All Chapters of Free Meals, Zero Bonus: The Office Revolt Begins: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

At 8:30 am on Wednesday, my phone started vibrating like crazy.Susan Tarp, my assistant, barged in without knocking, her voice already carrying a sob."Ms. Clarke! We've got a problem! The company's trending on social media!"I unlocked my phone. The screen was flooded with unread notifications. All my text messaging apps were blowing up.I opened InstaBook. The number one trending local topic was "Shocking! One bowl of seafood thermidor costs 14 dollars—heartless company exploits interns!"The entry had a fire emoji next to it, and the view count had already surpassed three million.I clicked in. The attached video already had over 700 thousand views.The video thumbnail showed our company cafeteria's serving window, with the caption reading, "An intern earning 1,500 dollars a month can't afford a single meal in the company cafeteria! How heartless are these capitalists?"The poster's ID was "Hardworking CCP".It was her—Cecily Plinkton, an intern who had joined the design d

Chapter 2

Three years of my blood, sweat, and tears… Nearly one million dollars of personal subsidies every year… But it'd all been reduced to being "heartless" and "desperate for money".Susan shoved her phone toward me, her hand shaking."Ms. Clarke! The internal company chat has blown up! Everyone's reposting Cecily's video, and some people are even… Some are even saying they're going to report us to the Department of Labor and the Department of Revenue!"She paused, her voice dropping even lower. "And also… the cafeteria's Chef Pollard just sent word through someone. He asked if we plan to lay off his team and said that several suppliers have been calling about overdue payments…"My phone rang again. It was the project director from our biggest client, Stellar Group.His tone was extremely serious. "Ms. Clarke. I've seen the trending news about your company. Our company cares deeply about the reputation and stability of our partners. The board… has expressed serious concern about your c

Chapter 3

Cecily continued, "My account gained 100 thousand followers in just half an hour, and several big accounts with millions of followers have already reposted my video."If you insist on not lowering the price and refuse to apologize to us, I'm afraid… things could spiral beyond the company's control."Jeremy immediately jumped in to play the good cop."Actually, resolving this is pretty simple. We're not unreasonable people, either."First, the seafood thermidor has to go back to being free. That's a matter of principle. Second, the administrative department needs to issue an apology in your name to all employees. "And third, to compensate for the emotional distress this incident has caused everyone, the company should credit 250 dollars to every employee's meal card as compensation."If you handle it this way, everyone can walk away with their dignity intact, and we can put this behind us."At that moment, Susan frantically burst in again, her face deathly pale."Ms. Clarke! I

Chapter 4

"It was an oversight of mine. I failed to fully consult with employees, causing inconvenience and misunderstanding for everyone," I added.Down in the audience, Cecily and Jeremy exchanged smug glances, and a few people even chuckled.Without stopping, I signaled Susan to turn on the projector. A detailed financial report appeared on the massive screen behind me."This is a detailed financial report for the company's cafeteria that covers the three years since I took over and reformed it, and it has been audited by a third-party accounting firm."To ensure the cafeteria's operation, I've personally injected a total of 2.8 million dollars into the company's administrative account over the past three years."After deducting the company's standard meal subsidies, the actual annual deficit has been approximately 935 thousand dollars."The seafood thermidor dish that sparked this controversy costs 21 dollars and 30 cents per serving for ingredients alone, not including labor, utilitie

Chapter 5

"Is there a problem with that?" I asked evenly.Left completely speechless at my words, Cecily glanced around in a panic. This time, however, what greeted her were pairs of eyes burning with fury.After a brief, suffocating silence, the hall exploded."Cecily Plinkton! Are you happy now? What are we supposed to eat now?""This is all because of your stupid video! You ruined our good times!""The afternoon tea was my daily source of happiness, and now it's gone!""And you, Jeremy Stinson! You were the one who kept fanning the flames in the group chat! Are you happy now?"In an instant, all the blame shifted to Cecily and Jeremy.I waited until the shouting died down slightly before adding my final point."According to the Finance Department's calculations, after implementing all the reforms mentioned above, the Administrative Department can save the company approximately 2.25 million dollars in operating costs per year."So, I'd like to thank you all for your oversight. You've

Chapter 6

The conference hall door shut behind me, sealing off the uproar and desperate wails inside."What? Our year-end bonuses are gone?""Why? Didn't we just land a bigger contract?""Moira Clarke! Get back in here and explain yourself!"I ignored them.I went back to my office, with Susan following behind me. Her eyes were still red-rimmed, but they were now shining with excitement and vindication."Ms. Clarke, that was incredible! But… are the year-end bonuses really canceled? That's a huge amount of money…"I sat down, turned on my computer, and pulled up the company's HR backend system."The funds from Stellar Group are part of next year's budget. The money will only come in installments after the project actually launches. As for our year-end bonuses, those are calculated and paid based on this year's profits."Even though this incident didn't directly cost us any clients, the negative press it caused knocked us out of another major bid we were competing for."I opened an emai

Chapter 7

As for Kenan, he went from a department director to an ordinary employee overnight. The subordinates who used to swarm around him now avoided him whenever they saw him, and his daily work consisted only of sorting irrelevant old files. He'd been left completely sidelined.…A week later, a stifling atmosphere settled over the company.Without the free afternoon tea and fruit, the office became lifeless by 3:00 or 4:00 pm. Without late-night snacks for those working overtime, the office was mostly empty by 7:00 pm, and project timelines fell severely behind schedule. Without the high-quality cafeteria, employees were spending about 20 dollars more each day on meals, which added up to a considerable expense over the month.Complaints bubbled everywhere, but this time, no one dared to voice them openly. Everyone's anger and blame were directed at those particular "culprits".Cecily's personal information was dug up and plastered online—her photos, her college, and even her home a

Chapter 8

Cecily's parents sobbed uncontrollably in court, repeatedly claiming that Cecily was "still young" and "didn't know better", and pleaded for the court to please just spare her.But the law didn't believe in tears.Ultimately, the court ruled that Cecily's actions constituted commercial defamation, and she was ordered to issue a public apology to our company, as well as pay 1.5 million dollars in financial damages.This verdict shook the company. For the first time, everyone truly realized that a single sentence posted online could really ruin a person's life.After this particular incident, the company culture subtly shifted. No one openly complained about the company policies anymore, nor did anyone dare to collude in factions to push their own agendas. Everyone became very cautious with their words and actions, and the office became eerily quiet.The pre-made cafeteria meals were still awful, and food deliveries remained expensive.People started to miss the old days. They miss

Chapter 9

Meanwhile, our competitor, Xenon Technologies, had built what came to be known as "The Legendary Cafeteria 2.0" after successfully poaching Chef Pollard's entire team. Their reputation skyrocketed within the industry, attracting a large number of top-tier talent and experiencing explosive growth.As Xenon Technologies grew and our company declined, for the first time, we found ourselves losing ground when in direct competition with them.At a midyear industry summit, I ran into Xenon Technologies' CEO, Michael Levitt. He was practically beaming with joy and came over on his own to exchange greetings with me."Ms. Clarke, I've heard so much about you. I really should thank you for training such an outstanding logistics team for us."Chef Pollard's skills truly live up to his name. These days, when we recruit, we just have to mention that he runs our cafeteria, and our offer acceptance rate jumps by 30%."Oh, by the way, I heard things haven't been going so well at your company late

Chapter 10

The company's annual net profit had reached a historic high.Harvey, the CEO, announced excitedly, "The board has decided that this year's year-end bonuses will be triple the amount originally promised last year."Thunderous applause and cheers filled the hall.Next, it was my turn to take the stage and present the Grand Champion award for the High-Performer Points System.The winner was a young engineer who had joined the company just over a year ago. Thanks to his outstanding contributions on a major project, he had earned the highest points total in the entire company.His reward was a half-million-dollar, interest-free home loan funded by the company.When this prize was announced, the hall erupted once again.The young engineer was so overwhelmed with emotion that he could barely speak coherently. Facing the microphone, he gave me a look of deep gratitude."Thank you, Ms. Clarke! And thank you to the company! I… I'll definitely build my home here and dedicate my whole life

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