The Intern Regrets Pushing Me Too Hard

The day before Thanksgiving, our department head posted a message.

"Everyone's been working hard! With Thanksgiving approaching, the company has prepared two options for you—an 800-dollar holiday bonus, or a company-customized tart gift box. Please vote within your department. Majority rules, and the department director will submit the final choice."

The group chat instantly exploded.

"Our boss is so generous! I love it!"

"A customized tart gift box sounds so fancy. I vote for tarts!"

"Isn't 800 bucks better? You can buy so many things with that."

I stared at my phone and voted for the cash without hesitation. I couldn't help thinking, who in their right mind would pass on 800 dollars for some company-branded tarts?

But less than a minute later, the intern in charge of tallying votes, Davin Holt, tagged me in the company group, saying, "Fabian, you're the only one in the department who picked the bonus. Did you vote wrongly?"

I frowned. Before I could reply, his second message popped up.

"Thanksgiving is about celebrating. The company giving out tarts is a thoughtful gesture. Don't you think that choosing cash like that comes off a bit materialistic?"

The lively discussion in the group instantly fell silent. The mood turned strange.

I took a deep breath and typed, "I just voted based on my personal preference. That's all."

As soon as I hit send, the department director, Clark Rackham, appeared. He tagged me directly and said, "Fabian, Davin has a point. Young people should think bigger. Don't always fixate on small amounts of money. The company values team spirit and collective pride. That custom tart gift box represents the image of our entire department."

Clark was my direct superior. The moment he spoke, everything shifted. The coworkers who had just been arguing for the bonus immediately changed their tune.

"Mr. Rackham is right. I was being narrow-minded!"

"Tarts it is! Team spirit comes first."

"Davin is such a good guy, always reminding us to uphold team unity."

Davin quickly sent a polite emoji and said, "Thank you, Mr. Rackham. I just think we should stay united and not let personal choices disrupt team harmony."

Watching everyone in the group echo each other and the flood of support for tarts, my stomach churned. All I did was vote for what everyone actually wanted. Yet, I somehow became the materialistic, close-minded guy with no sense of team spirit.

In the end, the result was no surprise. Aside from my single vote, everyone chose the tarts.

Clark happily announced in the group, "Excellent. This shows our department's strong cohesion! I've already submitted the result. Everyone, look forward to the company's Thanksgiving tart gift box."

The chat erupted in cheers, with all kinds of messages of flattery like "Mr. Rackham is wise" and "Our department is unbeatable."

Then, Davin messaged me privately, sending a smiling emoji and saying, "Fabian, don't be upset. I was just thinking of everyone."

I didn't reply. I simply smiled and closed the chat window.