Chapter 2

The next morning, the office was eerily quiet.

No one thanked me for the $500 stipend.

Not a single celebratory emoji in the Slack channel.

Even Karen, who usually lived in the group chat, was silent.

I sat in my office, staring at the handful of 'likes' on yesterday's email.

Something was wrong.

At three in the afternoon, I got up to get some water from the breakroom.

I'd barely reached the door when I heard Leo's sharp voice.

"A measly 500 bucks? After taxes, what's left? Like, three hundred and change?" His tone was dripping with contempt. "You think you can buy our loyalty with that?"

I froze, pressing myself against the doorframe.

"Leo, come on," Mike's voice sounded hesitant. "That money really helps with my daughter's medical bills..."

"Mike!" Leo's voice cut him off, sharper this time. "Get a grip! Do you seriously believe he was spending twenty-five dollars per person on those snacks?"

"What do you mean?" Karen asked.

"He buys in bulk! He gets a discount!" Leo continued, his voice rising. "He claims the cost was $25, but it was probably half that. Giving us cash now is just some slick 'Corporate Social Responsibility' PR stunt."

My fists clenched.

"And haven't you guys noticed?" Leo's voice grew more frantic. "This whole thing is probably just a corporate tax write-off for him."

"A tax write-off?" several voices asked at once.

"Of course! He's converting his personal spending into a company benefit, then claiming it as a deduction. We're just pawns in his tax game!"

A silence fell over the room.

Then, Karen's voice. "Oh my god, Leo. When you put it like that... it does seem really hypocritical."

Mike sounded shaken. "And I really thought he was doing something good for us..."

"Wake up!" Leo's voice was practically a shriek. "Have you seen what he drives? A Tesla Model S Plaid! That's a hundred-thousand-dollar car! He bought it with the profits he squeezed out of us!"

"And another thing," a young woman's voice joined in—Jessica. "He leaves at 4 PM every day. He gets to go live his fancy rich life while we're all stuck here working overtime."

"Exactly!" another voice agreed. "What good is cash, anyway? My friend's company has a private chef. I post our perks on Instagram and people make fun of how basic they are."

"Right!" Jessica complained. "A real boss gives you 'social currency.' Something that gives you clout. He's just too cheap to spend the money that would actually boost our status."

My knuckles turned white around my water cup.

For three years, I had given them everything.

I helped Mike cover his rent. He'd cried and called me the kindest boss he'd ever had.

I gave Karen special paid leave. She said I was more considerate than her child's father.

And now?

Now they were questioning every single act of kindness, twisting my generosity into some kind of cynical plot.

"You know what it is?" Leo's voice turned venomous. "Guys like him, born with a silver spoon in their mouth, they have no clue what real life is. In his eyes, we're just toys he can manipulate whenever he feels like it."

"He's right!" Karen's voice was full of indignation. "We're the ones making him rich."

Mike chimed in, "Yeah. We can't let him buy us off with a few scraps."

I'd heard enough.

I turned and walked back to my office, every step feeling like I was walking on broken glass.

For three years, I had poured everything I had into building this idealistic company. And all I'd done was raise a pack of greedy, ungrateful wolves.

They weren't satisfied with top-of-the-market benefits.

They weren't grateful for a single act of generosity.

They even twisted my goodwill into a malicious conspiracy.

I sat down at my desk and opened Slack.

If they thought $500 was an insult, if they thought my kindness was all just an act...

Then I would give them a real show.

I typed a message into the general channel:

"Everyone, thank you for your feedback regarding our company culture. To further improve team cohesion, the company has decided to organize an all-hands offsite next month. Destination: Turks and Caicos. It will be a one-week trip, round trip by private jet, all-inclusive at a five-star resort. The budget is $10,000 per person."