All Chapters of Trading Fine Dining for Light Meals: Collective Regret: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

I stood on the second floor of the cafeteria, watching employees enjoy their lunch. Their trays were piled with Auralian grain-fed steaks, sous-vide chicken breasts, and dozens of side dishes. These meals were the work of the world-class chefs I had hired, with each meal valued at 150 dollars per person.The cafeteria manager walked up beside me and sighed. "Mr. Shaw, today's steaks were overcooked again. Many people just took a bite and threw them away. Such a waste."I waved him off. "It's fine. As long as they enjoy themselves."When I first introduced the one-dollar fee, my intention was to remind everyone to appreciate their meals. Clearly, it hadn't worked, but I didn't mind. My main goal was to keep the promise I made when I started the company and give the people who built this business with me the finest work meals in the city.Back in my office, my phone buzzed on the desk. In the company's 400-person group chat, the new intern, Lindsey Field, had sent a message."Al

Chapter 2

The video's title was even more shocking. "I earn five thousand dollars, yet my boss makes me pay one dollar every day for high-blood-pressure meals!"I tapped on the video.It started with close-up shots of various meat dishes, overlaid with captions like "high fat, high sodium" and "calorie bomb." The video had cut out all the carefully balanced vegetables and free fruit our nutritionist had prepared.The final frame was Lindsey's teary face."I don't need anything fancy. I don't care which master chef prepared the food. I just want to sleep in on weekends and have a free, healthy meal on workdays."The comments blew up just as expected."Expose the company! Gen Z should be bold. We've got your back!""This is disgusting. The company calls it a benefit, yet they serve employees junk food. They even charge them!"Among them, a few anonymous accounts really stood out."I work here, and I can vouch for this! Our health checkups keep getting worse every year. Our pay barely cove

Chapter 3

Overnight, my company went from being the coveted dream workplace everyone envied to the hated sweatshop of the internet.Our company name, my face—everything had been dug up and exposed. Abusive messages and harassing calls flooded my phone, making it buzz vigorously on my desk."Cold‑blooded corporate leech. I hope your company goes under tomorrow.""Exploit your workers all you want! I've already filed a complaint with labor enforcement."Exhaustion etched deep circles under the HR director's eyes as he set a crisis PR plan in front of me. "Mr. Shaw, we need to respond immediately. Release the nutritionist's credentials and the full weekly menu. Let's clear things up!" he urged.I rubbed the bridge of my nose and looked at him."If we respond now, it won't come across as reasonable or calm. It'll just seem like we're making excuses. The public isn't looking for the truth. They just want something for nothing."The HR director froze. He opened his mouth, but no words came o

Chapter 4

The moment the email went out, the company chat exploded with cheers."Mr. Shaw, you're the best! He actually listened to us!""This is perfect! No more fears about getting fat or having high blood pressure!"Lindsey and Robert were suddenly hailed as heroes. Robert even flaunted in the chat, "I told you, Mr. Shaw is soft-hearted. As long as we stick together and make enough noise, he'll have to give in!"Lindsey was even more thrilled. She took a screenshot of the chat and posted it to her social feed with the caption that read, "Gen Z wins! We did it!"That evening, the cafeteria menu was updated to include the promised healthy light meals. Each tray held a sparse handful of lettuce, a few slices of boiled chicken breast, and half a cherry tomato. Many employees poked at their food, snapped a photo for social media bragging rights, and then happily headed out in groups to celebrate their hard-won victory.After facing nearly identical bland salads the next day, their smiles b

Chapter 5

I stepped out of the conference room, leaving behind a silence so thick it felt like death. The seeds of panic had been planted, and now all that was left was to watch them grow.In the following days, the company seemed calm on the surface.No one dared speak openly about the cafeteria anymore. The chat groups returned to their usual routine, occupied only with mundane work handovers.Lindsey and Robert seemed to have vanished completely. Not a single word had passed their lips in public since.The list of those claiming credit sat untouched. I didn't press, and no one dared hand it in.Half a month slipped by in this uneasy quiet.Yawns began to ripple through the office. Larry Porter from the Tech Department had called in sick for three days last week, claiming dizziness and exhaustion. HR reports sat on my desk, showing that this month's tardiness rate had tripled from the previous quarter.Every time I walked through the break room for water, I could hear suppressed compl

Chapter 6

I studied the joint petition on my desk in silence, then looked up at Robert. He stood across from me, wearing an eager, almost confident expression.I nearly laughed.The employees actually believed they were smart enough to manipulate everyone and walk away unscathed.Right in front of Robert, I lifted the petition and read it slowly, savoring every word as if I were studying a piece of art.Once I finished, I rose from my chair and crossed the room to the ashtray in the corner. I flicked open my lighter and brought the flame to the corner of the document that held all their hopes.Fire raced across the page. The paper curled, blackened, and crumbled until nothing remained but ash. A sharp crackle cut through the room.Robert's polite, deferential smile shattered, replaced by shock and disbelief."Mr. Shaw, what are you doing?" he asked.I turned, leaned against my desk, and fixed him with a cold stare."A solution? No, Robert. This is the price of your own foolishness, and

Chapter 7

The email I sent, complete with the real-name voting link, hit like a deep-water bomb, setting off violent undercurrents throughout the company.Robert's private chat, the one he had created called "Workers Have Power," immediately flooded with messages. For the past two weeks, it had been their outlet for complaints, regrets, and blaming each other. Now, it had turned into a battlefield of fear and suspicion."What do we do? Carter is ruthless! He wants every one of us to show our names!""Vote A? That's basically admitting we've been idiots all along. How do we even face anyone after that?""Are you crazy? If we skip option A, do you want to starve your way into a hospital bed? The email spelled it out—'Voting results will be attached to the bonus plan submitted to the board.' "Not choosing A puts you right next to Lindsey as her accomplice. Did you forget about that one‑million‑dollar claim letter? They'll come for you next.""Where's Robert? Speak up! This was your idea!"

Chapter 8

The next morning, the administrative director placed a voting report and two resignation letters on my desk.The report showed that 410 out of 412 employees had cast their votes, and every single one had chosen Option A.The two resignation letters were from Lindsey and her closest friend. They didn't even ask for severance. They just wanted out of this toxic place as fast as possible.My phone rang. It was Robert.The moment I answered, his voice oozed sycophancy and self-congratulation."Mr. Shaw! Did you see it? This is the whole team's stance! We've made it clear with our actions that we're done with all the bad influences!"I didn't rise to his theatrics. I calmly said, "Be in the main conference room at 3:00 pm sharp. There will be a full staff meeting."I ended the callAt 3:00 pm sharp, the main conference room that had once witnessed their panic and betrayal was completely silent.Everyone sat up straight, as if waiting for the final judgment.I said nothing about th

Chapter 9

Michael had been the toughest hire we had spent half a year trying to land. We had offered him top-tier compensation in the industry, yet he remained hesitant.I forced down my surprise and asked Noah, "Wasn't he still undecided? How did he suddenly make up his mind?"Noah teased, "That's a question for you, Mr. Shaw. What exactly did you do with your employees? Michael said he saw the entire cafeteria incident unfold."I held the phone in stunned silence. An internal fiasco had somehow traveled across the ocean.Noah cleared his throat and passed on Michael's message. "Noah, tell Mr. Shaw this. Disruption is never the enemy of a workplace. "The real threat is a leader who compromises too much and treats everyone the same, regardless of merit. I hesitated because I worried the company's size would suffocate its culture, but the cafeteria incident changed my mind. "Here, rules exist, and they're enforced. Greed disguised as wellness gets no pass, and true contributors are valued

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