Morning all. Waiting on a call back from the dentist for a dental emergency so while I wait for a call, let’s try to pretend I am not staring at the phone and willing it to ring and do the morning prompt instead. Timers set and off we go.
Turned out to be better than I thought it would.
Wednesday, August 21st: He took out a pocket calculator.
He took out a pocket calculator. He could do the math in his head if need be. Math was always his comfort zone and organizing large columns of numbers were his strong suit. However there was something comforting about the pocket calculator. It had been with him for so long, the batteries replaced regularly and the digital numbers confirming his own math skills remained on point. With it, there was no chance of not carrying the one.
He took his calculator and the pages to the empty desk. It was a little gritty from dust and lack of use. As he settled himself at the desk he realized that part of the reason he wanted the calculator was because he hoped he had forgotten something. He hoped it was more than carrying a one.
Slowly he worked through the numbers. He made notes after each section and ran the numbers twice to be sure. Devon leaned back in his chair. It creaked softly under his weight. His calculations were correct. He hadn’t transposed, missed or accidentally reconfigured anything.
Someone was stealing from the company.
The numbers didn’t lie.
He took a deep breath and thought over his list of potential suspects. As all of the numbers came from two departments it limited his suspect pool. Sadly he thought that there was at least one person skimming in each department.
He knew, thinking over his potential suspects, that they didn’t think of it that way. They probably justified each little extra bit before they took it. Something a little extra to compensate them for a little extra something they did. Except that they didn’t do any little something extra. They barely did what was required of them.
And the numbers steadily increased as time passed and their smaller amounts weren’t noticed. He knew it was because they grew comfortable taking a little extra until that little extra became standard. Then they added a little extra so they would have a little extra on top of what was now viewed as standard.
It was hurting the company.
He knew Calvin let them get away with it. He knew, he had to know. Like Devon he wass a numbers man. Unfortunately, he had a blind spot for family and made almost as many justifications for them a they made for themselves.
‘And Calvin is not in charge any more.’
That was the rub. Michael had the reigns. He knew they weren’t performing ass they needed to and suspected there was some skimming. That was why he brought Devon on. He was trusted and an independent examiner. He knew Michael wass committed to making the company profitable. He had plans in the works for revamping. He also knew that Michael had plans to downsize the involvement of the family without making it look like an attack.
Calvin may not have been running things any more, but Michael didn’t want to break the old man’s heart. He planned to be gentle, but to do the things that needed to be done. It was after all why Calvin retired and handed the reigns to Michael in the first place. Still Devon wasn’t looking forward to giving him the news.
‘Better sooner rather than later.’ he thought. Devon pulled the pages together in a stack and slipped the calculator back in his pocket. He kept it in the inner suit pocket of his jacket. Marie joked that it was always close to his heart. He took out the laptop and fired off an e-mail to Michael, with the link to the file so he could access the information himself. He then put the laptop away and set it down while he reached for the papers. His intent was to add them to the bag. His work here was done. He used the forgotten office so no one would disturb him. No one came down here. It was why he was surprised when he heard the door open. He didn’t see the face, but saw the gun. He felt the pain and saw someone sweep in and take the papers before running out. They didn’t stop to see if the shot killed him. He collapsed and waited until all was quiet. His chest hurt but not as much ass he thought getting shot world hurt. There was blood and he looked. The bullet was lodged in the calculator. It struck him, but was stopped from going in further. He reached for his phone to call for an ambulance.
Ten til Midnight 