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Home / Emotional Realism Short Story / The Fund Cut: The Team's Regret / Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

All Chapters of The Fund Cut: The Team's Regret: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

7 Chapters

Chapter 1

“Looks like Ms. Heaton has finally gone broke since she’s even stealing our employee benefits!”My assistant, Joyce Campbell, stopped reading the forum post aloud. She locked her phone and hesitantly looked at me. “Ms. Heaton, are you okay?”I shook my head and suppressed my fury.“Get Ms. Reiser here now!”Ten minutes later, Casey Reiser finally dragged her feet into my office. Her eyes looked everywhere but at my face.“Ms. Heaton, you wanted to see me? Is everything alright?”“I authorized $100,000 for a celebration party, and you fed a hundred employees $3.99 budget takeouts. Is that correct?”She instinctively denied it. “No, I didn’t, Ms. Heaton.”I tossed the printed order receipt of the budget takeout onto the desk. Her face flushed instantly. Her lips moved soundlessly. It probably never crossed her mind that I would get my hands on this piece of evidence.I took a deep breath. My nails were biting hard into my palm.“Casey, you’ve been with this company for year

Chapter 2

Joyce watched me with concern. “Ms. Heaton, the hundred thousand was drawn from the headquarters account. Casey took it in cash. Right now, we have no direct proof that she kept the money. Maybe I can contact the bank and see if there’s any surveillance footage from the withdrawal.”I nodded wearily.I had known for a while that Casey had been eyeing my position.She was shrewd, calculating, and had a gift for making alliances.Over the next few days, I showed up at the office exactly on time and kept up a calm routine. I ignored the sideways glances and the hushed conversations.By Friday, I wrapped up my work earlier than usual. Just like every week for the past few weeks, I picked up the fruit basket and nutritional supplements I had already prepared.I was going to visit Jack Heiser, an employee recovering in the hospital from a work-related injury. He had been rushing to meet a project deadline, working late, and ended up taking a bad fall down the stairs on his way ou

Chapter 3

“Mr. Dublin, I’m formally requesting the cancellation of the special one-million-dollar monthly employee welfare fund I personally petitioned for.”There was a pause on the other end. “Taylor, are you sure about this? You put your neck on the line for this. You traded your overperformance bonus from the first half of the year to secure a six-month long-term employee welfare program. It’s only been active for two months. Do you really want to pull the plug now?”I took a deep breath. I said firmly, “Internal dynamics at the office have become dysfunctional. The program needs to be suspended.”As expected, the formal email from Finance went out the next morning. The reaction across the company was immediate and loud.The cancellation of the monthly million meant the evaporation of everything it funded, including the unofficial perks like the team-building events, discretionary project bonuses, the premium snack bars, the Friday afternoon catering, and so on.“How can she just canc

Chapter 4

The footage showed her withdrawing $100,000 in cash at the bank counter. The timestamp was precisely within the window after I had approved the funds.“This is the surveillance video showing $100,000 for the celebration party being withdrawn in cash. Casey embezzled the money meant for your celebration,” I said calmly.Casey’s face went pale. She denied everything. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”Next, an audio recording began to play.Casey’s voice, unmistakable and clear, filled the room. “Amanda, when the time comes, you take the lead and stir things up. Say that Taylor’s trying to cut the funds and target a senior staff. Ruin her reputation. Once she’s out, the position will be mine. You’ll all be taken care of when that happens.”The reaction was immediate. The staff murmured to one another.“So, that money was actually Ms. Heaton’s bonus. She used it for our welfare fund!”“Yeah, and Casey pocketed the $100,000 celebration party fund from Ms. Heaton!”“She d

Chapter 5

A promotion!I was getting promoted to General Manager of the Pacific Northwest Division, overseeing five subsidiaries. It was beyond anything I had dared to dream.A collective gasp swept through the room.The most devastating blow, however, was reserved for Casey. She never expected that it would be her actions that ended up paving the way for my promotion.She screamed hysterically, “Taylor, you planned this all along!”I ignored her and waved for security to escort her out of the company.After the turmoil passed, the company’s operations gradually returned to normal.After taking office as General Manager of the Pacific Northwest Division, I did not rush to settle old scores.My first act was to host a party for all employees at the most prestigious hotel near our offices. I paid for it myself.At the party, I raised my glass and looked at the crowd below. Their faces were filled with mixed emotions. I said calmly, “Let the past stay in the past. This toast is not to cele

Chapter 6

The next day, Joyce told me that Casey had repaid the money.She had tried borrowing from many people, but no one was willing to lend to her. In the end, she took out a loan.Over the following months, I devoted myself fully to my new role.I restructured the team and streamlined operations.Occasionally, I still heard about her situation through other employees.They said that after she was fired, her reputation was completely ruined. She could barely find decent work in the industry.To scrape together the $100,000 that was needed to repay the company as quickly as possible, she juggled three jobs at once.During the day, she worked as a temporary office clerk at a small company. In the evenings, she washed dishes at a chain restaurant. Late at night, she worked as a ride-hailing driver.To make a desperate situation utterly tragic, fate played its cruelest joke. The lie she had fabricated to gain sympathy ended up becoming a grim prophecy.During a routine health check

Chapter 7

I said generously, “I heard your grandmother hasn’t been in very good health. Use this money to make sure she gets the best care. Your care for your family shouldn’t be held back by a lack of money.”After he accepted it, he was deeply grateful to me.I took the initiative to bring up what had happened at the hospital. I knew he must have heard some things from his colleagues. “It’s fine. I’m just glad the misunderstanding’s cleared up now. Just focus on your work moving forward.”“I’m so sorry, Ms. Heaton, for misunderstanding everything. I’ll write a formal letter of apology!”I waved my hand to dismiss him. “Let’s consider the matter settled.”His eyes reddened. To me, he was nothing more than a conscientious, dedicated employee.Debra stepped forward apologetically and patted Jack on the shoulder. “Ms. Heaton is so magnanimous. She really doesn’t hold these things against people. The best way we can thank her is by excelling at our jobs.”I nodded in agreement.One weeken

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