When Love Pays in Vouchers
On the day we receive our bonus, one of the staff members of the finance department gives me 500 dollars worth of vouchers for the fast food restaurant downstairs.
He tells me that my wife, Jillian Dunn, who is also the company's president, specifically ordered him to do so.
In utter disbelief, I seek out Jillian and question her. "Didn't we agree that whoever secures the project will get a 50,000-dollar bonus? Stop messing around! I still need to pay for Freya's cochlear implant!"
"I'm not messing around with you," Jillian answers seriously. "These vouchers can last you for a whole month. I wouldn't even give them to you if you were anyone else.
"Money is tight right now at the company. Besides, Freya has been deaf for more than a decade now. She can survive being deaf for another decade."
The next day, Jillian gives one of the interns a sports car that's worth 50,000 dollars.
I look at the photo she uploads of her and the intern grinning widely as they sit in the car and give it a like.
Jillian must assume that everything is proceeding smoothly since she has signed the contract. However, she misses the additional condition that's printed on the last page of the contract.
I dial her rival's number, asking, "Ms. Swan, are you interested in Project Charlie?"