“I am not a little girl”
Judy rose to walk up to her father.
“I most certainly can take care of all of these,” she continued with a sweep of her hand “when you're gone”.
Source
“Judy,” Even his smile was weak. “I do not think you are incompetent my dear, I just want to put you in the hands of someone who has been here before you, I built this business from my sweat and blood, but Thomas upheld it with his perseverance and loyalty”
Judy shifted uneasily. She never liked this man her father spoke so fondly of.
“Thomas would be there to teach you what needs to be taught. He is to be president over ERIC FURNITURES until you're 21”
Judy bowed her head. She would be 21 after 18 months.
“Father, what if this man just wants to usurp your position?”
“My father used to say that I should keep my enemies closer. If you feel Thomas is a threat, then stay close to him. And if you do so with a foul attitude, then you give yourself so easily away”
Judy sighed and rose to kiss his forehead.
“Go to rest Father. Tomorrow is the handover ceremony”
But her father never made it that far, instead of the great hall in the furniture store to be filled with golden balloons, they were draped with black linen and a huge picture of her father, Eric Whyte, in the center of the room.
“Miss Whyte” Judy turned to find Thomas.
“Please, call me Judy.”
“Accept my condolences, Judy”
“And you too”
“I believe you are aware that I shall now take presidency over the company until you're of age according to the standards of your late father” Judy nodded.
“Good. Hence, I would like us to have some things in order. You will serve as vice president but you will also go through the most recent accounts of the company. I want you to decipher if we have been running at a profit or loss. I expect that you take this job seriously and make the memory of your father proud”
Judy gave him the warmest smile she could muster and walked out.
For 3 months, she was the first to wake up and the last to go to bed, but still, she was not able to decipher if the company was running at a loss or not. Some figures were not adding up. Especially when it came to purchases.
It looked like some money was kept aside for something else. She had to tell Thomas.
“Thomas?”
“It is President Thomas to you, young lady” Judy cleared her throat and eyed him wearily.
“President Thomas, I think someone is tampering with our funds. From 2012, about 40 million was released for the purchase of materials but in the customer reviews, not up to half of reports are from satisfied clients”
“You cannot please the world, Judy”
“You don't get my point. We have been making substandard furniture for the past 6 years”
Thomas rose, deep lines etching into his already wrinkling face.
“What are you talking about?”
She dropped the files before him.
“Take a look at them yourself”
“Bring in everyone from the accounts and purchase team immediately!” He ordered Judy.
There were 11 of them, uncertainty looming on their faces.
“How much is being requested every month from the presidency?” He asked the head of accounts
“40 million, sir”
“And this has been so for how long?”
“For 5 years now” Judy smiled.
“How much do you receive for materials?” Thomas turned to the head of purchases.
“40 million, sir”
“For 5 years too?”
“Y…yes”
Judy rose and began to pace excitedly.
“Permit me, President Thomas but I would have believed these people if not for a tiny mistake they both made” Thomas raised his brows at her.
“In 2014 precisely, 70 million was released through accounts to purchases. Not only for materials per se but for repairs and logistics too. In 2015, about 85 million went to you guys for renovations and material upgrades. Meanwhile, nothing changed in our furniture quality.” She turned back to Thomas,
“The question you should be asking, President, is who and who have been beneficiaries of these unaccounted funds?”
She could hear feet shuffling. By the end of that day, 4 members of their staff including the heads of accounts and purchases had been locked up for embezzlement of funds.
“I don't know why your father didn't make you president,” Thomas said that evening as they say at dinner together.
“I think I like being vice. It gives me time to look into the gray areas that the president is too busy to handle”
They both chuckled as Thomas raised his glass.
“To the future,”
Judy raised her glass too, taking in a deep drink of victory after the toast.
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