"Hey!" Mu Rong heard a whisper from a female voice at the corner of the block that led to the main area of the district offices as she walked towards the reception. She was over an hour late, and it was clear that most people had already arrived.
Curious, Mu Rong paused to see if someone was really whispering to her or if she was just assuming it in her head. Glancing on both sides but seeing no one, she continued towards the reception, only to hear the same voice from the corner urging her to turn over.
Mu Rong looked at the corner and saw that it was Ketki, a friendly and lively colleague. She walked over, smiling, and gestured, asking why Ketki was at the block instead of her desk.
"I am late!!" Ketki playfully confessed using hand gestures, making Mu Rong laugh. After standing next to each other, Ketki learned that Mu Rong was also late.
After chit chatting for a while, they agreed to go in and receive whatever punishment was waiting for them.
"He is going to cut off a day's salary!" Ketki said, raising her eyebrows with a loss of morale.
"At least it is better than getting fired," Mu Rong said, trying to cheer her up even when it irritated her that they were spending a lot of time at the unusual spot.
After convincing Ketki to walk into the offices to face Rama, where all late staff reported first, Ketki remembered something she had heard about Mu Rong's file from the previous evening.
"Hey, Mr. Lu Zheng looked for you yesterday, but you had already left. There was a problem with two invoices you had recorded, and it seemed serious."
"What invoices? I did check everything before going home," Mu Rong puzzledly asked Ketki for more details, panic setting in.
"Did he say anything about what was exactly wrong?" Mu Rong, scared of being misinterpreted, tried to ask Ketki for more information, but she had limited details.
"They can't say it out. That's their way of finding the culprit, but Lu Zheng is an easy man. Just explain to him what went wrong, and you won't find problems," Ketki advised.
"But I don't remember doing anything different?" Mu Rong tried to assure Ketki, hoping to clear up some doubts.
"Be open, even if you made your own deal, he will spare you if you tell the truth," Ketki said, convincing Mu Rong to go straight into Lu Zheng's office.
"What deal? I am not that kind of person," Mu Rong defended herself. Ketki, sympathetic, didn't argue further citing the difficult situation Mu Rong had found herself in that morning instead she assured Mu Rong that all would end well, together they gathered their strengths and walked towards the offices.
But for Ketki, she had to first report to Rama before doing anything otherwise she risked even getting suspended and Mu Rong had to report to Lu Zheng so they parted after getting away from that spot.
Anzim, spotting Mu Rong getting nearer to the front office, where she was supposed to pass before heading to Lu Zheng's office, had his mood change drastically.
With a slightly protruding smile and both anger and joy running through his mind, he prepared himself to give her his first set of directions. He remained seated until Mu Rong got on the stairs that led to the reception, but Ketki had diverted directly to Rama's office.
"Excuse me, miss," Anzim called Mu Rong and looked at her from the corner of his eyes as she continued to walk on ignoring him.
"Mr. Rama is waiting for you in his office." Anzim said and ordered her to make a U-turn and go to Rama's office. Other workmates observing the scene avoided joining the two.
Mu Rong, unable to start bringing chaos in her new job was burdened with embarrassment and after remembering quite well who was in charge of all staff even if she was working near Mr. Bangwan and Lu Zheng,
She thought about it fast and made the U-turn to Rama's office without saying a word to Anzim.
Anzim after fulfilling the one duty that had made him sit for over an hour at the front side of the district offices went back to his other duties feeling satisfied.
Upon reaching Rama's office, one of the junior colleagues who worked outside of Rama's office welcomed her jokingly not knowing what had brought her to their department.
"I need to see Mr. Rama." She informed him politely concealing her emotions with a forceful smile and the junior colleague asked her to wait a bit. He went over to Rama's office to inform him of Mu Rong's arrival.
Rama, extremely busy at that moment, instructed him to send Mu Rong over. He swiftly prepared a voucher to deduct a day's salary with a 10% fine for Mu Rong being late.
The moment Mu Rong walked in, Rama handed her the voucher and asked her to sign it or go back home till further notice.
After signing, Rama dismissed her, and with low morale, she walked towards her desk. Yin, glad to see her, quickly noticed her mood.
"Hey, where were you, and has something bad happened?" Yin asked quickly, requesting Mu Rong to have a seat. She immediately informed her how Lu Zheng wanted to speak to her, but she had no idea what it was about.
"This morning?" Mu Rong asked Yin, and Yin confirmed it. Sighing heavily, Mu Rong told Yin what Ketki had shared.
"I met Ketki outside when I was coming, and she told me there was a problem with two of the vouchers I received yesterday. I just can't figure out what it is."
Yin, surprised, remembering how careful Mu Rong had been with invoicing, couldn't believe that she had made a mistake.
"What else did Ketki say?" Yin asked, more puzzled by what had gone wrong with the invoices.
"That's all she said. I'm sure if she knew more, she wouldn't hide a thing," Mu Rong said, losing more morale to go to Lu Zheng's office.
Yin, knowing Lu Zheng wouldn't fire her friend without consulting her, worked hard to cheer up Mu Rong.
"Seems like someone is on our toes, but hey, Lu Zheng is a very understanding guy," Yin said, encouraging her to get to Lu Zheng's office early and have a word with him regarding the matter.