I Covered $6 for a Mom Baby Formula, The Next Day, My Manager Called Me In and Handed Me an Envelope

He shook his head slowly. “No. You’re not in trouble.”

I blinked. “I’m… not?”

He leaned back in his chair and sighed, rubbing his temples like he’d been carrying something heavy all morning. “Company policy technically says we can’t intervene in transactions,” he said. “But policy also gives managers discretion. And this…” He gestured at the paused footage. “This wasn’t stealing. This wasn’t favoritism. This was you using your own money.”

Relief washed over me so fast my eyes burned.

“Then why am I here?” I asked.

He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a plain white envelope. My name—Amelia—was written across the front in careful handwriting.

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