Home / For Fancy Lunch, My Team Lost Their Wages / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of For Fancy Lunch, My Team Lost Their Wages : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

"Well, what do you think, Claire? Isn't this a whole lot better than the frozen garbage you ordered?" Vivian Sinclair pushed open her lunchbox with her red-lacquered fingers. It contained black truffles, foie gras, and lobster tails. Even the blueberries on the side were served in individual glass ramekins. She continued, "This organic gourmet meal service only offers 30 portions a day. They pride themselves on freshness and quality, something mass-produced fast-food meals can't even begin to match. My uncle orders from them whenever he entertains clients." Vivian's uncle, James Kincaid, headed this branch. She had been parachuted into the department as an intern a month ago. She couldn't even put together a basic spreadsheet, yet she ran roughshod over everyone in the department, all because she had connections. My colleagues gathered around, raising their phones to take pictures. "Whoa… Vivian, you should've joined us sooner!" "Look at that lobster! Compared to our usua

Chapter 2

Early the next morning, Vivian posted the new menu in the work group chat. Besides lunch, she'd added afternoon tea—old brew, Opera cake, and imported fruit. The chat immediately blew up with excitement as my colleagues showered her with praise. "Long live Vivian! You're an absolute angel!""Thanks, Vivian! At long last, we don't have to eat pig feed. This is what happens when you have a well-connected heiress on your side!" Vivian replied with a smiley face. I pulled up the catering service's official website and checked the afternoon tea prices. A single slice of cake cost 65 dollars, a cup of coffee was 35 dollars, and a handful of imported strawberries came to 50 dollars. One of my colleagues was already asking for seconds. "Add another box for me. I want to take it home for my daughter."Vivian readily agreed, and a string of similar requests soon followed. Vivian deliberately tagged me in the group chat. "Do you want to order with us today? I can order for you while

Chapter 3

I placed the handover form on the conference table. Vivian's name was listed under Person in Charge of Catering. Marcus' name was under Approving Manager. I handed him the pen. "Once you've reviewed it, sign it. The company's catering responsibilities will officially be transferred to you." Without even flipping to the second page, he signed his name. "Why do you have to jump through so many hoops just to transfer a little responsibility? Don't worry. You won't have to deal with this anymore." Without sparing it a single glance, Vivian snorted and flourished her signature across the document. I stored away the original signed handover form. After returning to my cubicle, I scanned the document and uploaded it to the company's records system. …In the two weeks that followed, the whole team descended into a state of indulgence. Nobody bothered taking their work seriously anymore. Every day, as soon as lunchtime rolled around, everyone gathered around Vivian's workstation to dis

Chapter 4

When I returned to my workstation, I noticed a text message from the boutique on my phone. It informed me that the watches I'd ordered to celebrate my third anniversary with Marcus had already been picked up. Two months ago, I'd spent 30 grand ordering a pair of mechanical watches as a gift for Marcus on our third anniversary. I hadn't gone to collect them. The pickup confirmation bore Marcus' signature. I stared at the text message for a few seconds before getting up to look for him. I walked down the hallway toward the small patio outside the pantry and, through the half-ajar glass door, I found Vivian holding a diamond-studded ladies' watch, her face flushed with delight. Marcus was wearing the matching men's watch I'd bought on his wrist. "Babe, you're the best! Not only did you steal that fool Claire's proposal to help me secure a permanent position, but you also bought us these insanely expensive matching Rolexes!"Marcus wrapped his arms around her waist and sneered. "I

Chapter 5

"I was the one who coordinated the catering arrangements. Mr. Kincaid's aware of it." Marcus took half a step forward, his tone confident. "The new proposal was intended to improve employee welfare. The approval process is still underway." Ms. Rhodes didn't respond. Instead, she flipped through the document in her hand to the last page. "The company has never approved this additional budget." The air in the room instantly froze. Mr. Kincaid immediately turned to look at me. "She's in charge of the catering arrangements. I don't think we've gotten to the bottom of this yet." Marcus took the cue and chimed in. "Exactly. I can testify to that. If there are discrepancies in the catering expenses, she should be investigated first." Vivian hid behind him, nodding vigorously. "That's right; she was in charge of ordering lunch. I'm just an intern. I don't know a thing!"Voices of agreement rose around us immediately.I didn't bother defending myself. I simply took a folder out of m

Chapter 6

Three days later, payday arrived. I went back to the branch office to finalize my resignation and collect the rest of my documents. The moment I pushed open the office door, a succession of text message chime notifications sounded. Someone stared at the screen and felt the blood gradually drain from their face. "Net pay… Negative 1,666 dollars?""Same here. It even states the outstanding balance will continue to be deducted from next month's paycheck!" "What the hell does this mean? I worked all month for nothing, and now, I owe the company money?" The whole office blew up. Someone immediately called the finance department and put the call on speakerphone. "The over-budget meal expenses have been divided according to each employee's actual orders, amounting to 5,666 dollars per person. Any amount that can't be covered by this month's paycheck will be deducted from next month's salary until the balance is paid in full." The call disconnected, and silence fell over the

Chapter 7

The following morning, the branch's grandest multipurpose conference room was packed to capacity. The client was the company's most important business partner of the year, and Dad, the CEO, attended in person. Mr. Kincaid had been waiting at the elevators since early morning. He personally welcomed the guests before pulling out the chair at the head of the table for Dad. Vivian wore a brand-new dress and stood before the projector, wearing a smile more polished than anyone else's. The humiliating scene from the day before, when the entire team had mobbed her and demanded that she reimburse them, seemed as if it had never happened. Before the presentation began, Dad looked up at her and asked, "How long did it take you to put this proposal together?" Vivian straightened her back. "Two weeks. I burned the midnight oil every day during that period, cross-checking all the data."Dad nodded and fell silent. Vivian began, "Now, I'll walk everyone through our key client expansion s

Chapter 8

I didn't deliver my verdict right away. Instead, I approached the main console and booted up my laptop. "Let's start with the proposal." The screen displayed the file's version history and access logs from the company's system. "The first version of this document was created under my account three weeks ago. In the fortnight that followed, it was edited 42 times. The night before the project meeting, after I left my desk, someone logged into my account, copied the file, and deliberately wiped its contents." I clicked on the last entry. "The system logs show that the login originated from a computer in the Human Resources department." Everyone looked at Marcus. He shuddered, yet his survival instincts made him clutch at the last straw. "Anyone can access the computers in the Human Resources department. A single login record doesn't prove anything!"I clicked to the next slide. "These are the building access logs from that night. At 9:47 pm, only one person used their access c

Chapter 9

By the time I finished my backlogged work, it was already late into the night. I certainly didn't expect to see a sorry-looking figure standing in the pouring rain when I returned to my apartment building. Marcus stood outside the entrance, drenched from head to toe, clutching an old box. I pressed the intercom. "What do you want?" "Hear me out, Claire." He held the box up to the camera. It contained a fountain pen, the first gift I'd ever given him, back when he was promoted to Human Resources manager."I've kept it all this time." "And?"His hand froze for a moment. "Vivian bewitched me. She told me her uncle could help me get promoted, so I lost my head for a moment." "What was on your mind the day I was fired?" His mouth hung open on the screen, and for a moment, he was rendered speechless. I hung up the intercom. …Early the next morning, my phone lit up with a barrage of messages from him. He sent me photos of us together in the last three years. Then, there were

Chapter 10

A month later, Dad sat at the head of the table in the executive boardroom on the top floor of the company's headquarters and looked at me. "Have you decided whether you're ready to take over the reins at headquarters?""I have." I closed the folder in front of me. "But not right now." Several board members exchanged glances.One of them casually piped up. "That's understandable. Ms. Blackwell has only just completed a year of rotational assignments at the operational level, and such a major incident has already occurred under her watch. It's a little too early to have her parachute straight into headquarters right now. I'm afraid it would be difficult for her to earn the respect of the people below her." I slid a report toward the center of the table. "We've officially secured the deal with the client. It's a three-year contract worth 15% more than we originally projected. Since I took over the branch's restructuring a month ago, I've reduced overall operating costs by 11%, and

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