Right after I am done with a meeting, I scroll through social media and come across a warning post with my company's location tagged.

The title reads, "Avoid this place! Anyone who comes here is a sucker. The company is so stingy that it can't even provide decent snacks."

The photos show the Starbucks drinks and five-star desserts I just asked my assistant to distribute to everyone.

I frown and tag everyone in the group chat, asking for suggestions about the teatime snacks.

A Gen Z intern, Alice Grimes, immediately sends a voice message, "No offense, Ms. Knox, but these mass-produced desserts are full of trans fats. Even dogs wouldn't eat them. A good company would hire Kitchelin chefs to cook on-site. Now that's called having true respect for employees."

I laugh in disbelief. My company spends 50 dollars per person on daily tea time, which is considered top-tier in the industry.

So, I reply, "Since it's hard to please everyone, we'll cancel teatime from now on and convert it into a cash allowance for everyone."

Less than five minutes later, there is a new update in the social media post.

"Guys, you won't believe this. I made a reasonable suggestion, and the petty boss just cut our teatime perk! This is how a typical capitalist behaves. They can't handle any honest feedback."

The post was still trending even after a while, and the comments section was filled with appalling comments.

"Bosses like this just want to save money! They're just using it as an excuse!"

"What does the boss mean by 'converting it into cash'? It's just an empty promise! You'll never see it on your payslip!"

"Run! Get out of this company at once! You'll never have a future at a company that refuses to accept feedback!"

Alice Grimes was also very active in the comments section, replying to almost everyone.

"Exactly! I'm only just an intern here, and I thought I'd offer only suggestions for everyone's benefit. But now, I'm being targeted by the boss instead. It's so tough out here!"

I tapped on Alice's profile photo, a meticulously touched-up selfie, and read her bio. It read, "I'm a Gen Z challenging workplace norms."

Challenging workplace norms?

I felt like she was challenging my IQ more than anything else.

I was Jacqueline Knox, the only daughter of the chairman of Knox Group, Philip Knox.

I hadn't wanted to be thrust immediately into the family company right after graduation and be under scrutiny by the other veterans there, so I just took the allowance Dad gave me and started my own company, JK Media & Advertising, instead.

My initial goal was very simple. I just wanted to create a dream company where my employees and I all loved working at.

I never forced them to clock in, never checked their attendance, and didn't even set KPIs for any of my employees.

The free afternoon tea was also provided by a famous five-star hotel, with freshly ground coffee straight from its origins. Even the hand soaps provided for free in the bathroom stalls were top-quality branded items.

I thought my employees would treat me well as long as I treated them the same way. However, reality slapped me hard in the face.

Just then, there was a knock at my office door.

My secretary, Callie Walters, entered. She placed a glass of warm water next to me and had a somewhat grim expression on her face.

"Ms. Knox, the atmosphere outside isn't right. It's a little…tense. Everyone's talking about the afternoon tea being canceled, and Alice won't stop fanning the fire either, saying that…"

"What did she say about me?"

I lifted the glass of water and took a small sip.

"They're saying that you're… You're someone who can't take a joke and take it out on them instead."

Callie cautiously observed my expression while saying that.

I chuckled coldly. "They say that I can't take a joke? Well, in that case, I'd better give them a run for their money and play along with them."

I grabbed my phone and texted the company's CFO.

"Redo the payroll for this month and convert the afternoon tea budget into cash, adding 1100 dollars per person per month to their salary. State clearly in the remarks that it's a subsidy for the afternoon tea. Then, issue the payroll tomorrow."

After sending out the message, I got up and looked out through the gap in the blinds.

Alice was touching up her makeup in the common area, using a mirror in her hand, and was surrounded by three of my long-time employees.

I recognized who they were.

The first one was Gerard Smith from the design department, and he'd been working for me for two years. His work was mediocre, but he was quite docile and obedient. He had two children at home, and I had specifically approved an extra 1000 dollars for him every month as his "childcare subsidy".

The second one was Lucy Todd from the copywriting department. She was 35 years old and divorced with a child. She cried and begged me to give her a job back then, and I took pity on her and hired her, making sure to take good care of her throughout the years.

The last one was Fiona Swanson, from the administration department. She was a recent graduate who usually seemed very well-behaved.

Yet, at that moment, they were standing around Alice with a look of righteous indignation on their faces.

Alice wouldn't stop rolling her eyes while applying her lipstick, seemingly mimicking my tone and manner when I spoke, causing the people around her to burst into laughter.

I closed the blinds as the last shred of warmth in my heart dissipated.

Since they thought the five-star afternoon tea I'd gone to the trouble of providing was garbage that even pigs refused to eat, then they probably weren't going to be able to handle all the "benefits" I was about to toss at them.

It was payday the next day.

The notification sounds of salaries being deposited into the employees' bank accounts echoed from their phones throughout the office.

I sat in my office, listening to the commotion outside.

Normally, it would be a huge, joyous thing for anyone to suddenly receive an additional 1100 dollars on top of their usual salary at a company. After all, this was real cash that could be repurposed for something else, like paying off mortgages, buying something nice, or eating a nice meal.

However, there was no cheering or celebration outside as I had imagined. Instead, there was a loud, eerie silence that was later interrupted by hushed whispers.

I got up and grabbed my mug to get some water from the pantry.

I hadn't even walked to the door when I heard Alice's shrill voice coming from inside.

"What the hell? Only 1100 dollars? I thought we were going to get even more than that!"

Lucy's voice was heard. She sounded a little hesitant. "Actually, it's quite a sum of money… That's enough to pay for my kid's piano lessons every month."

"You're too easily satisfied, Lucy!" Alice explained in frustration. "Just think about that afternoon tea we used to have! The boss said it was from a five-star hotel with a budget of 50 dollars per person.

"Sure, there are 22 working days in a month, and that all adds up to 1100 dollars per person per month. But just think about it!"

She deliberately paused for dramatic effect, then raised her voice by several decibels. "I'm sure that the company's purchasing department definitely gets discounts for buying in bulk!

"Also, who's to say that those snacks and cakes were really from a five-star hotel? How would we know they're not just from some no-name bakery? The invoices are definitely fake! I bet the boss has been taking a huge cut out of it on the regular!"

"What? That can't be true," Fiona said in shock. "The packaging looked legit."

"How much could that kind of packaging possibly cost?" Alice shot back with a sneer. "You're all too naive. What kind of boss isn't a capitalist who loves squeezing out every penny they can get from you?

"Sure, Ms. Knox might have given us the money now, and it looks like a thousand dollars, but if you think about it, it's now turned into taxable income for all of us! Also, I bet she's doing this to evade taxes! Maybe even for money laundering!"

"Money laundering?"

This time, Gerard's shocked voice rang out. "Alice, you can't simply make things up like this."

"What do you mean I'm making things up?" Alice retorted confidently. "I have a friend who works in the IRS. He sees common tactics like this all the time.

"Bosses distribute company profits to their employees under the guise of employee benefits just to keep the books balanced, but in reality, they are the ones pocketing the lion's share of the money! In other words, this 1100 dollars is just hush money!"

"Oh my God… That's just outrageous!" Lucy said with a sigh. "And to think that I used to think of Ms. Knox as a nice person in the past."

"A nice person? Could a nice person afford to drive luxury cars or carry around Birkin bags?" Alice scoffed.

"That Porsche 911 was most definitely bought with our hard-earned money! Just think about it! We are the ones working ourselves to death every single day with overtime and such, but all she needs to do is pop by, check in on us, and leave. Who gave her the right to even do so?"

"She's right. 1100 dollars is nothing compared to hiring a personal chef for us," Lucy said, beginning to take Alice's side.

"I once posted a photo of the donut online, but some people said that they'd bought the same type in bulk from Costgo. If Ms. Knox really hired a Kitchelin chef to make our afternoon tea, imagine how proud I'd be to post about it online!"

"Ms. Knox always dresses so elegantly. I never expected her to be so stingy and not even willing to offer any emotional value to us."

I stood outside the door, gripping the mug so tightly in my hands that the knuckles turned white.

This was human nature, after all. They'd appreciate me being nice to them just a little, but not when I was being excessively so. Now, they were resentful toward me instead.

I had personally paid out of pocket to subsidize everyone in the company, asking for nothing in return, as I just wanted to have fun. And yet, I ended up raising a bunch of ungrateful wenches.

I turned and went back into my office, posting a new announcement in the company's Slack channel.

"As a token of appreciation for everyone's hard work, the company has decided to hold a team-building event next month in the Palmives for 7 days and 6 nights.

"There'll be a chartered flight straight to the destination at an all-inclusive 5-star island with a budget of 10,000 dollars per person. It's paid leave, and all expenses will be covered."

The Slack group exploded the moment the message was sent out.

"Oh my God, thank you, Ms. Knox!"

"What? The Palmives? I've been dreaming of going there!"

"And with a budget of 10,000 dollars per person too? What kind of amazing company is this?"

"I love you, Ms. Knox!"

I remained expressionless as I looked at the screen full of stickers, emojis, and praises for me.

The very same people who were calling me "heartless" and accusing me of "money laundering" just a while ago were now sending grateful, overjoyed stickers and emojis in the chat.

Lucy said, "Thank you so much for your generosity, Ms. Knox! I knew that having you as my boss was the best choice ever!"

Gerard then said, "Thanks so much, Ms. Knox! I'll go check out the travel agenda right now!"

Fiona said, "Wait, I need to go shopping first! I wanna look nice in my photos!"

They sure changed their minds more quickly than a woman would.

Just as everyone was getting excited for the trip, an untimely message popped up.

It was from Alice.

"The Palives? That's a place for the nouveau riche. It's too hot and tacky."

Everyone in the group chat stopped talking at once.

She continued.

"Who the hell is still going to the islands for vacations these days? It's always packed full of tourists. The real class is going to Northern Yewrope to see the Northern Lights while staying in a glass igloo. That's a real-life experience!"

She then tagged me in the chat and said, "You're not trying to save money just by picking an island, are you? Or is your taste just stuck at this stage?"

I looked at the screen as a grin curled on my lips. I then replied to her.

"Going to Northern Yewrope at this time of the year? It's polar night, and temperatures range from -4 to -20 at night. You won't be able to do anything but stay indoors the whole time.

"Also, the visa processing for Northern Yewrope is complicated and very time-consuming. We're going next month, and there's not enough time to get all the paperwork done."

Alice replied at once.

"The visa is an administrative problem. It's on you if you can't get it done. As for the cold, that's just because you don't know how to appreciate things. Can a tacky island compare to romantic nights under the Northern Lights at all?"

Then, she changed the subject and said, "Also, what the hell do you mean by only budgeting 10,000 dollars per person to the Palmives? We wouldn't even be able to live in a sandcastle with that money.

"If you can't afford to take us to Northern Yewrope, then there's really no point in going on the so-called team-building trip anymore."

Next, she started a poll in the group.

"Suggestions for the team-building trip: A. Suffering in the Palmives (too much sun, fatigue, exhaustion, and being forced to share rooms with colleagues.

"B. Get 10,000 dollars in cash and let everyone plan their own fun (isn't it better spending it on whatever you want?)"

After sending the poll, she tagged everyone in the group and said, "Stop being stupid. So-called team-building events like these are just a stupid excuse for you to continue working in a different place.

"You're still going to have to behave yourself and take part in stupid team-building games and shit until you're all tired out. Wouldn't it be better if you got the cash instead? It's 10,000 dollars! That's almost enough for you to buy a Birkin bag or pay off half your mortgage!"

People began voting as soon as the poll opened.

Initially, a couple of people still chose option A. Maybe they were the ones who truly wanted to go on the trip.

However, Alice then began berating them.

"Are the people who chose option A daft or what? Why the heck wouldn't you want free money?"

After a while, those who chose the first option immediately retracted their votes and chose the second option instead.

In less than ten minutes, all 28 employees in the company, aside from Callie and me, had chosen option B.

Then people began making snide, sarcastic remarks in the Slack channel.

Gerard said, "Since you already have the budget for it, Ms. Knox, just go ahead and give us the money. I just had a baby, and I need the money for her formula. This 10,000 dollars is going to save my ass."

Lucy said, "That's right, Ms. Knox. We don't want the team-building event. We just want to rest. We're already tired enough from working all day, and even though time off would be nice, it's still tiring to still have to face the same colleagues every day. It's too suffocating. Just give us the cash. It's a win-win situation for all."

Fiona added, "Alice is right. I could go on a few other trips myself with 10,000 dollars in cash. I bet the company would get discounts and rebates anyway when booking trips like this, and the actual 10,000-dollar budget would ultimately be worth maybe 5000 dollars. That would be a huge loss for us all."

Alice then sent a smug emoji in the chat and said, "The eyes of the masses are discerning, Ms. Knox. Just go with the flow and give the people what they want."

I read the messages and found everything to be too absurd to be true.

This 10,000-dollar budget per person was all coming from my own personal account. I was the one who had planned to pay for everything out of pocket. And now, they didn't just refuse to go, but they were also demanding to pocket my money too.

Who gave them the guts to demand such a thing?

Was it just because they were smug and arrogant about it?

I inhaled deeply and typed out my reply.

"Since everyone doesn't want to go, the team-building trip is canceled."

The channel went silent for a while. Everyone was waiting for me to mention the payout.

Instead, I typed, "As for the payment, company policy states the team-building expenses are a special welfare fund, earmarked for specific purposes.

"Without the team-building activity, this money will automatically be returned to the treasury and will not be paid out."