Chapter 2

Year after year, George made promises that never materialized. Yet in the end, everyone tolerated it simply because he had said, "I'll make it up a little in the year-end bonus."

I clenched my fists, holding back my anger. "Mr. White, you promised that since we didn't get a raise at mid-year, the year-end bonus would make up for it!"

He slammed the teacup down hard. "Zachary! Mind your tone! The company has its assessment system. The administrative department doesn't have performance targets. Rewards are based on contribution, and you're at the bottom. What's the issue with that?"

I tried to argue. "But in previous years—"

"Previous years are previous years!" George cut me off. "For the company to grow, we have to reform. From now on, the administrative department has to learn to manage costs on its own. Don't expect the company to cover everything."

I rose to my feet. "I see. The administrative department is disposable in your eyes."

"I never said that," George replied.

"I don't need you to say it. Your actions speak for themselves," I said, then turned and walked away.

"Stop!" George snapped. "Zachary, you've been an administrative manager for eight years. How can you have no sense of perspective and throw a fit over a smaller year-end bonus? How do you think other departments will see the administrative system?"

I turned back to meet his gaze. "Mr. White, I may not have perspective, but my team is counting on that year-end bonus for the holidays. Caleb's wife has a follow-up exam. Julius is getting married. Renold promised to take his parents to the doctor—"

"That's their personal business. What does that have to do with the company?" George said, waving his hand impatiently. "This isn't a charity. We can't just hand out extra money because employees have personal problems. If you're unhappy, go take it up with the Department of Labor and see if they'll even take it seriously!"

I froze. He had no sense of decency at all.

"Fine. I'll ask them," I said.

George smirked. "Go ahead. But if you make a scene, don't expect to stay in this field for long."

I said nothing more and slammed the door behind me.

As I left George's office, I ran into HR director Bill Kennedy in the hallway. He grinned and patted me on the shoulder like we were old friends. "Zach, perfect timing. Come on, let's talk in my office."

I didn't refuse. Bill poured me a cup of tea and sat down across from me.

He frowned and asked, "Why bother with all this?"

I looked up at him, with disbelief written all over my face.

"Bill, my team is counting on that year-end bonus. Caleb's wife has a liver condition and has been on conservative treatment. He wants to take her to a major hospital in Stonebridge before the year ends. Julius had only just found a wife in his 30s and was counting on the year-end bonus to throw a proper wedding celebration.

"Renold promised his mom a trip to Florencia this year. She has rheumatism and can't handle the cold northern winter. However, the company isn't a charity. They follow the rules. They won't hand out extra bonuses just because employees have personal issues."

Bill waved it off casually, flicking ash from his cigarette. "Fine. We won't talk about their personal issues."

I pulled out a chair and sat down, opening my phone. "Let's talk about contributions. The annual review placed the administrative department at the bottom. Distribution is supposed to reflect contribution, and we got nothing. It's time to tally up exactly what the department has done."

I pulled up work emails. "The company signed 63 contracts this year. The approval process, stamping, and filing of every single contract were handled by our department. If we had outsourced it to a law firm, each contract would have cost 3,000 dollars for the process alone. That's nearly 200,000 dollars for 63 contracts.

"Last year, the company passed the environmental review thanks to our department, which made over 20 trips to the city government office and prepared hundreds of documents over the course of three months. Outsourcing would have cost at least 150,000 dollars.

"Then there's supplier management. We maintain relationships with 47 long-term suppliers. For 12 of them, we negotiated payment terms from 30 days to 60 days. How much cash flow did that save the company?

"There are four of us in administration. Our average monthly salary is 6,000 dollars, making annual labor costs about 360,000 dollars. Any single item I just mentioned alone exceeds that number. Is that really nothing?"