The Twenty-Dollar Betrayal

Summary

The company had just landed a massive account, requiring the entire staff to work overtime for thirty days straight.

To compensate my team, I allocated $300,000 as a project bonus—exactly $20,000 for each of my fifteen employees.

But when I walked into the office the next morning, I was met with a wall of cold, hostile faces.

I fought to suppress the rising anger in my chest. Over the past six months alone, I had paid out over $4,000 in extra bonuses per person, yet their attitude toward me was growing increasingly toxic.