Chapter 3The $15,000 Tab: How to Truly Cancel a Toxic Intern

The whispers around the office grew louder.

"That's so gross, using her position to harass a male subordinate."

"She always looked so professional, I never thought she'd be so dirty behind closed doors."

"Someone like her should be fired!"

Taking him to see clients was because he was new to marketing and needed to learn the business.

Calling him into my office was because his weekly reports lacked any logical structure, and I had to walk him through fixing them step by step.

To them, this translated to "ulterior motives."

"Tyler, if you're going to make accusations, you need proof," I said coldly. "Last night, you ordered those dishes yourself. Ten portions of each, and only the most expensive ones. You're the one who said you wanted to teach corporate a lesson and have everyone box up the leftovers. What, now that you can't afford the bill, you're throwing dirty water on me?"

"I did that to liven up the mood!" Tyler shrieked. "And I thought you were going to pay for it! Who knew you were such a cheapskate! If you couldn't afford it, you should have said so! Stop acting like a big shot!"

"The company's dinner budget is $800. I transferred the full amount to you all."

"What is $800 going to do? It doesn't even buy a single bottle of wine!"

Tyler pulled a stack of receipts from his bag and slammed them on my desk. "The total was $14,800! Minus your $800, that's $14,000! You have to pay this! Pay everyone back their money!"

I didn't even glance at the receipts. "Whoever ate, pays."

"You!"

Tyler was shaking with rage. "You backstabber! You're not even human!"

"Clara."

Marcus walked over and patted my shoulder. "Don't make this so ugly. We're all in the same department, we see each other every day. Yeah, it's a lot of money, but it's not like you can't afford it. Just treat it as a tax to avoid bad luck and squash this. Otherwise, if the CEO hears about this, it's going to look really bad for you."

He was threatening me.

Using my career to threaten me.

If it were the old me, for the sake of departmental harmony and the bigger picture, I might have just pinched my nose and paid it.

But now, looking at Marcus's hypocritical smile, Tyler's self-righteous greed, and the coworkers ganging up on me like an angry mob.

I suddenly realized that this job, being their manager, was utterly meaningless.

"Marcus, if you're so generous, why don't you pay for him?" I looked right at him.

Marcus's smile stiffened. "Clara, that's uncalled for. You caused this mess, why should I pay?"

"I caused this?" I laughed. "Tyler ordered the food. Tyler opened the wine. You guys are the ones who put it in your stomachs. I didn't eat a single bite, didn't drink a single drop, didn't even step foot in the room. How did this become my mess?"

"Because you're the manager!" Tyler yelled. "The manager has to take responsibility!"

"A manager is responsible for the work, not for footing the bill for your endless greed."

I swept the receipts off my desk onto the floor.

"I am not paying a single cent of this."

"Ah!" Tyler screamed, as if he had been dealt a fatal blow. "Clara! Just you wait! I'm going to report you! I'm going to let the whole company know what kind of person you are!"

He spun around and stormed toward the CEO's office.

Marcus looked at me and shook his head. "Clara, you're done. Tyler has connections high up, and you know how the media environment is these days. If this blows up, you won't be able to handle the fallout."

The other coworkers dispersed, retreating to their desks to whisper.

"This is gonna be a good show."

"Manager Clara is definitely going down this time."

"Serves her right for being so cheap."

I sat down and opened my laptop.

Report me?

Great, I was just worrying about how to blow this up myself.