"I was afraid you had been waiting too long."
Deanna stuck her tongue out playfully at Lance. Her mischievous expression left Lance feeling a mix of helplessness and amusement.
The two then headed to a nearby restaurant for a meal. During dinner, Lance asked, "How did your inspection at the company go today?"
"Not very well," Deanna's face fell as she began discussing the company's situation.
Seeing this, Lance immediately showed concern. "What happened?"
Deanna didn't hide anything and truthfully explained the situation at Vortex Technology. "Most of the staff have already left, and I haven't even gone through the accounts yet. I fired Kamden on impulse. I regret being so hasty now."
Lance was at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He hadn't expected Deanna to act so impulsively. After a moment of thought, he suggested, "How about I send someone over to help you?"
"No need for now. Let me get a better grasp of the company's situation first, and then I'll discuss it with you," Deanna shook her head, declining his offer. She didn't know what kind of help she needed at the moment.
Lance understood her reasoning and didn't insist. "Alright, if you need any help, just let me know."
"Don't worry, I won't be shy about asking," Deanna replied with a smile.
After dinner, Lance let Deanna rest in the car for a while before taking her back to the company. Once back in her office, Deanna reviewed the financial accounts again, noting down all the points she didn't understand.
Hours passed, and she finally finished going through the accounts, but there were many issues. Staring at her notes, Deanna muttered to herself, "The financial manager probably won't give me honest answers about these discrepancies. I need to find a way to make him talk and also thoroughly investigate the remaining staff."
She quickly formulated a plan in her mind and called the financial manager to her office.
A few minutes later, the financial manager, who appeared friendly, knocked and entered.
"Miss Jones, you called for me?"
"Yes, I've gone through these accounts and found some entries that I don't understand. I hope you can explain them to me," Deanna said, inviting him to come closer.
The financial manager's face tensed slightly, seemingly surprised that Deanna had found issues. However, he maintained a calm demeanor as he approached, intending to see what the problems were.
One look at the accounts made him break into a cold sweat. The issues Deanna had highlighted were all related to his falsified data.
Could it be that his fraudulent activities had been discovered?
With this thought in mind, he asked quietly, "Miss Jones, do you think there's something wrong with these entries?"
"Pretty much. Look at this record- the cost of raw materials has tripled compared to the previous entry, yet less than a month has passed between them. No matter how I cross-check it, the numbers don't match your financial calculations. And this entry has a similar issue..." Deanna listed each problematic account with precise figures.
The financial manager listened, sweating profusely and unable to refute her findings. After weighing his options, he decided to 'confess.'
"You're right; these entries are indeed incorrect."
"If you knew they were wrong, why did you record them and even close the accounts?" Deanna asked, frowning and looking at him coldly.
The financial manager began to complain bitterly. "Miss Jones, you might not understand the company's situation. Before you arrived, Kamden had absolute control over everything here. Every month, he would demand two to three times the usual funds from our department under the pretext of needing raw materials for the tech department. His personal expenses were also charged to the company, leading to many discrepancies in the accounts."
"Why were his personal expenses charged to the company? Didn't you think of reporting this to the head office?" Deanna couldn't understand his reasoning.
Seeing that she was unfamiliar with the company's internal workings, a calculating look flashed in his eyes as he continued with a bitter smile. "It's not that I didn't want to report it; my position didn't allow it. Kamden has always handled all communications with the head office."
Even so, Deanna still couldn't comprehend it. "You could have bypassed Kamden and reported it directly to headquarters."
"Miss Jones, let me put it this way- your idea is unrealistic. Do you know how Kamden became the general manager here?" The financial manager asked.
Deanna paused and thought of Kamden she had seen earlier that morning. "Did he use connections?"
"Exactly. He got this position through connections and has people backing him at headquarters. If I tried to report anything secretly, I wouldn't even get to see Mr. Jones before being stopped by his protectors. You can imagine what would happen to me then," he explained.