Celia Johnson, my boss's sister-in-law, joined the company as the finance director and announced that all reimbursements must strictly follow the standards.

I spent an entire week running around for the company and finally closed a five-hundred-thousand-dollar deal. Because the client had used two extra packs of paper towels, the per-person amount for their meal ended up eight dollars over the limit.

Celia folded her arms, glanced at the reimbursement form on my desk, and sneered. "Five hundred and eight dollars?"

"Yes. Last night at The Peak Restaurant, where we closed Richard's deal. Zack was there too," I explained patiently.

"Eight dollars over the per-person limit. Not reimbursable," Celia said coldly.

I tried to reason with her. "This was a special case. The client is high-level, and the deal amount is large, and Zack personally said it would be fully reimbursed last night."

She returned the reimbursement form to me. "I don't care who said that. Don't think closing a five-hundred-thousand-dollar contract lets you ignore company rules. Reimbursements must all follow policies. Everyone will follow them to the letter."

I took a deep breath. I knew arguing with her head-on would get me nowhere, so I called Zack directly.

Zack said, "I did say it would be reimbursed, but I never said company rules could be ignored. It's just five hundred. And you still get commission from closing the deal. You young people need to have perspective."

I stopped arguing.

I turned around and refused the delivery containing the hard copy of the five-hundred-thousand-dollar cooperation contract, smiling as I explained, "Company rules say all cash on delivery packages must be refused.

"Also, today is my last day here. Starting tomorrow, I work for Richard's company. As the client, I will be setting the rules this time."

I listened to Zack Smith preach and replied on the phone, "Alright, Zack. I'm the one who misunderstood the rules and lacked perspective. I'm sorry for causing this problem. Rest assured that from now on, I will follow company policy exactly."

Director Celia Johnson from Finance gave me a scornful laugh. "You really think you're that important? If you genuinely can't stand losing that 500 dollars and you insist on reimbursement, I can deduct it directly from your sales bonus this quarter. That bonus comes from the company, anyway. Everyone wins. Isn't that perfect?"

I had fronted money for the company, but now, they wanted to offset it with my bonus. I ground my teeth furiously. "Then we'll handle it according to company policy!"

Celia was Zack's sister-in-law. She had always believed reimbursements meant taking advantage of the company. I was the top performer, so my reimbursements were frequent and could get quite large, so she especially resented me.

I took the reimbursement form back to my desk. Alicia Brown, who usually got along with me back in my department, stared at my expression and asked in disbelief. "What happened, Lisa? Didn't Zack say it was fully reimbursable last night? I can't believe Celia is still doing this."

I tried to force the anger in my chest down. "That didn't do anything. Zack said we had to follow company policy."

Alicia froze. "Policy? What kind of damn policy can block a reimbursement for the person who brought in a project worth five hundred thousand dollars?"

I tried to force a smile. "The per-person amount went over the limit by eight dollars. Zack told me to have perspective."

Alicia's voice cracked. "Because it went over eight dollars per person? They're refusing to reimburse the five hundred dollars for that?! And that's Zack's attitude?"

Her face hardened with anger on my behalf. "They used you to bring in five hundred thousand dollars, and now they toss you aside for just five hundred dollars and lecture you about perspective?! This company is heartless!"

The door to the Finance department swung open as Celia walked out with a cup in hand, shooting us a sharp, hostile look.

Just as I opened my inbox and started working, a message hit the company group chat.

Zack wrote: [No individual, no matter how outstanding their performance, can stand above company policy.]

[Certain high-performing colleagues have recently shown concerning signs. They take credit arrogantly and treat company policies as shackles. They claim the company has mistreated them and even spread negativity in the office, affecting team morale.]

[I hope everyone puts their energy into the positives and stops nitpicking personal gains and losses. Most importantly, don't encourage bad habits!]

No names were mentioned in the company group chat's text, but everyone knew it was aimed at me.

I leaned back in my chair, my chest heaving rapidly. I opened the message again, and I replied, "Got it."

Then I opened the company handbook that the company had issued when I first started and studied it line by line.

We had to follow the company policies, right?

I was the top salesperson. Did they think they could do this to me and get away with it?

I stopped joining small talk with coworkers and stopped volunteering for extra work. I only finished my workload. Every spare minute went into reading that handbook.

Zack was very pleased with the result.

That afternoon, Zack called me into his office, and his expression turned serious. "We have something urgent that we need to deal with. There are some issues with a client's project in Blueport City, and we need someone to go there immediately. That client is difficult, but I don't trust anyone else. I thought it through, and it has to be you."

Blueport City was quite far, and the traffic was brutal. The client was also famous for being impossible. Nobody wanted to touch that project.

Before this, I had believed his nonsense about how the skilled people should contribute more and how the young needed more practice. So, I had kept getting sent out on the worst assignments.

Now? All I had was a sneer.

Zack left no room for argument, though. "Get ready. You'll leave tomorrow with Alicia. Young people like you should move around a little more for exposure. That's good for you!"

Alicia was getting dragged into this because of me. I answered calmly and said, "Alright, Zack."

Zack then waved me out, satisfied.

-

Three days later, we came back from the Blueport City trip, and I walked up to Finance with a reimbursement form for one thousand dollars.

Before I even stepped inside, I could already hear Zack's voice. "See? Lisa is now much more well-behaved after she was put in her place. She's a completely changed person."

Celia laughed so hard she shuddered. "Exactly! You should have let me handle her earlier! I would have fixed her attitude in no time!"

I pushed the door open and handed the form to Celia.

Celia looked it over and snapped, "You spent 5,000 dollars on a three-day trip?! Do you think the company is your personal ATM?!"

Zack looked stunned. "Get everyone into an emergency meeting. You two will explain this clearly!"

I stayed calm and said, "Then we'll discuss it at the meeting. Every expense followed company policy."

They rushed everyone into an emergency meeting.

At the meeting, Zack was furious. "Three days. Two personnel. Five thousand dollars. And you still claim policy compliance?! Show me how!"

Celia slammed the receipts on the table. "First item. Transportation. You spent 2,500 dollars. Flights are discounted right now, and a round-trip for two costs at most 1,000 dollars! Why did you take the high-speed rail?!"

I answered steadily. "Company policy says ordinary employees on business trips must take the high-speed rail."

Celia's face flushed red. "Why are you so rigid? Aren't flights cheaper?! Why can't you be flexible!"

Alicia hopped in, "Flights are not reimbursable. That's not something we can just be flexible about."

Celia shot back with a screech, "Fine! What about accommodation, then? 2,500 dollars for three days... Did you stay in a presidential suite?! The policy says lodging cannot exceed 150 dollars per day!"

I nodded. "That's right. We couldn't find any hotel in Blueport City that meets the price. To comply with policy, Alicia and I went to the neighboring Avaton City. It cost us 149 dollars and 90 cents a night and not a cent over."

Celia roared, "Then how did you spend the rest of the 2,500 dollars?!"

I explained, "It includes the 1,500 dollars in taxi fares."

Celia blurted out. "Why not just take an illegal cab. Those are cheaper!"

I gave her a cold smile. "Ms. Johnson, company policy requires legitimate invoices and receipts. Illegal cabs can't issue receipts."

Celia pointed at me, and her hand shook violently. She was so angry that she could not get a single word out.

The meeting room went dead silent.

Zack looked like he was about to have a heart attack in front of the entire staff, but he could only grit his teeth and accept the receipts that fully complied with company policy before forcing the words out one by one through his teeth, "Reimburse her."

Celia leaned in close to me and hissed, "Just you wait!"

After the meeting, I noticed coworkers who used to be friendly with me had started to keep their distance.

Alicia texted me in secret: [The few coworkers who hung out with you all had their reimbursements blocked by Celia. She kept dropping hints about staying away from the wrong crowd and not picking up bad habits from them.]

I could feel anger boiling inside of me. Coming after me was one thing, but she was punishing everyone around me, too?

Meanwhile, an important potential client came to visit, and he specifically asked to see the 'sales lead who closed the five-hundred-thousand-dollar deal'. Zack personally ordered that I attend the lunch reception.

I knew it was a trap, but I still had to go.

Sure enough, when I pushed open the door into the private room, Zack and the client weren't the only ones there. Celia was there too, chatting warmly with him.

When she saw me, something cold flashed in her eyes.

Celia smiled at the client. "That five-hundred-thousand-dollar deal was not easy to close. I heard that Richard enjoyed drinking with Lisa, someone who was willing to cut loose. You have really sacrificed a lot for the company, haha."

She was openly implying that I signed the deal through improper means.

The atmosphere instantly turned awkward. The client, Mr. Sanders' expression shifted as well.

I took a slow breath and forced my anger down, keeping my smile polite. "You must be joking. The things that Richard values are our company's capabilities and proposals."

Celia gave Mr. Sanders a meaningful smile. "If you have any special requests, you can just tell Lisa. She's both sensible and driven and will find a way to meet your needs!"

My whole body trembled with anger. She was treating me like something to be traded.

Mr. Sanders looked unbearably awkward and could only let out a dry laugh.

I could not take it anymore and said, "Celia, you are publicly damaging my reputation with zero evidence. According to the law, that is enough for them to get you for defamation."

Celia's face darkened. "Who are you trying to scare?!"

Zack, who had been acting invisible the whole time, lowered his voice and snapped at her. "Celia, what are you saying? Apologize to Lisa already."

So, when he needed me to close deals, the tone he used was soft and respectful, but when he needed to protect his sister-in-law, I was just another worker.

I let out a laugh and pulled out my phone, ready to record the following exchange between us.

Just then, Richard called. It was about the deal, and he said two details still needed confirmation.

I used the call as my excuse and walked out of the luncheon.

As the top sales representative, recruiters had been trying to poach me for a long time. I had always turned them down out of loyalty to the company.

But now, I needed to think seriously about what came next.

When I met Richard, we reviewed the terms quickly and cleanly. Everything went smoothly.

Richard closed the folder, satisfied. "Just wait for a delivery for you tomorrow."

I checked the time, and it was already after seven. I then said, "Everyone stayed late because of me. Let me treat you all to dinner as a small celebration."

Richard was in a great mood tonight and agreed right away.

With a teasing tone, he asked, "Hey Lisa, some rumors are floating around about you not getting reimbursed for that dinner you treated us to at Peak Restaurant. Does your company think my deal was not worth that meal?"

He laughed, clearly treating it as gossip.

It was like a knife in my chest, yet I smiled. "You're on top of things, that's for sure. Guess bad news travels faster than good news."

Suddenly, Richard's expression turned serious. "You're wasted at that company. Have you ever thought about coming to work for me?"