The Reimbursement

The reimbursement I submitted two weeks ago still did not come through.I stared at the pitiful balance in my bank account, then stood up and headed straight for the finance office."Mr. Landon, why hasn't my reimbursement been processed yet? I've already fronted all my own money for client entertainment. If the funds don't come in today, I literally can't keep working!"Seymour Landon's face darkened instantly. He yanked open his drawer, pulled out a thick stack of reimbursement forms, and slammed them onto the desk heavily."You've got some nerve coming to me. I was just about to come find you! Take a look yourself. What kind of garbage did you fill out on these forms? If you don't even know how to complete a reimbursement form properly, learn online. Don't embarrass yourself."I was completely baffled. "What's wrong with it? Haven't we always filled them out like this? They were fine before. Why are they suddenly wrong this time?"Seymour rolled his eyes. With a cigarette betw

My boss, Jessica Harrington, announced, "Starting today, I'm giving you special authority. Any reimbursement that doesn't meet standards, just reject it. Send it back for revisions until it's qualified!"And at the monthly meeting, you'll be this month's Star Employee. Don't forget to go on stage and give a speech!"Seymour's eyes lit up instantly."T-Thank you! Thank you, Ms. Harrington! I'll definitely work even harder and live up to your encouragement!"Jessica looked thoroughly pleased.Then she turned and shot me another sharp glare."See that? You, salespeople, are nothing but parasites in this company. You're all lazy to the core! Why can't you learn something from him? You guys always nitpick over trivial matters, wasting company resources. Aren't you ashamed?"That's enough! Reorganize your reimbursement forms according to Mr. Landon's requirements and get it done!"My hands trembled as I clutched the stack of papers.The frustration lodged in my chest had nowhere to

"Alex! What exactly are you playing at? Every other sales team has already submitted their files. Yours is the only one missing! You said you needed to follow the process, and I agreed to all of it."But we're running out of time! I need a definite timeline from you today! If tax filing gets delayed because of your team, it won't just be me in trouble. You won't walk away unscathed either!"I wore an expression of helplessness but said nothing.At that moment, a colleague from the next cubicle could not hold back anymore and spoke up quietly."Alex isn't wrong, though. Isn't this exactly what Seymour from Finance has been doing? It's been over a month now. Alex still has a pile of reimbursements stuck in limbo. What now? Finance gets to 'be professional', but Sales can't follow our own rules?"Harold heard that and immediately understood what was going on.Without another word, he turned and walked out.Less than two minutes later, he came back, dragging Seymour by the arm and s

Whispers spread through the room.Countless unreadable glances landed on me, sharp and heavy, leaving me nowhere to hide. I wished the ground would open up and swallow me whole.Just then, Jessica suddenly shifted tone and announced loudly."Additionally, Mr. Landon has demonstrated responsibility and meticulous professionalism. He has acted in the company's best interest at every turn, even working overnight to prevent potential losses. "He is the well-deserved Star Employee of this month! On behalf of the company, I am awarding him a 3000-dollar bonus! Mr. Landon, please come up and share a few words. Everyone, let's give him a round of applause!"The room erupted.Thunderous applause filled the air.When I looked up, my eyes met Seymour's as he rose to his feet.He was smiling. But beneath that smile, the malice in his gaze made my skin crawl.I did not hear a word of his self-congratulatory speech. My mind was elsewhere.Maybe it was just paranoia, but throughout the e

"I swear, you really have no self-awareness. To think you'd actually dare to come file a claim!" Seymour chided.I forced a look of urgency onto my face, my voice soft and pleading."Mr. Landon, this payment is really urgent. It has to be transferred within three days. This is my first order of the month. If it falls through, I won't even have money for food."Seymour looked amused.He did not even glance at the paperwork. Instead, he stared at me with open interest, as if enjoying a show."The sales champion is worried about such a tiny deal falling apart? I thought you were supposed to be quite impressive. What's wrong? Still ended up begging me, didn't you?"He toyed with the documents in his hand, tone dripping with mockery."How about this: I'll give you a chance to apologize. As long as you kneel in front of the entire company and beg me, I'll let it go. What do you say?"For a moment, I thought I misheard him.Who did he think he was? An emperor?Was he even worthy of