Chapter 3

The second I hit send, the Slack channel exploded.

Within a minute, more than twenty employees were flooding the chat with their excitement.

The same people who had been calling me a "hypocrite" and "exploiter" behind my back were now practically worshipping me.

I watched their phony praise with cold eyes.

And then, Leo chimed in.

Leo: "Hang on, everyone, let's chill for a second. An island trip? A little cliché, to be honest."

The chat went silent.

Leo: "A truly tasteful team-building trip would be a mindfulness retreat in the Swiss Alps. That's real class. @Asher, not to question your decision, but a beach trip feels like a basic influencer package deal."

My fingers hovered over the keyboard.

This guy just didn't quit.

I typed back: "Leo, it's March. It's still ski season in the Alps. And high-end retreats in Switzerland require booking six months in advance."

Leo: "Those are just excuses. A boss who really cared about giving his employees the best experience would have planned it in advance."

Excuses?

I took a deep breath and kept typing. "Grace Bay Beach in Turks and Caicos has been voted the world's best beach for years running. Private jet, overwater villas, a Michelin-level private chef. If that's 'cliché,' then I'm very curious to hear your definition of 'tasteful.'"

Leo: "Asher, don't get so defensive. I'm just saying that $10,000 might not even cover the best overwater villas during peak season. Rather than settle for less..."

He changed his tune and immediately started a poll in the channel.

"Team Trip Poll"

A. Suffer through a boring island trip

B. Take the $10,000 cash instead

I stared at the poll options, my blood pressure skyrocketing.

'Suffer through a boring island trip'?

That's how he described the luxury trip I had just put together?

Leo kept going: "Everyone, think about this logically. A team trip is just forced socialization. Why waste a week bored on a beach when you could just have $10,000 in cash?"

Leo: "Think about what you could do with $10,000! Pay off student loans, invest in crypto, help out your family..."

Karen was the first to respond: "Leo has a point. My family could really use that money..."

Mike was right behind her: "My daughter's medical bills are a constant burden. If we could get the cash instead..."

Jessica: "Yeah! $10,000 would pay off more than half my student loans!"

David: "Cash is just more practical. The trip is nice, but the money is more useful."

I watched the poll results climb in real time.

5 votes for B.

10 votes for B.

15 votes for B.

20 votes for B.

In less than ten minutes, every single person in the company, besides me and Sam, had voted for the cash.

23 to 0.

A landslide "victory."

Leo was gloating in the channel: "See? People are rational. Asher, you need to respect the actual needs of your employees."

Karen: "Asher, can you understand our situation? $10,000 would be life-changing for my family."

Mike: "Yeah, boss. The trip is tempting, but we have real-life bills to pay."

Jessica: "Asher, the cash is just more meaningful than a vacation!"

I sat at my desk, staring at their self-righteous demands on the screen.

It was absurd. Utterly absurd.

This quarter-of-a-million dollars wasn't coming from the company budget. It was coming out of my own pocket, from my trust fund.

I had wanted to use my own money to give them an unforgettable experience. And they treated it like a standard benefit they were entitled to.

They even demanded I convert it to cash.

As if I owed it to them. As if it was theirs to claim.

I watched Leo stoke the flames in the chat, watched the greed shining in Karen's and Mike's messages, watched everyone else fall in line.

My kindness was just that cheap in their eyes.

I typed one last line:

"Since nobody wants to go, the team trip is canceled. As for the cash option, that budget was a personal gift, not a company benefit. The offer is now withdrawn."