Call Me Cheap And Watch Me Fire You All
760 Views · Ongoing · Piper Hayes
First day back after the long weekend. I get a few artisan gift baskets shipped in from my family's farm: maple syrup, raw honey, smoked beef jerky, handmade jams. Top-shelf stuff, every single one. Shipping alone runs me a few hundred dollars.
After the morning meeting, I hand them out one by one. The team crowds around me, all smiles, falling over themselves saying things like "You're literally the best, Ms. Bennett" and "Oh my god, you're such an amazing boss."
They're barely out the door when I notice the conference room projector is still mirroring someone's phone. Up on the screen: a private group chat. Fifteen members.
Everyone on the team is in it.
Everyone except me.
A new message pops up: [Farm junk? Really? Preston Vance's team got $200 gift cards AND black truffle. Sloane's such a cheap ass lol]
Replies flood in. Someone photoshops a picture of me. Someone else hopes I drop dead at my desk.
To them, I'm just another boss squeezing her people dry.
Last quarter, I handed every single one of them a three-thousand-dollar cash bonus out of my own pocket. Plus a brand-new phone. Each.
Fine. If they think I'm not giving enough, I'll give them exactly what they're asking for.
Though later, when they come crawling back one by one, I find myself wondering what exactly they think begging is going to get them.
After the morning meeting, I hand them out one by one. The team crowds around me, all smiles, falling over themselves saying things like "You're literally the best, Ms. Bennett" and "Oh my god, you're such an amazing boss."
They're barely out the door when I notice the conference room projector is still mirroring someone's phone. Up on the screen: a private group chat. Fifteen members.
Everyone on the team is in it.
Everyone except me.
A new message pops up: [Farm junk? Really? Preston Vance's team got $200 gift cards AND black truffle. Sloane's such a cheap ass lol]
Replies flood in. Someone photoshops a picture of me. Someone else hopes I drop dead at my desk.
To them, I'm just another boss squeezing her people dry.
Last quarter, I handed every single one of them a three-thousand-dollar cash bonus out of my own pocket. Plus a brand-new phone. Each.
Fine. If they think I'm not giving enough, I'll give them exactly what they're asking for.
Though later, when they come crawling back one by one, I find myself wondering what exactly they think begging is going to get them.














































