All Chapters of A Taste Beyond Their Means: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

"So, Griffin, what do you think? This food is a hundred times better than the stuff you used to order, right?"Wesley Hoffman lifted his chin smugly. "This place specializes in exclusive, limited-quantity meals. The owner only takes 50 orders a day. He says he'd rather make fewer meals than ruin his reputation. "Every order is handled on a first-come, first-served basis. He refuses to compromise his principles just to make more money. He's nothing like those fast-food places that churn out hundreds of meals a day on an assembly line. There's simply no comparison."I glanced at the takeout container in his hand.It was packed with high-quality beef, caviar, sea urchin, and imported fruit. The food looked incredible, and it was definitely beyond the budget of an ordinary office worker.My coworkers crowded around Wesley."This is amazing! Wesley, you are a lifesaver for all of us working stiffs!""What we used to eat was basically garbage! It was barely fit for human consumption!

"Griffin, you aren't seriously upset about this, are you?" Wesley gave me a taunting smile, his words dripping with sarcasm. "You're too cheap to order anything decent yourself, yet you refuse to give up your position and do your job. What, do you actually think you are the department's operations manager?"Without another word, I logged into the system and transferred the meal-ordering permissions to him on the spot. Then, I printed out a confirmation form, placed it in front of him in full view of everyone, and told him to sign it.Wesley let out a smug snort and signed his name without the slightest hesitation.I put the form away and returned to my desk.For the next two weeks, our entire department seemed to be on vacation. Nobody took their work seriously. Every morning at ten, everyone gathered around Wesley's desk to discuss what expensive delicacies they wanted for lunch.Mushroom chicken soup, freshly sliced salmon, imported cherries... The afternoon tea orders never sto

"W-What is this?!"The cheers in the private dining room died instantly. As everyone stared at the numbers on their phone screens, their faces drained of color.Joyce glared at her screen and shot to her feet."What's going on? Why is my paycheck zero? And what's this red number underneath it? It says I owe the company 98,000 dollars!""I owe the company 73,000 dollars too! How is that even possible? There must be a bug in the payroll system!"I opened my own pay stub. My salary had come through as usual, with only my performance bonus reduced to the minimum amount.Then I checked everyone else's screens. Almost everyone in the department owed the company tens of thousands of dollars. Wesley had racked up the biggest debt of all, a staggering 186,000 dollars.Not only had he ordered the most expensive meals every day, but he had also signed off a second time on every invoice that exceeded the budget, acting as the person responsible for the department's expenses.Wesley stared

I ignored them and headed straight for the private dining room door.Joyce, furious and humiliated, tried to chase after me. "You aren't going anywhere until you hand over the money!"Before she could get close, the two security guards at the entrance rushed forward and pinned her firmly against the table.The server pulled out his walkie-talkie, his voice turning icy. "Ma'am, if you don't settle the bill immediately, we will have no choice but to call the police."I walked out without looking back. Behind me came the crash of shattered plates, followed by Joyce's hysterical screams."Let go of me! Wesley was the one who arranged this meal! If you want money, go after him! What does this have to do with us? He tricked us! If the police show up, we'll tell them he committed fraud!""Joyce, you were the one egging him on! You had no complaints when you were enjoying all that expensive food. Now that the bill is 80,000 dollars, you want to pretend none of this ever happened?"As I

Eventually, someone called the police. The officers forcibly separated the two and took them both to the station.As the rightful owner of the watch, I brought the proof of purchase and the boutique's reservation records to file a police report.When Joyce saw me, she struggled desperately as if I were her last hope."Griffin! Tell the police what really happened! We were a couple! I only borrowed the watch for a while!"Without changing my expression, I placed the receipt and the boutique's pickup footage on the table."We've already broken up. She took a valuable item belonging to me without my permission, gave it to someone else, and it was then sold off for cash. I want to file a formal theft complaint."The officers checked the records and determined the nature of the case on the spot.At 30,000 dollars, the value of the watch met the threshold for a serious theft case. Joyce would have to repay the money and could also face prison time. Wesley was in trouble as well. He