Chapter 1

Tags: Procurement Crisis, Slander and Kickbacks, Resignation Face-Slap, Instant Karma

I’ve worked in procurement at this company for five years. This holiday season, as usual, I was in charge of ordering the corporate gift baskets.

"Mom, that $588 luxury holiday basket from our factory is amazing this year. Can you give it to me at cost? There are only about a hundred people at my company. You'll only lose a bit on shipping."

On the other end of the line, my mom had no choice but to give in to my badgering.

I sent a "Thank you, Mom" sticker on SnapChat.

Then, I shared the good news in our WhatsApp work group.

[Team, it’s done! We got the $588 retail holiday gift baskets for our internal cost of just $130! Each includes: 2 ham & cheese rolls, 2 glazed date rolls, 2 premium lobster rolls, 2 sweet red bean rolls; a tin of name-brand butter cookies; a bottle of five-year aged artisanal wine; about 3.5 ounces of early-spring green tea; and a custom aromatic sachet.]

My coworkers quickly chimed in.

[Thanks, Ethan!]

[Ethan, you're the best!]

Even our boss, Miller, replied with satisfaction:

[That tea is top-tier. I bought some two years ago, and it was over a thousand dollars a pound.]

Only the newly hired employee, Tyler, sent a sarcastic text:

[$130? Wow, congratulations to Ethan on pocketing an $80 kickback per order.]

As soon as he posted that, a string of question marks flooded the chat.

Tyler continued: [My friend’s family owns a factory that makes these gift baskets. Their cost is $50 max.]

[Wait, so has Ethan been taking kickbacks every single time?]

I was about to reply: "Items that look the same can vary wildly in quality..."

Before I could finish typing, Miller posted in the group:

[Ethan, hand over the holiday basket procurement to Tyler. Tyler, I'm setting your budget at $60 so your friend won't lose money.]

I quietly deleted what I had typed and replied to the chat: [Understood.]

A $50 holiday roll gift basket?

Fine. Let’s see if your stomachs can handle it.

After replying "Understood," I leaned back in my office chair and let out a long breath.

A basket like that for fifty bucks?

Tyler sure had some nerve.

My mom had run her food processing plant for fifteen years. I practically grew up in the production workshops, surrounded by raw ingredients.

Holiday baskets might look identical from the outside—the wrapping leaves, the seasoned rice, the fillings—but what goes inside makes all the difference in the world.

Still, I knew whatever I said now, Miller wouldn't hear it.

All he cared about were the words "cut costs and boost efficiency."

After a moment's thought, I pulled out my phone and messaged my mom:

[We don't need those baskets anymore.]

My mom sent back a question mark, followed by: [Why the sudden change?]

[The boss thinks it's too expensive.]

My mom sent a shocked emoji: [I gave it to you at dead cost! I was practically subsidizing your company!]

[A new hire found a cheaper source for $50.]

My mom replied: [What kind of garbage can you even get in a $50 basket? Watch your back, Ethan. Don't take the fall for anyone.]

[Got it.]

My phone kept buzzing with group notifications.

I glanced over. Tyler had posted a picture of the basket’s outer packaging, and everyone was praising him.

I stopped reading and locked my screen.

I’d been at this small firm for five years, running the procurement department single-handedly.

Inspecting goods, comparing quotes, negotiating prices—I even tapped into my family’s connections for the company.

No one had ever complained.

And now? A rookie who had only been here for two months.

With a few careless words, he had wiped out five years of my hard work and slapped a "corrupt kickback" label on me.

"Hey Ethan... don't take what happened in the group to heart. We all know what kind of person you are."

It was Greg from HR, sitting at the desk next to mine.

I smiled. "I’m good. Every holiday used to run me ragged. Now that someone else is taking over, I get to relax."

The next morning, Tyler walked into Miller's office holding a stack of files.

Ten minutes later, I was called in.