold, that's just because you don't know how to appreciate things. Can a tacky island compare to romantic nights under the Northern Lights at all?"

Then, she changed the subject and said, "Also, what the hell do you mean by only budgeting 10,000 dollars per person to the Palmives? We wouldn't even be able to live in a sandcastle with that money.

"If you can't afford to take us to Northern Yewrope, then there's really no point in going on the so-called team-building trip anymore."

Next, she started a poll in the group.

"Suggestions for the team-building trip: A. Suffering in the Palmives (too much sun, fatigue, exhaustion, and being forced to share rooms with colleagues.

"B. Get 10,000 dollars in cash and let everyone plan their own fun (isn't it better spending it on whatever you want?)"

After sending the poll, she tagged everyone in the group and said, "Stop being stupid. So-called team-building events like these are just a stupid excuse for you to continue working in a different place.

"You're still going to have to behave yourself and take part in stupid team-building games and shit until you're all tired out. Wouldn't it be better if you got the cash instead? It's 10,000 dollars! That's almost enough for you to buy a Birkin bag or pay off half your mortgage!"

People began voting as soon as the poll opened.

Initially, a couple of people still chose option A. Maybe they were the ones who truly wanted to go on the trip.

However, Alice then began berating them.

"Are the people who chose option A daft or what? Why the heck wouldn't you want free money?"

After a while, those who chose the first option immediately retracted their votes and chose the second option instead.

In less than ten minutes, all 28 employees in the company, aside from Callie and me, had chosen option B.

Then people began making snide, sarcastic remarks in the Slack channel.

Gerard said, "Since you already have the budget for it, Ms. Knox, just go ahead and give us the money. I just had a baby, and I need the money for her formula. This 10,000 dollars is going to save my ass."

Lucy said, "That's right, Ms. Knox. We don't want the team-building event. We just want to rest. We're already tired enough from working all day, and even though time off would be nice, it's still tiring to still have to face the same colleagues every day. It's too suffocating. Just give us the cash. It's a win-win situation for all."

Fiona added, "Alice is right. I could go on a few other trips myself with 10,000 dollars in cash. I bet the company would get discounts and rebates anyway when booking trips like this, and the actual 10,000-dollar budget would ultimately be worth maybe 5000 dollars. That would be a huge loss for us all."

Alice then sent a smug emoji in the chat and said, "The eyes of the masses are discerning, Ms. Knox. Just go with the flow and give the people what they want."

I read the messages and found everything to be too absurd to be true.

This 10,000-dollar budget per person was all coming from my own personal account. I was the one who had planned to pay for everything out of pocket. And now, they didn't just refuse to go, but they were also demanding to pocket my money too.

Who gave them the guts to demand such a thing?

Was it just because they were smug and arrogant about it?

I inhaled deeply and typed out my reply.

"Since everyone doesn't want to go, the team-building trip is canceled."

The channel went silent for a while. Everyone was waiting for me to mention the payout.

Instead, I typed, "As for the payment, company policy states the team-building expenses are a special welfare fund, earmarked for specific purposes.

"Without the team-building activity, this money will automatically be returned to the treasury and will not be paid out."