For the company retreat, I was in charge of booking the restaurant. To save some money, I chose my family’s place, then posted it in the group chat to get everyone’s approval. Just as the chorus of “looks goods” was rolling in, the new intern, a Gen Z kid named Chloe, dropped a voice memo in the chat. “Hey, Sarah,” her voice dripped with condescending sweetness. “No offense, but I was just wondering… how big of a kickback are you getting for this?” “I mean, it’s our bonus money paying for this retreat. So, that kickback you’re getting? You should probably give it back to us, right?” One by one, my coworkers started liking her message. Fine. I immediately dropped the responsibility and passed the whole task over to her. The day of the retreat, from the senior VPs down to the interns, everyone was either puking their guts out or sprinting to the bathroom. The client we were trying to impress went into anaphylactic shock and ended up in the ER. Just like that, the company lost an eight-figure contract. 1 The task of planning the company retreat had once again landed on my desk. My boss, Mr. Harrison, had been very clear. “The company’s expenses are tight right now, Sarah. Let’s not go overboard.” As the company accountant for the last ten years, I knew exactly what that meant: make it look good, but spend next to nothing. I scrolled through Yelp until my eyes glazed over. Everything was either way too expensive or had questionable reviews about food quality. To cut costs and guarantee freshness, I decided to book my family’s restaurant. It was a nice little Italian place my parents ran. They offered to do it at cost—fresh, delicious, and cheap. After confirming, I dropped the details in the company-wide Slack channel: *【Hey everyone, here’s the plan for the retreat dinner. Let me know if you have any objections.】* A lot of my coworkers had eaten there before and loved it. The channel quickly filled with a sea of ? and “Sounds great!” emojis. Just as I was about to finalize the booking, Chloe, the new intern, dropped her little bombshell of a voice memo. “Hey, Sarah, no offense or anything, but I was just wondering, since we’re going to *your* family’s restaurant… how big of a kickback are you getting?” “Because, you know, it’s our bonus money paying for this. That kickback you’re pocketing? I think you should probably give it back to us, don’t you?” … I felt a migraine coming on. Chloe was the new intern in the sales department. She had walked in on her first day and announced she was here to “disrupt the corporate grind.” Any time a late night or extra work was mentioned, she was the first one to pipe up, quoting labor laws and talking about “quiet quitting.” She was a walking HR nightmare. It’s not that people didn’t complain about her. But every complaint sent to management just seemed to vanish into a black hole. The general consensus was that for a rookie to be this bold, she had to have some serious connections. And now, she was accusing me, the accountant, of embezzlement. That was the kind of accusation that could get my CPA license revoked. I quickly typed back in the channel: *【The expenses for the retreat are fully transparent and itemized. No one’s bonus money is being used, and I am not receiving any kickback.】* 2 I thought that would be the end of it. But the next morning, as soon as I walked into the office, all eyes were on me. The second I looked up, everyone immediately averted their gaze. My gut told me something was up. Sure enough, the moment I sat down, the Slack channel started blowing up my notifications. It was Chloe again, spamming the chat. *【@Sarah, you said you’re not getting a kickback, but I found a Groupon for your family’s restaurant. The party menu is $19.99 a person.】* *【I thought Mr. Harrison said the budget was $300 a head?】* *【Still want to say you’re not skimming off the top?】* *【If you don’t want us to report you, you should probably just refund us the difference. Kthxbye!】* She ended it with a cutesy, tongue-out emoji. Combined with the weird vibe in the office, I finally understood. And I was trapped. On paper, the budget was $300 per person. But Mr. Harrison had quietly told me to keep it under $50. The company was struggling, and this whole retreat was a dog-and-pony show for a major potential client. If we landed this contract, the bonuses and raises would come. We had to look impressive without actually spending any money. If the deal fell through, it would be my head on the chopping block. If it succeeded, all the credit would go to the sales team. It was a thankless, impossible task, which is why it always fell to me. I was caught between my boss’s orders and my coworkers’ suspicions. I spent a long time at my desk, trying to figure out a way out of this mess. Finally, I decided the only option was to talk to Chloe in private and tell her the truth. 3 I found her in the breakroom during lunch. I explained the real budget, the client, everything. By the end of it, my throat was dry. “So, you get it now, right?” Chloe’s brow was furrowed, and I thought I had finally gotten through to her. But as I turned to leave, she let out a cold, cynical laugh. “Wow, Sarah. You’ve really put a lot of thought into this, haven’t you?” I froze. Her tone was dripping with sarcasm. “Making up some story about the company being broke just to cover up your little scam.” “You don’t really think I’m that naive, do you? I’m not just some dumb intern.” “You accounting types… you might not make a huge salary, but you know all the tricks for lining your own pockets.” She looked at me like she was the smartest person in the room. “Everyone knows the company is about to close an eight-figure deal. And you’re telling me we’re broke?” “Couldn’t you have come up with a more believable lie?” My head was spinning. Chloe stepped closer, stilettos clicking on the linoleum, and looked down her nose at me. “As long as I’m here,” she said, her voice low and menacing, “I won’t let corporate parasites like you get away with anything.” In that moment, something in me snapped. I hadn’t actually done anything wrong. Why was I bothering to explain myself to her? When the lunch break was over, Chloe decided it was time for a public spectacle. 4 She shot up from her desk and shouted, “There are a hundred and twenty people in this company! The budget is three hundred dollars a person!” “That means someone is pocketing over thirty thousand dollars in kickbacks!” “Think about it! With that money, how many lattes could we buy? How many cupcakes? Why should we let one person steal that from us?” A few people, emboldened, started to murmur their agreement. “She has a point. We’re the ones grinding out here, and someone in accounting is making a thirty-grand bonus in one day?” “That’s messed up.” Once one person spoke up, others followed. Fueled by Chloe’s righteous crusade and the rumors of her powerful connections, the office turned into a mob. And of course, Mr. Harrison was out of the office, meeting with the client. There was no one to control them. Or, more likely, no one wanted to get involved. “Sarah, don’t you think you owe us an explanation?” someone called out. Great. Now I wasn't even "Sarah" anymore. I had already said what I needed to say. If they didn’t believe me, there was nothing more I could do. Mr. Harrison signed my paychecks, not Chloe. I didn’t care what connections she had. “I’ve already explained everything. If you have a problem, take it up with Mr. Harrison,” I said, turning back to my monitor. My dismissal clearly enraged her. She stormed over to my desk and slammed her hands down on it. “What’s wrong? Did you get caught and now you’re scared?” “I can’t stand old-timers like you who think you can just push everyone around because you’ve been here forever!” She was practically vibrating with self-righteous anger, casting herself as the office savior. “I can’t stand people like you!” “Sarah,” she declared, “I am your karma!” 5 I really didn’t get it. I’m an accountant. All I do is crunch numbers. How did I become the office villain? My expression hardened. I’ve been in this business for a long time, and I can be intimidating when I want to be. One of my coworkers finally spoke up for me. “Chloe, I don’t think Sarah is like that. Maybe there’s just been a misunderstanding?” I gave Chloe a look that was anything but friendly. She knew exactly what was going on. Why she was so determined to crucify me was a mystery, but she wasn’t ignorant. Seeing someone defend me, Chloe looked betrayed. “I’m fighting for all of you! Are you really going to stab me in the back?” The coworker who had spoken up immediately fell silent. I was done with this drama. “What is it you want, Chloe?” 6 My question, in Chloe’s mind, was a sign of surrender. She looked down at me, a triumphant smirk on her face. “It’s simple. Give us back the money you were going to steal.” She held up her phone, her Venmo QR code displayed on the screen. She shoved it in my face. “You can start with me.” I pushed her phone away with a smile that didn't reach my eyes. “Like I said, I didn’t take a single cent from this company. Believe it or not.” With that, I grabbed my purse from my desk and walked out. With Mr. Harrison gone, there was no way I was staying in that toxic environment for another minute. I went to a coffee shop and sent Mr. Harrison a quick email detailing the mutiny that had just occurred. While I waited for his reply, I scrolled through my social media. And there it was. Chloe’s victory post on Instagram. *【Called out the corporate accountant for embezzling funds and she literally ran out of the office. Just another day of being a brave little lamb fighting for justice! ? CorporateLife Disruptor】* I laughed out loud. I immediately changed my profile picture to a wolf. Wolves eat little lambs for breakfast. I didn’t expect that changing my profile picture would be the thing that sent her completely over the edge.
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