I suppressed my anger. “Mr. Reid, we accepted that we would not get an increment during the mid-year adjustment, but you promised to make it up to us with the year-end bonus!”

Hank slammed his cup against the table.

“Mindy! Watch your attitude!

“The company has its own considerations. The administration department has no KPIs, so naturally, according to the amount of contributions recorded, you’re the last! What’s wrong with that?”

“But in the past…”

“The past is the past!” Hank interrupted me. “We have to change if we want to grow. In the future, the administration department has to balance its own profits and losses. You can’t just depend on the company to cover all of your expenses!”

I stood up.

“I understand now. In your eyes, we’re not a critical department.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to say it. Your actions were loud enough.”

I turned around and left.

“Wait!”

Hank’s voice became cold.

“Mindy, you’ve been the administration manager for eight years. Why are you so narrow-minded? Just because of the year-end bonus, you’re giving me an attitude. How would the other departments view you?”

I turned around and met his eyes.

“Mr. Reid, I don’t mind suffering, but my subordinates are waiting for the year-end bonus. Patricia’s husband has to go for a check-up, Sam’s going to get married soon, and Autumn plans to bring her mother to see a doctor…”

“Those are their family matters. What does it have to do with the company?”

Hank waved impatiently.

“We’re not a charity. We can’t just give employees more money just because they’re facing some family problems. If you’re unhappy with this, you can bring it up to the labor court. Let’s see if they’ll handle your case!”

I was stunned.

He was completely shameless.

“Fine. Let me find out then.”

Hank sneered, “Suit yourself. But let me remind you, if you burn bridges, no one will dare to hire you in the future!”

I did not answer him.

I left, slamming the door behind me.

After I left Hank’s office, I bumped into Andrea Carpenter, the HR director, in the corridor.

She smiled and stepped forward to link arms with me.

“Mindy, what a coincidence! I was looking for you. Let’s go to my office?”

I did not reject her invitation.

Andrea poured me a glass of water and sat opposite me. She frowned and sighed.

“Why bother?”

My head snapped up as I stared at her in disbelief.

“Why bother? Andrea, they’re my subordinates. All of them are waiting for the year-end bonus!

“Patricia’s husband has found that there’s something wrong with his liver, and he’s been using conservative treatment methods. Patricia wants to bring him to a bigger state hospital to get it checked out.

“Sam only found a girlfriend when he was over 30 years old. He’s hoping to use the year-end bonus to host a wedding to celebrate.

“Autumn promised to bring her mother on a tropical vacation. Her mother felt unwell during the winter due to arthritis…”

“But the company isn’t a charity. We have to follow our SOPs. We can’t just give some employees more bonuses just because they’re having some issues,” Andrea said indifferently.

“Fine. Then, let’s not talk about their struggles!”

I pulled out a chair and sat down. Then, I took out my phone.

“Let’s talk about contributions! Our department is ranked last in the annual review. According to the contribution distribution, we have contributed nothing! Now, let’s look at the administration department’s contributions!”

I opened my email.

“This year, the company signed 63 contracts in total. The administration department did the approval, printing, and archiving of every single contract. If we outsource this to a law firm, they would charge us three thousand dollars just for the approval process. It would be two hundred thousand dollars for all 63 contracts.

“The company was only able to pass the environmental assessment last year because the administration department visited over twenty government centers and prepared hundreds of documents. We spent over three months on this. If we outsource this to an agency, the market rate is fifteen hundred thousand dollars at the minimum.

“Besides that, we also manage our suppliers, all 47 of them. We managed to lengthen our credit terms from 30 days to 60 days for 12 of our suppliers. With this, we’ve already helped the company to improve its cash flow!

“There are only five of us in the administration department. Our average salary per month is only six thousand dollars per person. The annual spending is just three hundred and sixty thousand dollars. Any one of the contributions I had mentioned earlier is worth more than that! And you don’t think these count as contributions?”

Andrea was speechless. She thought for a long time before saying, “We’re not saying that you didn’t contribute to the company. However, the administration department truly didn’t contribute to direct profit. You’re only spending in our financial report…”

I sneered.

“Then, let’s look at our workload.”

I took out our attendance report.

“For the entirety of last year, the average overtime per person was 42 hours per month. When our office relocated over the Fourth of July weekend, we worked for 72 hours straight without resting.

“When customers visited during Easter, we arranged everything from their flights, accommodations, food, and even the meeting room decorations. We didn’t even manage to eat dinner.

“What was the overtime fee we received? 18 dollars! Even working at a regular convenience store, we’d get paid 22 dollars!”

I paused and said firmly.

“18 dollars per hour, and we’re working so hard. Then, we’re given brooms to ‘sweep’ away our bad luck. Andrea, do you think this is reasonable?”

Andrea’s face turned cold.

“Mindy, stop focusing on your minor contributions. You should look at other departments. Sales, marketing… They’ve contributed a lot more than you.”

I stood up and rolled my eyes.

“What contributions? Delaying our claims?

“The administration department has helped all other departments by paying for their expenses first. More than eighty thousand dollars in claims still have not been reimbursed to us! The finance department keeps delaying their approval, and their reason is that the SOP isn’t right! Which step of the SOP is wrong? We’ve always submitted our claims that way!

“Let’s talk about the planning department, which is led by Hank’s nephew. They came up with three proposals. Our clients complained that one of those proposals had been plagiarized. We forked up fifty thousand dollars for PR. That sum of money was deducted from the administration department’s budget! Are these the contributions you’re talking about?”

The more I talked, the more unfair I felt this was.

“Besides, your department only focuses on attendance and sanctions! You deduct fifty dollars if the person is late by one minute, and you deduct a hundred dollars if they forget to tap in. If their work desk isn’t tidy, they’re fined fifty dollars. Last year alone, you’d have received more than thirty thousand dollars in fines. Where did the money go?”

I sneered.

“How incredible! You’re all huge contributors! Since the company feels that the administration department hasn’t provided any contributions, don’t expect us to stay back and work overtime for free! We’re honest people, but we’re not dumb! With the past promises falling through, we’ve learned that empty promises are all you have!”

I ignored Andrea’s dark expression, turned around, and left.

I heard the sound of a teacup shattering.

I thought she was being nice, but she was just helping Hank.

Andrea must be part of the team that planned that segment of the annual dinner.

When I returned to the administration department, my subordinates all looked at me.

I felt a lump in my throat. I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

Sam grimaced. “Based on Mindy’s expression, I bet it’s over for us. Forget about it, I’ll figure something else out for my wedding.”

Autumn wiped her tears. “Just now, everyone pooled some money so I could bring my mother to get basic treatment. I’ll bring her to a specialist in the future.”

Patricia did not say a word as she fidgeted with her phone. She was most likely updating her husband about the potential delay of his check-up.

They were bearing the unfair treatment.

I balled up my fists.

“Patricia, don’t you have a good friend over at HR?”

Patricia nodded. “Yes, Connie. Why?”

“Ask her if there is any latest news in the company.”

Patricia immediately texted Connie Smith. A few minutes later, her expression changed.

“Mindy, Connie said that… Mr. Reid wants to fire our entire department. They wanted to cut our salaries for three years, but they couldn’t. So, they want to hire cheap, fresh graduates instead.

“That’s not all,” Patricia said through gritted teeth. “Andrea has asked the legal department to prepare the documents. She said that if we dare to blow this matter up, they’ll go through all of our accounts to find supplier rebates or discrepancies in reimbursements. They’ll find something to incriminate us.”

“We can’t let this slide. Not this time.”

My voice was hoarse, and my eyes were filled with fury. I was forced to a dead end.

Patricia immediately looked up. “Mindy, do you remember Mr. George from Advance Corporation? Last week, he gave me a call and told me that Advance Corporation is expanding. Their administration department is hiring, and he asked if I’m interested.”

“What did you say?”

“I didn’t say yes. I told him I’d consider it.” Patricia smiled bitterly. “If I knew this was going to happen, I would’ve just agreed to his request.”

“It’s not too late to say yes now,” I said. “Ask him how many positions they are looking to fill.”

“Are you saying that… we’d all join them?”

“Let’s try our luck. If that doesn’t work, we’ll figure something else out.”

Patricia immediately took out her phone. “I’ll call him now.”

Sam’s eyes lit up. “Mindy, Advance Corporation is one of the top companies in our industry! If we can go over…”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I said. “We have to keep this a secret. Before we officially resign, we can’t let the company know where we’re heading.”

“Why?”

“Hank will definitely take revenge. In the past, when he started his business, he poached talent from Mr. George. In light of that, they have bad blood. If he finds out that we are all planning to join Advance Corporation, he’ll definitely play dirty tricks on us.”

“Got it,” Sam said, nodding. “We’ll listen to you, Mindy.”

Patricia was on the phone for half an hour.

After the call ended, she came out smiling.

“Mr. George said Advance Corporation is planning to set up a new administration center, and they need a complete team. If we’re interested, we can all go there.”

“What about the pay and benefits?”

“They’ll give us a 30% increment from our salary, and they’ll be giving out bonuses based on their financial quarters. They’ll also cover all statutory payments for us. He can arrange interviews for us starting next week.”

Autumn stood up in excitement. “Really?”

“Mr. George said it himself. Of course, it’s true.”

Sam slapped his thigh. “Then, what are we waiting for?”

“Let’s not rush,” I said, rubbing my hands together. “There are a few things that we have to do.

“Firstly, tidy and organize all the information you have on hand. Make copies and take photos of everything.

“Secondly, continue working as usual. Don’t show any signs that we’ll be leaving. We’ll only submit our resignation letters once we complete our interviews and receive an official offer.

“Thirdly, let’s try to find the law for resignation. We have to make sure they follow it strictly in terms of compensation.

“Finally,” I said, then paused. “There’s something wrong with this company’s accounts, and we have the evidence.”

All four of them looked at me.

“Last year, when we were treating the clients, Hank asked us to put it on the company’s tab for his personal expenses. Have you forgotten about that? And as for those few business trips that he brought his mistress on, he put his flight and hotel expenditures on the company’s account too.”

Sam gasped. “That’s fraud…”

“That’s not all,” I said. “Three of our suppliers are companies belonging to Hank’s uncle. Every year, we pay them millions of dollars, but they do nothing for us. These dealings are suspicious, as they’re taking up the company’s resources.”

Patricia’s expression changed. “Mindy, are you saying…”

“I have said nothing.” I looked at her. “I’m just reminding you to keep your receipts. Just in case you need it, you’ll still have evidence.”

Everyone nodded absent-mindedly.

The next week, our potential job-hopping strategy was going according to plan.

Advance Corporation was serious about poaching us. Adrian George personally arranged our interviews, and all five of us passed the interviews and received our offers.

Our start date would fall on the first day of the following month. It was perfect for our notice period.

I thought everything was going according to plan.

Then, Friday afternoon, Hank suddenly called for an urgent meeting via company email.

[All staff have to attend an emergency meeting at three in the afternoon. There are some important updates on company resources.]

My heart sank.

At three in the afternoon, the meeting room was filled with all the company’s employees.

Hank stood at the front, and an unfamiliar young man stood next to him. The young man wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and he was dressed professionally. It was obvious that he had studied overseas.

“I have one announcement to make today.”