As the year ended and payday finally arrived, my salary still hadn't hit my bank account.

I headed straight to the finance department to sort it out, but Sarah Thompson dismissed me impatiently. "You picked up those coupons last week, didn't you? The ones for "Spend 2,000, save 1,000". You got ten of them, adding up to $10,000. Your salary is $8,000, and that extra $2,000 is a perk."

I stared at her, stunned. No one had said a word about this when the coupons were handed out. Worse, they could only be redeemed at our boss's supermarket, where commodities were ridiculously marked up.

Items that cost $19.99 at a regular supermarket went for $49.99 there, more than double the price.

It dawned on me that the boss was just shuffling money from one pocket to another, which meant I had been basically working for free.

I shoved the coupons back at her. "I don't want these. Just deposit the cash into my bank account."

Michael Wright walked over with a frown. "What's all the yelling? We gave you an extra $2,000, and you are not even grateful? You're stirring up trouble for nothing. You'd spend your salary on stuff anyway. We're just making it convenient."

My voice rose, shaking with fury. "What you're doing is illegal!"

He laughed, cold and scornful. "Then sue me. I manage things here. You think I'd be scared by a minor employee like you?"

Right then, my phone buzzed with a text notification: [Lisa Matthews, congratulations on securing the Enforcement Officer position at the tax bureau.]

I was munching on a bagel and scrolling through the screen when the mock civil service exam results came out.

One post caught my eye. It read: [The day I got into the tax bureau, my boss approved my resignation in seconds, and my final paycheck, bonus included, hit my account that same day. Keep in mind that the company had delayed wages more than once before.]

The comments were pure satisfaction: [That's the vibe!]

I smiled, letting myself imagine that someday it could be me, but notifications kept popping up at the top of my phone screen. Even on a lazy weekend, the boss would come up with random demands out of nowhere.

It was beyond annoying. One minute, Michael Wright wanted me to organize client files; the next, he was pushing for a new pitch deck.

The double weekends I'd been promised when I joined had quietly become flexible work from home. The company had just laid off staff in the name of cost-cutting, yet the workload never shrank.

With fewer people, I was now doing the work of three. Since my mother still needed her expensive medications every month, I couldn't resign.

I relied on this lousy paycheck and had no choice but to keep grinding away like a workhorse, putting up with it all.

The mock exam scores dropped at 11 o'clock. "Wow! I improved again! Over 80 on the aptitude test!"

Excitement surged through me as I chomped down on the bagel, but then I slapped my forehead in realization. My mom's meds were due, and so was the rent.

I tried to make the payment, but the transaction failed. That was when it hit me that my paycheck, which should have arrived on the 15th, still hadn't arrived by the 25th.

The next day, I marched straight to the finance office, where Sarah Thompson brushed me off without looking up. "You picked up those coupons last week, didn't you? The ones for "Spend 2,000, save 1,000". You got ten of them, adding up to $10,000. Your salary is $8,000, and that extra $2,000 is a perk."

I froze. "Wasn't that supposed to be a benefit?"

She rolled her eyes and jabbed at the microscopic print at the bottom. I had to squint hard to make it out.

"This coupon offsets the monthly salary. Acceptance implies agreement. Final interpretation rights belong to Hida Enterprises," she explained.

Who would notice print that small? I slapped the stack down. "I don't want these. I need cash for rent and my mother's medication."

She pulled out a sign-in log. "You signed for them last week. This month's salary is in the form of coupons."

I laughed, bitter and incredulous. "What kind of shady clause is this? And these coupons only work at some sketchy supermarket where a $19.99 shampoo costs $49.99. So, after busting my ass for a month, I end up subsidizing the capitalist?"

A sharp voice cut in. "Finished your work yet? I didn't hire you to chat."

That irritable tone was unmistakable. It belonged to Michael Wright, who was a pro at gaslighting employees. I quickly explained the whole situation to him, but he just nodded as if it was perfectly reasonable.

"That's company policy. Plus, we gave you an extra $2,000. Show some gratitude instead of causing trouble," he said. "You spend your salary on stuff anyway. We're just making it convenient."

My hands shook with rage, but the thought of my mom's illness held me back. Forcing a smile, I tried to negotiate calmly. "My mom needs ongoing treatment and meds. I really can't manage without cash."

He nodded thoughtfully. "I get it, Lisa. You're a key player here, we'll definitely have your back."

My heart lifted with hope as he instructed Sarah, "Bring it out."

A stack of crisp bills appeared. I started to thank him, but then Sarah produced a loan agreement.

"We understand your struggles," Michael said smoothly. "So, we'll lend you $8,000 at 10% monthly interest."

He tapped the form. "Sign here, and the money is yours."

I was exasperated. I had been doing the work of three people, working late nights and on weekends, and now I was supposed to owe the company?

"Labor laws state..." I started to protest.

Michael's face darkened immediately. "You want to quit? Do you know how hard it is to find jobs these days? If you don't want it, plenty of others do."

I took a deep breath, the truth of his words stinging. Still, the humiliation burned hotter the longer I stood there.

I met his eyes without flinching. "I can resign, but you will settle my salary in full. And I closed that thirty-million-dollar deal, so you should pay me the $1.5-million bonus you promised."

"You can walk out right now, but you won't see a penny," he snorted.

One of the few colleagues hurried in, grabbed my arm, and pulled me away. "I'll lend you the money for your mom's meds. Don't do anything rash. Jobs are tough to come by right now."

I caught my breath and calmed down a bit. An idea began to take shape.

Back at my desk, I ignored the endless notifications and studied the coupons. The store was called Sally's Market, which rang a bell. I decided to drive there after work to confirm my suspicion.

I arrived just in time to see Michael drop Sarah off at the entrance. They shared a long, passionate kiss, clearly reluctant to part.

As far as I remembered, Michael was married. Hida Enterprises had been built with heavy investment from his wife's family. That lady was infamous for her fierce temper.

I snapped a few photos with my phone. Along with the coupons, I anonymously sent them to his wife.

The next day, just as Michael was about to nitpick my proposal to pieces and declare it worthless, Natalie Wright stormed in. "Michael Wright, you scumbag! How dare you cheat on me right in the company?"

She swung her purse at him, reached up on her tiptoes, grabbed his ear, and twisted.

Michael yelped in pain. "Honey, this must be a misunderstanding. I'm the boss here. Spare me some face."

Natalie's voice rose even higher. "Misunderstanding?"

She slammed the photos and coupons onto the desk, jabbing at them. "What's this? Do you think I'm blind? You sleazy jerk, skimming employee wages to pamper your mistress?"

Right then, the people she brought dragged Sarah out into the open. Seething with rage, Natalie slapped her hard. "You shameless slut! How dare you seduce my husband?"

Sarah was stunned by the blows, wailing and struggling.

Besides me, a few other unlucky employees had also been paid with coupons. Now, everyone saw the real reason, cursing under their breaths, "Serves them right!"

Natalie forced Michael to fire Sarah on the spot and reclaim those worthless coupons.

I stared at my phone as the 8,000 dollars finally hit my account. For the first time in weeks, I smiled so widely that my eyes crinkled.

The 2025 Civil Service Exam was happening this weekend. After a full year of preparation, I was ready.

After the test, I checked my answers. The hope was high.

While waiting for the results, I kept working and praying.

With Michael's affair exposed as a cautionary tale, Natalie installed her siblings in key business departments and finance. She even dropped by the office from time to time, keeping Michael on a tight leash.

One day, as I was about to finalize a major deal, Michael called me in. "Those clients will be handled by Ethan Stephens from now on. He's new and struggling. You're our top performer. Should focus on new businesses."

I stood my ground, looking him straight in the eye. "I nurtured those leads from the start. The deals are basically locked in, totaling around $10 million in sales. The $500,000 commission is definitely mine."

"What are you thinking?" he scoffed. "Without the company, those leads wouldn't exist. Commission goes to whoever closes deals."

I laughed coldly, understanding his game. With his love affair having been caught, he was trying to use my hard-earned results to butter up his wife and her family.

Met with my defiance, he raised an eyebrow and tapped hard on the desk. "Get this straight, Lisa. You're just an employee. We're the ones feeding you. Ethan is my brother-in-law and basically your boss too."

I could hardly believe the feudal nonsense coming out of his mouth. "We signed an employment contract, not a deed of sale."

"No difference," Michael snorted. "I decide what you do every single day. The only reason you have food on your table is that I approve the checks. First rule of being an employee: obey. I give orders, and you carry them out. No questions asked."

Rage ignited in my chest, hot and bright. If not for the $1.5-million commission waiting at year-end, I would have thrown the files in his face.

Fine. I'd like to see what this incompetent hack could pull off.

After stepping out of his office, I slipped into the stairwell and began calling my clients with a sly smile. "Regarding our deal, there's something important we need to discuss about our cooperation."

Time flew by, and before I knew it, the results of the civil service exam were released. I ranked first in both the written and interview sections. I jumped up, my heart pounding with joy.

The next morning, I arrived early at the office and settled into my desk. Behind closed doors, Michael was heard screaming at Ethan.

Delighted, I hummed under my breath. Ethan was utterly incompetent, and as a direct result, the projected sales plummeted by a staggering 20%.

Soon, the annual gala arrived, complete with the much-anticipated bonus award ceremony. Surprisingly, Michael called Ethan to the stage first, handing him a check for 500,000 dollars and encouraging him to keep up the good work in the coming year.

The other employees exchanged puzzled glances, all knowing how useless Ethan was.

Next, Michael announced my name with a beaming smile. He praised my sales record and urged me to keep contributing. I smiled politely, but my mind was fixed solely on the money.

To secure that $30-million deal, I worked through countless late nights, endured rejection after rejection, and sat through endless dinners until I nearly vomited.

That money was earned with blood, sweat, and tears. With it, I could finally take my mother abroad for surgery and end her daily suffering.

Once his speech concluded, Michael clapped his hands enthusiastically, prompting a staff member to wheel in three loaded carts.

Pointing to them with a grin, he explained, "Taking a humanistic approach to employee care and considering how hard you've worked this year, we have gone ahead and converted your bonus into these practical items for your convenience."

I stared at the carts piled with shabby, rundown goods, and for a moment, my brain struggled to process the absurdity of it all.

He reached over and picked up a bottle of inferior shampoo from one of the carts. "We've thoughtfully prepared everyday essentials for you, so you won't have to waste time shopping by yourself. And knowing about your mother's situation, we've included walnut and milk powder—excellent nutrition."

I took a closer look, noticing they had expired a full year ago.

"What about my $1.5 million?" I asked.

He gestured back at the goods reassuringly. "Don't worry. The bonus is all accounted for. These items add up to exactly $1.5 million in value. You've done a great job, and we would never shortchange a top performer like you."

He started the applause. "Let's all give a big round of applause for this year's sales champion."

My colleagues in the audience looked at me with mockery or sympathy. I glanced at the price tag of that shampoo that had no proper branding or safety certifications. Absurdly, it was marked at 999 dollars.

So, that was how they had contrived to reach the amount.

Fury welled up inside me, making me grind my teeth in rage. Did this jerk really think I was that gullible?

"I need that money to cover my mom's medical treatment," I insisted. "You can take these goods back. I have no use for them."

Enunciating each word with deliberate clarity, I added, "The contract is explicit. I am entitled to my full$1.5-million commission."

Michael's face hardened, and he launched into a tirade. "Do you have no gratitude? We've bent over backward thinking of every little detail for you, even preparing all your household supplies in advance. These items are worth a full $1.5 million, yet you're greedy for cash?"

Why should the incompetent Ethan walk away with 500,000 dollars while I was stuck with a worthless pile of junk?

My voice rose sharply in outrage. "What you're doing is illegal!"

He let out a disdainful laugh. "Then go ahead and sue me. Am I supposed to be afraid of a little punk like you?"

Right then, my phone chimed with an incoming text message: [Lisa Matthews, congratulations on securing the Enforcement Officer position at the tax bureau.]