Chapter 3

The second I hit send, the Slack channel exploded.

Within a minute, more than twenty employees were flooding the chat with their excitement.

The same people who had been calling me a "hypocrite" and "exploiter" behind my back were now practically worshipping me.

I watched their phony praise with cold eyes.

And then, Leo chimed in.

Leo: "Hang on, everyone, let's chill for a second. An island trip? A little cliché, to be honest."

The chat went silent.

Leo: "A truly tasteful team-building trip would be a mindfulness retreat in the Swiss Alps. That's real class. @Asher, not to question your decision, but a beach trip feels like a basic influencer package deal."

My fingers hovered over the keyboard.

This guy just didn't quit.

I typed back: "Leo, it's March. It's still ski season in the Alps. And high-end retreats in Switzerland require booking six months in advance."

Leo: "Those are just excuses. A boss who really cared about giving his employees the best experience would have planned it in advance."

Excuses?

I took a deep breath and kept typing. "Grace Bay Beach in Turks and Caicos has been voted the world's best beach for years running. Private jet, overwater villas, a Michelin-level private chef. If that's 'cliché,' then I'm very curious to hear your definition of 'tasteful.'"

Leo: "Asher, don't get so defensive. I'm just saying that $10,000 might not even cover the best overwater villas during peak season. Rather than settle for less..."

He changed his tune and immediately started a poll in the channel.

"Team Trip Poll"

A. Suffer through a boring island trip

B. Take the $10,000 cash instead

I stared at the poll options, my blood pressure skyrocketing.

'Suffer through a boring island trip'?

That's how he described the luxury trip I had just put together?

Leo kept going: "Everyone, think about this logically. A team trip is just forced socialization. Why waste a week bored on a beach when you could just have $10,000 in cash?"

Leo: "Think about what you could do with $10,000! Pay off student loans, invest in crypto, help out your family..."

Karen was the first to respond: "Leo has a point. My family could really use that money..."

Mike was right behind her: "My daughter's medical bills are a constant burden. If we could get the cash instead..."

Jessica: "Yeah! $10,000 would pay off more than half my student loans!"

David: "Cash is just more practical. The trip is nice, but the money is more useful."

I watched the poll results climb in real time.

5 votes for B.

10 votes for B.

15 votes for B.

20 votes for B.

In less than ten minutes, every single person in the company, besides me and Sam, had voted for the cash.

23 to 0.

A landslide "victory."

Leo was gloating in the channel: "See? People are rational. Asher, you need to respect the actual needs of your employees."

Karen: "Asher, can you understand our situation? $10,000 would be life-changing for my family."

Mike: "Yeah, boss. The trip is tempting, but we have real-life bills to pay."

Jessica: "Asher, the cash is just more meaningful than a vacation!"

I sat at my desk, staring at their self-righteous demands on the screen.

It was absurd. Utterly absurd.

This quarter-of-a-million dollars wasn't coming from the company budget. It was coming out of my own pocket, from my trust fund.

I had wanted to use my own money to give them an unforgettable experience. And they treated it like a standard benefit they were entitled to.

They even demanded I convert it to cash.

As if I owed it to them. As if it was theirs to claim.

I watched Leo stoke the flames in the chat, watched the greed shining in Karen's and Mike's messages, watched everyone else fall in line.

My kindness was just that cheap in their eyes.

I typed one last line:

"Since nobody wants to go, the team trip is canceled. As for the cash option, that budget was a personal gift, not a company benefit. The offer is now withdrawn."

Chapter 4

Three seconds after I sent the message, the same employees who’d just been kissing my ass went ballistic.

Karen: “What do you mean, retracted? You promised!”

Mike: “This is a scam! You can't do this to us!”

Jessica: “Classic bait and switch! You went back on your word!”

David: “What the hell, Asher? Are you bipolar?”

Leo: “See? This is what a greedy capitalist pig looks like!”

Before I could even reply, my office door was thrown open.

Leo stormed in, followed by Karen, Mike, Jessica, David, and a few other employees.

"Asher!" Leo spat my name, his finger practically in my face. "This is wage theft! Wage theft!"

I leaned back in my chair, looking at the mob of self-proclaimed "victims."

"This is my office. Knock next time."

"Cut the crap!" Leo whipped out his phone and started a livestream, aiming it at me. "Everyone, look! This is Austin's most infamous two-faced tech bro! He promised his employees a $10,000 team-building budget, and now he's taking it back!"

The viewer count on his TikTok live started jumping.

Comments flooded the screen like a waterfall.

Karen shoved her face toward the camera, her expression crumbling into pure misery. "That $10,000 would change my family's life! My kid is sick! How can he be so cruel?"

Mike’s eyes were red, his voice trembling. "My daughter has medical bills piling up! That money is a lifeline for us! Asher, if you don't give us the money, what happens to my daughter?"

I watched their performance. It was absurd. Ridiculous.

"Everyone," I said calmly. "The team-building fund was a personal gift, not a contractual obligation. I have every right to take it back."

"A personal gift?" Leo sneered. "Stop pretending! This is a company benefit! You made a promise, and you have to deliver!"

"I never promised a cash payout."

"Then why'd you cancel the trip?" Karen demanded. "You said we were going to Turks and Caicos!"

"Because you all voted not to go."

"Then give us the cash!" Mike said, his voice rising. "The money's already set aside!"

Leo yelled into his phone's camera. "Did you all hear that? He just doesn't want to give us the money! I've already looked up his company's registration!"

I narrowed my eyes. "You looked up what?"

"You're running your personal luxury expenses through the company account! Your Tesla, your fancy watches, your mansion! All bought with the value your employees created!"

The live chat exploded.

“THAT'S SICK!”

“REPORT HIM!”

“This kind of boss deserves to go bankrupt!”

"Leo," I said with a cold laugh. "What do you know about corporate finance?"

"I know enough! Don't try to bullshit your way out of this!"

Jessica jumped in. "Asher, if you're tight on cash, just say so. We can understand."

"Yeah," Karen nodded. "Times are tough for everyone. But you can't lie to your employees."

Mike even started offering "compassionate" advice. "How about this? $10,000 is a lot. Just give us $5,000. We're not picky."

I just sat there, looking at these people completely blinded by greed.

The sheer entitlement was staggering.

They thought me canceling a personal gift was "cruel" and a "scam."

And now they were pitying me? Thinking I was broke? The absurdity was almost funny.

Leo kept working the camera. "This is late-stage capitalism at its ugliest! Promising employee benefits and then taking them back! I'm going to show the whole world what a piece of shit boss you really are!"

"Asher Sterling, get ready to be unfollowed and blocked!"

"I'll make sure you can't do business in Austin again!"

"Everyone will know what you're really like!"

Karen and Mike chimed in.

"Exactly! He can't get away with this!"

"He doesn't deserve to be a boss!"

I listened to them rant, my fingers drumming on the desk.

It seemed they really had no idea what the name Sterling meant in the business world.

I took out my phone and sent a text to Sam.

Leo was still performing for his audience. "See! He's guilty! He's playing on his phone to distract himself!"

"That's classic avoidance behavior!"

"Classic narcissist."