Our Black Friday sales broke ten million. I allocated a budget of $100,000 and told my deputy to organize a celebration dinner for the team.

However, after the party ended, everyone in the team looked at me in disdain.

I only realized the reason when I heard their complaints in the break room one day.

“Ms. Heaton is such a cheapskate. We made ten million in sales, and she treated us with a $3.99 budget takeout for the celebration.”

“Seriously, I heard from Ms. Reiser that Ms. Heaton kept the money for herself! She just didn’t want to spend it on us.”

My assistant even showed me a post circulating online, accusing me of exploiting employees and lining my own pockets.

I summoned my deputy manager, Casey Reiser, to my office. She fell to her knees in tears and confessed everything.

“I’m so sorry, Ms. Heaton! My daughter needed emergency heart surgery. In a moment of weakness, I misused the funds!”

However, I had clearly seen her daughter sign up for a dance class just yesterday!

Since everyone was so quick to judge without knowing the truth, I would retract the team’s monthly budget of one million then!

“Looks like Ms. Heaton has finally gone broke since she’s even stealing our employee benefits!”

My assistant, Joyce Campbell, stopped reading the forum post aloud. She locked her phone and hesitantly looked at me.

“Ms. Heaton, are you okay?”

I shook my head and suppressed my fury.

“Get Ms. Reiser here now!”

Ten minutes later, Casey Reiser finally dragged her feet into my office. Her eyes looked everywhere but at my face.

“Ms. Heaton, you wanted to see me? Is everything alright?”

“I authorized $100,000 for a celebration party, and you fed a hundred employees $3.99 budget takeouts. Is that correct?”

She instinctively denied it. “No, I didn’t, Ms. Heaton.”

I tossed the printed order receipt of the budget takeout onto the desk. Her face flushed instantly. Her lips moved soundlessly.

It probably never crossed her mind that I would get my hands on this piece of evidence.

I took a deep breath. My nails were biting hard into my palm.

“Casey, you’ve been with this company for years. What were you thinking? Now, people online are calling me a monster who steals my employees’ meal budget! They’re saying I cut benefits and that I’m so broke I have to squeeze my own staff dry!”

I could feel anger surging within my chest. She suddenly dropped to her knees with a thud. Tears streamed down her face.

“Ms. Heaton, I wasn’t thinking straight! I had my reasons.”

Seeing the indifference on my face, she gritted her teeth and said, “My daughter has a heart condition. She needed surgery urgently. I panicked and used the money. But I swear, I’ll pay it all back!”

I almost snorted out loud at that absurd excuse.

She would even jinx her daughter’s health just to cover her lies.

Just yesterday, I had seen her signing her energetic, perfectly healthy daughter up for a dance program at the amusement park.

How could a child supposedly waiting for heart surgery be enrolling in dance classes?

I did not expose her right away. After all, I had not taken photos yesterday. There was no proof. So, I dismissed her with a wave of my hand.

“Thank you, Ms. Heaton. Don’t worry, I’ll return the money!”

She wiped her tears as she backed out of my office.

What happened after that was completely out of my expectations. Not long after, Joyce rushed back into my office.

“Ms. Heaton, Ms. Reiser is crying so hard outside that she’s about to pass out!”

I was stunned. What act was she putting on?

Just then, three senior employees stormed in angrily.

“Taylor Heaton, you’ve gone too far! You’re the one who fed everyone budget takeout, and now, you’re trying to blame it on Ms. Reiser?”

“That’s right! Skimping on a party is one thing, but you’re blocking her medical reimbursement? That’s cold!”

“Ms. Reiser contributed so much to the company. To treat a senior employee like that is very disappointing!”

I was utterly dumbfounded by the accusations.

These three senior technical leads were sent directly from headquarters.

Even if they continued to yell at me, I could not fire them.

I clenched my hands into fists. From their tirade, I had pieced some things together.

Casey had not just shifted all the blame to me but had also fabricated a story about how I had blocked her medical reimbursements.

Before I could say a word in my own defense, Casey rushed in. Her eyes were swollen and red.

“Please, stop! Please!”

She clutched at one of their sleeves as she continued to sob.

“I’m sure Ms. Heaton has her reasons. I’m not like you. I don’t have technical expertise to fall back on. If I upset her and lose my job, how will I ever pay for my daughter’s surgery?”

The employees gathered outside the office whispered among each other.

“Ms. Heaton is mistreating Casey again!”

“She’s obviously jealous of Casey because she’s prettier and more capable than she is!”

Every word stung.

At this point, any explanation would have sounded like an excuse.

In the narrative they had constructed, I was cast as a petty and cruel villain.

Liam Ekhardt turned on me sharply.

“If she fires you, all of us will quit! Let’s see how this company runs without its core team!”

He was even threatening me.

Before I could respond, the senior employees grabbed Casey’s arms and walked toward the door.

Joyce watched me with concern.

“Ms. Heaton, the hundred thousand was drawn from the headquarters account. Casey took it in cash. Right now, we have no direct proof that she kept the money. Maybe I can contact the bank and see if there’s any surveillance footage from the withdrawal.”

I nodded wearily.

I had known for a while that Casey had been eyeing my position.

She was shrewd, calculating, and had a gift for making alliances.

Over the next few days, I showed up at the office exactly on time and kept up a calm routine.

I ignored the sideways glances and the hushed conversations.

By Friday, I wrapped up my work earlier than usual. Just like every week for the past few weeks, I picked up the fruit basket and nutritional supplements I had already prepared.

I was going to visit Jack Heiser, an employee recovering in the hospital from a work-related injury.

He had been rushing to meet a project deadline, working late, and ended up taking a bad fall down the stairs on his way out. The fall sprained his wrist and ankle badly.

It was the right thing to do, both professionally and personally, to visit him weekly.

I parked my car and walked into the hospital with the things I had brought with me.

I knocked and entered. When Jack saw me, there was a brief flash of surprise in his eyes.

There was none of the usual warm and enthusiastic reception I got from a subordinate.

“Ms. Heaton…”

In the living area, I noticed two other familiar faces.

They were Marilyn Fuchs and Debra Grey. Both were senior employees.

When they saw me, they exchanged a glance heavy with unspoken understanding, then slowly pushed themselves to their feet.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Heaton. We didn’t expect you to visit.”

The words were courteous on the surface, but the underlying sarcasm was clear as day.

In my office, I had decided to let their blatant disrespect slide.

I set the fruit basket down on the table.

“Jack, how’re you recovering? The company is very concerned. Please let us know if you need anything.”

Jack did not respond. He simply shifted silently to sit on the edge of the sofa.

It was Debra who spoke next, with a smile on her lips that did not mask the malice beneath it.

“Ms. Heaton, you’re always so personally concerned about Jack. His accident must have been terribly distressing for you.”

A cold weight settled in my stomach. I suppressed my displeasure.

“When an employee is injured, visiting them is part of my responsibility as their manager. I’ve been coming by for weeks.”

“Your responsibility?” Marilyn scoffed.

“Or is it that only young, attractive guys like Jack get special visits from you… with gifts, no less, Ms. Heaton?”

My clutch tightened in my grasp, and my nails dug into my palm. “Mind your words! I am here solely on behalf of the company—”

“On behalf of the company?”

Marilyn cut me off and raised her voice as she said, “That’s funny because we heard that you’ve been asking about Jack’s personal life, like what he likes or if he has a girlfriend… At the last department dinner, you made sure to sit next to him and even served him food yourself. Come on, Ms. Heaton. Sounds like your personal interest isn’t as well-hidden as you think, Ms. Heaton.”

The vulgar insinuations hit me like a bucket of filthy water.

A cold numbness spread through my limbs. When had I ever done those things?

I could not believe they had been spreading such ugly and twisted rumors behind my back!

“What? That’s absolute nonsense!” I was so angry that my voice was trembling. “None of that’s true!”

“True or not, only you know for sure,” said Marilyn, with her tone dripping with sarcasm.

I turned to Jack. I was hoping he would say something.

But Jack just pursed his lips and avoided my eyes. His face was a mix of discomfort and irritation.

It seemed he believed such nonsense!

Just then, my phone rang. It was Casey.

I answered. Her voice was practically dripping with fake concern.

“Ms. Heaton, I heard you went to see Jack again today. I know you care about your employees, but you’ve got to be careful. The gossip at the office is getting out of hand. People are saying you’re playing favorites. I know you’re not that kind of person, of course, but you know how such talk spreads.”

Every word she said sounded like she had my best interests in mind, but she was actually reinforcing the lie.

“Casey, you…”

My jaw clenched so tight in anger that it hurt.

“Ms. Heaton, I only have your best interests at heart.”

She sighed and hung up.

Jack’s face darkened. He glared at me from the sofa. His eyes were filled with humiliation and anger. He clearly thought that I had crossed a line.

“Ms. Heaton, thank you for visiting, but this is just too much! Please don’t come here again! I’m just an employee! Please just leave me alone, okay?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but my throat felt so tight that no words could get past.

I had only wanted to do the right thing as a manager. I had only wanted to check on an employee who had gotten hurt doing his job.

In the end, I said nothing.

I turned stiffly, opened the door, and walked out.

Since no one cared about what was true and untrue, I could not do anything. I took out my phone and called a board member at headquarters.

“Mr. Dublin, I’m formally requesting the cancellation of the special one-million-dollar monthly employee welfare fund I personally petitioned for.”

There was a pause on the other end.

“Taylor, are you sure about this? You put your neck on the line for this. You traded your overperformance bonus from the first half of the year to secure a six-month long-term employee welfare program. It’s only been active for two months. Do you really want to pull the plug now?”

I took a deep breath. I said firmly, “Internal dynamics at the office have become dysfunctional. The program needs to be suspended.”

As expected, the formal email from Finance went out the next morning. The reaction across the company was immediate and loud.

The cancellation of the monthly million meant the evaporation of everything it funded, including the unofficial perks like the team-building events, discretionary project bonuses, the premium snack bars, the Friday afternoon catering, and so on.

“How can she just cancel our funds?”

“Has Taylor gone mad? She caused this mess, so why are we the ones being punished?

“This is a death sentence for morale!”

Marilyn was the first to step forward. She pointed in the direction of my office. “Taylor must be behind this! It’s not enough that she skimmed the celebration budget, but now, she’s gone even further by cutting our monthly one-million welfare fund! She’s trying to run this company to the ground!”

“You’re right! What future is there under a leader like that? All she knows how to do is flirt her way around and slash our benefits!”

A fresh wave of nasty whispers and curses began to pour through the office.

Casey chose that precise moment to make her entrance.

“She didn’t consult any of the management before making that decision. Such a move isn’t just about cutting perks. It’s a complete lack of respect for everyone here!”

Her words were a masterstroke at provocation that effortlessly funneled the simmering collective anger into a white-hot point of rebellion.

“Strike! We have to protest this!”

“That’s right! No funds, no work!”

“Get headquarters involved! Fire Taylor!”

With Casey’s skillful push, over two-thirds of the staff abandoned their workstations.

They gathered in the open office area and chanted slogans. The situation spiraled completely out of control.

“Shame on you, Taylor Heaton! You stole our one-million-dollar perks! We want justice!”

Some of them took photos and videos. They posted them directly into the main company-wide chat and even forwarded them to several executives at headquarters.

The situation had exploded into a full-blown crisis.

The work stoppage alone wiped out over a million dollars in revenue that day.

I was sitting in my office when Mr. Dublin called me from the headquarters. I had never heard him being so serious before.

“Taylor, headquarters is drowning in calls. We’ve received photos and videos. There was a coordinated walkout, staff gathering across the floor, and accusations that you cut the million-dollar benefits fund. This has turned into a full-blown incident. I need an explanation now.”

I watched the dark mass of people gathering outside the window, then spoke into the phone with deliberate calm. “Mr. Dublin, I need you and a formal investigation team from headquarters to come here. Certain matters will only come to light through direct confrontation.”

An hour later, Mr. Dublin arrived in person, accompanied by a team from headquarters.

Casey shot me a triumphant glance before turning to greet him flatteringly.

“Mr. Dublin, thank God you’re here! You have to stand up for all of us. Ms. Heaton skimmed the budget for the celebration party, and now, she’s canceled our monthly one-million-dollar welfare fund without any justification. She’s pushing everyone to the brink. The office is in chaos! Morale has collapsed. People are anxious and angry. We can’t function like this!”

Mr. Dublin’s face darkened with every word. He looked at me and said, “Taylor, what do you have to say for yourself? You were the one who filed the special request for this fund, and you were the one who shut it down. Given the fallout, this rests squarely on you.”

Casey looked as if she could barely contain her glee. She believed that my dismissal from the company was inevitable.

I walked forward slowly and took a folder and a USB drive from Joyce.

“I’d like to clarify something about that one-million-dollar fund. It’s not part of the company’s standard operating budget. It was secured through a special request I filed with headquarters. It was funded entirely by the project bonus I earned for exceeding our team’s first-half performance targets. It was the money that would have been paid to me. I exchanged it for a six-month dedicated employee welfare program.”

A ripple of whispers rose in the crowd.

Casey’s confident smirk faltered.

I continued, “I canceled the fund because I discovered that it was used as a weapon to attack the management instead. Since its purpose has become so corrupt, I exercised my right to revoke it.”

Without another word, I plugged the USB drive into the computer.

Surveillance footage from the bank began to play on the large screen. There, clear as day, was Casey’s face, captured on camera.