"Thank you, boss."
"Boss? Don't be silly! We're like sisters."
Sisters. We were employer and employee. Nothing more.
But starting next month, those roles would be reversed.
I carried the two ginseng roots back to my desk.
Lorna Lawrence, one of my team members, spotted them immediately and hurried over. "Wait—aren't these the same ones you gave away last month?"
Exactly.
Last month, Blair's mother had been hospitalized for fatigue. I'd driven out to the mountains myself, tracked down a supplier, and after hours of haggling, bought two roots at five hundred dollars each.
And now Blair had handed them back to me as a "year-end bonus," claiming each one was worth fifty thousand.
I wanted to laugh. But somehow, I couldn't.
All these years, I'd poured everything into this company. I'd worked overtime without complaint, picked up slack without being asked—partly because I needed the money, but partly because I genuinely believed Blair and I were like family.
These two ginseng roots had just slapped that delusion right off my face.
It was a workday morning, but I packed up my things and left.
Morgan Price from HR spotted me on my way out. He didn't try to stop me—just said he'd have to report it to the boss.
Minutes later, Blair's announcement appeared in the company group chat: not only would my pay be docked for leaving early, but my performance bonus would be cut too. Reason: poor work attitude.
My team wasn't having it. Messages started flooding in.
"First she gives Director Lambert a 'bonus' that's actually her own gift returned, and now she's docking her pay? Does she even see our director as human?"
"Seriously! Director Lambert is always first in, last out. Even when her family was sick, she didn't take time off—she'd go to the hospital after work."
"Ms. White, aren't you worried about how this looks to your long-term employees?"
I was about to tell them to delete their messages when Blair activated the group voice call.
Her voice came through sharp with fury. "Director? Seems like you people have forgotten who's actually in charge here!"
"Bella Lambert—you're a department head. Just a department head. Is this how you teach your subordinates to behave? Do you have any respect for me as your employer?"