The chances are the question has put the cat amongst the pigeons.
He was probably so busy counting his bonus that he had not worked out what his pay rise equated to as a percentage.
Now that someone has questioned him on the intranet, it has brought his attention to the fact that he may 'only' have received 9%. (Bet it was on time as well unlike ours).
Obviously he will be asking his minions if this is correct because if it is he'll want to know why, after rises of 24%, 11.9% and 14.3% in the previous 3 years, he is being penalised with such a paltry sum.
How is anyone supposed to live off that, I ask you?