My boss, Jessica Harrington, announced, "Starting today, I'm giving you special authority. Any reimbursement that doesn't meet standards, just reject it. Send it back for revisions until it's qualified!

"And at the monthly meeting, you'll be this month's Star Employee. Don't forget to go on stage and give a speech!"

Seymour's eyes lit up instantly.

"T-Thank you! Thank you, Ms. Harrington! I'll definitely work even harder and live up to your encouragement!"

Jessica looked thoroughly pleased.

Then she turned and shot me another sharp glare.

"See that? You, salespeople, are nothing but parasites in this company. You're all lazy to the core! Why can't you learn something from him? You guys always nitpick over trivial matters, wasting company resources. Aren't you ashamed?

"That's enough! Reorganize your reimbursement forms according to Mr. Landon's requirements and get it done!"

My hands trembled as I clutched the stack of papers.

The frustration lodged in my chest had nowhere to go. It just sat there, crushing, until my tears nearly overflowed.

The moment I stepped out of the boss's office, Seymour slipped out right behind me.

He looked me up and down with open disdain.

"Hah! Didn't someone say they were going to ask the boss to judge? Well? Are you satisfied with the judgment?"

With a smirk, he added, "Useless trash. Let's see if you still dare to cross me."

I returned to my desk with red-rimmed eyes.

I was in no mood to work at all. I just stared blankly at the reimbursement forms.

Then my phone buzzed.

It was a notification from my social media app.

I was about to swipe it away until the headline caught my eye.

"That idiot in Sales. I just wanted to put my bar receipt under his name for reimbursement, and he refused! If he won't let me claim it, then no one gets reimbursed! This time, I'll make sure he understands what happens when you offend Finance!"

I froze.

I stared at the profile picture on the post, that awfully familiar face.

It was none other than Seymour himself!

Only then did everything click.

All those ridiculous obstacles these past weeks were not about professionalism or strict compliance; It was revenge!

Last month, he tried to put his bar receipt under my name for reimbursement. He wanted me to help him expense it under a client entertainment budget.

Naturally, I refused.

So, this was his payback.

The comment section was full of office workers venting, cursing this kind of petty workplace bullying.

But Seymour was gleeful, jumping into the comments to clap back one by one.

"What's there to fear? What even is Sales? Companies are permanent, but salespeople come and go. They're just disposable trash. Finance is different. Finance is the company's lifeline. There's no way the boss would side with some loser over the company's lifeline."

Then I noticed an update.

"That broke idiot's been fronting event expenses for half a month. Came in yelling about having no money today. So I'm holding his reimbursement hostage. Let's see how that fool manages to close any deals from now on."

I actually laughed.

Finance? The company's lifeline?

Then what was I, the top salesperson, supposed to be?

He did not want me to close deals? Fine by me.

I would have loved to see who loses patience first.

I set my work aside and started coasting. Every day, I sat at my desk doing the bare minimum.

Soon enough, it was the end of the month.

A message popped up in the company's office automation system, straight from the Finance Department.

With the month-end approaching, they needed to reconcile and log every single sales order.

And the source of those order files?

The Sales Department.

Modesty aside, as the undisputed top performer in the company, even though I only worked half the month, I accumulated quite a stack of orders in my hands.

In the past, I voluntarily worked overtime without pay, staying up late to prepare every document in advance, just so I would not disrupt finance's workflow.

But now?

Only a fool would repay resentment with kindness.

Another red, urgent notification popped up in the office automation system.

"The sales department must immediately organize all order documents. This concerns tax filings and other critical matters. Put aside all other tasks and handle this at once!"

The bold red letters and oversized exclamation mark made me laugh out loud.

Unhurried, I pulled out every single order from this month.

One by one, I checked them against my records. Then, following the Sales Submission Guidelines to the letter, I traced each document back to its source, verifying authenticity down to the smallest detail.

I was not in a rush, but someone else was.

Early the next morning, Seymour burst into the Sales office like a hound chasing prey.

He stormed straight toward me, fury written all over his face, and jabbed a finger at my nose.

"Alex, you bastard! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? You know how important month-end order entry is, so you're deliberately holding the files back just to watch me take the fall! Who the hell do you think you're scaring? Let me tell you: if the boss finds out, the blame will land squarely on you, not me!"

I kept my eyes on the documents, unbothered, and let out a soft laugh.

"Oh? Is that so? Then don't be in such a hurry."

With that, I tossed the Sales Submission Guidelines onto the desk in front of him.

"Mr. Landon, I'm sure you'd understand, right? I was criticized by management before. So now, I'm simply following the guidelines to the letter. Someone as rigorous as you wouldn't hold that against me, would you?"

He opened his mouth but could not get a word out.

The look in his eyes, though, was pure venom.

After Seymour stormed off, I carried a thick stack of confirmation forms to the head of Finance.

"Mr. Ward, according to company procedure, I've compiled the total number of orders for this month. Once you verify them, please sign them off. After I get your signature, I'll personally visit each partner and review every single order."

I then added, "Don't worry. Once the verification is complete, I'll deliver everything to the Finance office immediately."

Harold Ward cut me off before I could finish.

"Alex, we can't do things like this! It's already the end of the month. Without those files entered, the company can't file taxes. This is a major issue! Special cases require special handling! Just give them to me now!"

I glanced at him, my expression unchanged.

"No. According to the Sales Submission Guidelines, month-end order files must go through these verification procedures. If something goes wrong, no one can shoulder that responsibility."

Harold was momentarily speechless.

In the end, he had no choice but to sign the forms and hand them back.

For the next three full days, aside from clocking in and out at the office morning and evening, I spent my time carrying the order files around to various client locations, taking my own sweet time.

Harold was practically on fire with anxiety.

He called me eighteen times a day, asking about progress.

Until the 28th of the month.

I just clocked in and was preparing to head out with the files when Harold showed up at my desk in person.

"Alex! What exactly are you playing at? Every other sales team has already submitted their files. Yours is the only one missing! You said you needed to follow the process, and I agreed to all of it.

"But we're running out of time! I need a definite timeline from you today! If tax filing gets delayed because of your team, it won't just be me in trouble. You won't walk away unscathed either!"

I wore an expression of helplessness but said nothing.

At that moment, a colleague from the next cubicle could not hold back anymore and spoke up quietly.

"Alex isn't wrong, though. Isn't this exactly what Seymour from Finance has been doing? It's been over a month now. Alex still has a pile of reimbursements stuck in limbo. What now? Finance gets to 'be professional', but Sales can't follow our own rules?"

Harold heard that and immediately understood what was going on.

Without another word, he turned and walked out.

Less than two minutes later, he came back, dragging Seymour by the arm and shoving him right in front of me.

"Seymour! What exactly are you doing? Who authorized you to withhold your colleague's reimbursements? I'm telling you right now. You're not going back to your desk today. You'll stand here in Sales and apologize to Alex until he forgives you!"

Then he turned to me with a smile.

"Alex, don't worry. I'll process your reimbursement personally. The funds will hit your account within ten minutes."

What I did not expect was that even with the department head stepping in face-to-face like this, Seymour still looked resentful and utterly indifferent.

The moment Harold left the Sales office, Seymour turned on me and exploded.

"So, Alex, I've been too nice to you, huh? You've actually got the nerve to use public business to settle private scores? Trying to trip me up with this disgusting stunt?"

My face remained calm, my voice even.

"Not at all. I'm not trying to trip you up. I'm just following company regulations. Oh, maybe you aren't familiar with the Sales Department guidelines. Hold on, I'll read them to you one by one."

My unapologetic composure drove him insane.

His eyes reddened as he lunged at me, trying to grab me.

Luckily, I was taller and quicker. Two steps and I was well out of reach.

That only made him angrier. He spat out threats without thinking.

"You just wait! Don't think this ends just because that old bastard of a department head reimbursed you this month! I'm the cashier accountant. From now on, consider it my loss if you can get even a single cent reimbursed from this company!"

At that point, I was already considering resignation.

He was not wrong.

Today, I could leverage the situation once and force Finance to process my reimbursement.

But someone as petty as Seymour?

If he pulled this stunt every month, would I ever have a peaceful day again?

Just as I was seriously contemplating quitting and maybe throwing a punch before I left, the Sales Department door was kicked open.

Harold stormed in, his hair practically standing on end with fury.

He pointed at Seymour and roared, "Seymour! So this is how you've been handling things behind my back?"