Chapter 3You Traded Gourmet Food For Poison

The office fell quiet for a moment. Garrett flushed red, muttering something under his breath before slinking away.

Ten minutes later, my phone buzzed with a text from him.

[Tyler, this spreadsheet is insane. Hank needs sugar-free? Janice can't have cilantro? Bobby needs zero spice? It's all cooked in one big pot, how am I supposed to separate all this?]

[Are you sure you didn't just make these up to make it look hard?]

He was implying I was sabotaging him.

As if our kitchen hadn't spent a year meticulously prepping individual portions.

I texted back: [Ask them yourself.]

At five-thirty, I clocked out.

For the first time in a year, I didn't have to stay late to verify menu adjustments or call the head chef to remind him about Hank’s low-glycemic meals.

I drove home with the windows down, feeling lighter than air.

Just as I poured myself a glass of water at home, my phone rang. It was Janice, the HR manager.

"Tyler, I heard about what happened today. Garrett’s a bit blunt, but you shouldn't take it personally. He’s just looking out for the team."

"The thing is, we've gotten really used to The Miramar's food. If you can match Garrett’s five-dollar price, we'd be happy to keep ordering from you."

"We won't make a big deal about whatever margins you were making before. Just have the kitchen use the same high-quality ingredients, and we'll keep supporting your family's business. We don't want to make things difficult for you."

I nearly laughed out loud.

The sheer entitlement was breathtaking. She was acting as if she were doing me a favor by offering to let us lose even more money.

"No, thank you," I said flatly.

My family had money. If I wanted to feed them for free, we could afford it. But these ungrateful parasites didn't deserve a single crumb.

Janice paused, her tone turning sharp. "Fine. I gave you a chance to make things right. Don't come crying to me when you regret it."

"I won't."

I hung up and actually laughed.

The hot potato had officially been passed.