Everyone turned to look at me, all waiting to watch me embarrass myself over that 70,000 dollars bonus.
Seventy thousand?
I wouldn’t even care if it were five million.
What I wanted wasn’t money. I wanted fairness.
I didn’t explode. I didn’t argue. I just let out a cold, sarcastic laugh.
“Fine. I accept it. A sales champion should indeed belong to someone more ‘competent.’”
The moment I sat back down at my desk, HR sent out two notifications.
[Employee Phoebe Tuffield used company funds for extravagant meals, severely violating company regulations. Effective immediately, Ms. Tuffield is removed from the Sales Manager position and suspended for reflection.
[Intern Sadie Modie bravely defended the company’s interests and has shown outstanding performance during her internship, creating huge profit for the company. Effective immediately, she is promoted to full-time and appointed as the new Sales Manager, taking over all of Ms. Tuffield’s projects.]
Right after that, Cody tagged me in the group chat.
[@Phoebe—wasteful and undisciplined. This month’s bonus will be deducted. Handwrite a 10,000‑word reflection and post it here for everyone to learn from.]
Humiliating.
They stripped me of the sales title, took my bonus, turned me into the company’s cautionary tale, and put me on display like a sacrificial lamb—using my “failure” to boost their authority.
The group chat instantly went silent. Even the entire office felt frozen.
People were sneaking glances at me—some sympathetic, some angry on my behalf, some just enjoying the drama.
The message stayed pinned at the top, unmoving, like they were all waiting for me to lower myself in shame and admit fault.
Then Cody tagged me again.
[@Phoebe. Didn’t you see it?]
I still didn’t respond.
The man must have gone insane; he kept tagging me over and over.
Then Meg sent me a private message.
[Phoebe, stop being stubborn. Just give in a little. Your work is more important.]
I looked at Meg and forced a smile, the kind that squeezes tears out of your eyes.
My stiff fingers tapped on my phone as I typed back, my hands shaking.
[Got it, sir. I’ll remember this lesson. I swear I’ll never order a five-dollar dish again and “waste company resources.” Next company dinner, I’ll just drink water and not touch a single dish.]
A message that looked like an apology dropped into the group chat like water into a pot of hot oil.