"What?" Jack was caught completely off guard. After everything, how had this all ended up directed at him? He froze for a moment, then stood up and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Take a good look at what you've done!" Daniel glared at Jack. "You've been here for five months. Now tell me, how many mistakes have you made?"
Mark, the CEO, frowned deeply. Daniel had been pestering him for weeks about firing Jack, repeatedly presenting ledgers as evidence of Jack's supposed mistakes. Mark understood what his long-time colleague of over a decade was aiming for. He also understood the motives behind it, but he wasn't eager to spell it all out. In truth, Mark had high hopes for Jack. From the moment of Jack's interview, Mark had found him impressive, and he had since heard positive feedback about him. After the New Year celebration, Mark had specifically asked Julie about Jack's performance and had been pleased with what he learned. He even planned to give Jack a promotion in the near future. For this reason, he had rejected Daniel's calls to dismiss him.
Mark didn't want to create open conflict with Daniel. However, he hadn't expected Daniel to publicly criticize Jack at a company-wide meeting without prior notice. Mark felt compelled to intervene. "Daniel, how about this—we're here today to discuss the company's strategic plan for the year. Why don't we address this issue after the meeting?"
"No way." Daniel wasn't backing down. He turned to Mark and said, "The reason I'm bringing this issue up here and now is because it's representative! If someone can't contribute to the company's success, they have no business being here, wasting resources!" His sweeping statement made more than a few department heads exchange displeased looks. But Daniel was undeterred. Fixing his eyes on Jack, he said, "Jack, do you even know how many mistakes you've made in the finance department? Should I list them all for you?"
Jack sighed and looked Daniel straight in the eye. "I know what you're getting at. But I have a question for you, too. Regarding the budget report that was just presented—how much do you plan to 'take' from it?"
"What?" Daniel's face twitched, his tone hardening. "That's none of your business!"
"Maybe in an hour, I won't even work here anymore," Jack said calmly, meeting Daniel's gaze. "But for now, I still do. Doesn't that mean I can at least ask questions?"
"This isn't the time or place for your comments!" Daniel barked. But before he could say more, Mark interrupted, his tone icy. "Jack, go ahead. This is a company meeting. Everyone has the right to speak." He shot a pointed look at Daniel. "You, sit down."
Daniel's face darkened as he reluctantly sank into his seat, confident that Jack couldn't cause much trouble.
Jack began speaking, his voice steady as he rattled off a series of numbers. "Last year, the sales department had a budget of $490,000. In March, there was an additional allocation of $120,000, followed by another $150,000 in June, and $50,000 more in November, bringing the total budget to $810,000. The cash flow turnover cycle was 28 days. This year, the budget is set at $650,000, a 32% increase…"
After outlining the sales department's entire budget, Jack paused to catch his breath and continued. "The overseas business department had a budget of $460,000 last year…" He proceeded to recite every department's budget figures, as well as figures that hadn't been explicitly mentioned in the budget report but which he had uncovered in the ledgers. Then he raised his questions. "This year's reserve fund allocation increased by 29%. Daniel, why was such a significant increase necessary? Additionally, bad debt reserves have gone up by 30%. Where did this figure come from?"
Jack pressed on, listing every issue he had unearthed over the past six months. "Half of last year's additional allocations were logged as operating expenses or non-operating expenses. However, upon investigating these entries, I found that the funds were actually transferred from other accounts. And further investigation revealed that these funds were shuffled through at least three different accounts. Is such frequent account transfer really necessary for internal operations? There are also questionable invoices—some of them are blatantly fake! These are not legitimate accounting practices. Mark, I doubt even you are aware of these issues."
He turned to Mark, who now looked furious. Mark had known Daniel was pocketing money and cooking the books to cover his tracks, but he had turned a blind eye for years. After all, Mark himself depended on Daniel in many ways. But Mark had never imagined that in a company with an annual revenue of just $7 million, Daniel had managed to embezzle over $2 million.
Jack's revelations sent the meeting room buzzing with whispers. Julie and Sophia finally seemed to understand why Jack often worked late into the night. Daniel stood up as if to respond but then sat back down. Mark, his face grim, asked, "Do you have evidence?"
"Certainly." Jack nodded and began listing evidence. "Sales department invoice number 000292844, invoice number 000312911…" He rattled off every questionable invoice he had found in the past six months, his voice unwavering. Julie and Sophia listened in stunned silence.
"And as for this year's budget…" Jack took a deep breath and continued, ignoring Daniel's shifting expressions, which fluctuated between pale and flushed. He meticulously pointed out every discrepancy in the budget report that violated accounting standards. "I just want to know—what's going on with these chaotic figures on the balance sheet?"
The meeting, which had started at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, dragged on past 1:00 p.m. with no end in sight. Jack quoted accounting regulations at length, while over 200 employees stared at him as if he were an alien.
"…And this bad debt reserve will probably end up being recorded as operating expenses, won't it?" Jack finally finished speaking. He turned to Daniel, whose face was ashen, then picked up a bottle of water and drained it in one go.
"This matter…" Mark began, but Jack cut him off. "One more thing."
"What is it?" Mark asked. By now, it was clear to him that Daniel's time at the company was over. Mark had also developed a newfound respect for Jack and intended to mentor him. Smiling faintly, he said, "Go ahead."
Jack looked around at Julie and Bell, took a deep breath, and smiled. "I'm resigning."
"What?" Mark thought he had misheard. "What did you say?"
"I'm resigning," Jack repeated, his tone lighter now. "I'll clean out my desk shortly. And don't worry—I won't disclose any company secrets."
"Wait!" Mark called out as Jack turned to leave.
Bell was utterly baffled. Why was Jack resigning now, just as they had won the battle?
"Come to my office," Mark said, hastily declaring the meeting adjourned before pulling Jack into his office. Outside, curious employees gathered, eager for gossip. Bell lingered near the door, straining to eavesdrop, but Mark's secretary promptly shooed him away.
What transpired in Mark's office remained a mystery. Twenty minutes later, Jack returned to the open-plan office, smiling as he began packing up his desk. Julie and Sophia watched him, their faces a mix of confusion and disbelief.
"You're getting promoted, right?" Julie asked hopefully. Clearly not wanting Jack to leave, she added, "Does that mean I'll have to call you Manager Jack?"
Jack chuckled and shook his head. "No, I'm leaving." He glanced at his colleagues, their expressions frozen in shock, and smiled. "Tonight, drinks are on me. Let's end things on a good note. My girlfriend Emily will join us too. Let's all have a great time."
"Why are you quitting?" Bell asked, pulling Jack aside and whispering urgently. "Daniel's been exposed, and Ryan's vanished since the meeting ended. Why not stay? It's obvious Mark plans to promote you."
"I'm exhausted." Jack shook his head, his smile tinged with weariness. "I thought work would be exciting, but it's turned out to be anything but. I just want to go home and live a peaceful life." Turning to Julie, he added, "I'm sorry I won't be around to help you anymore."
"Why do you have to leave?" Sophia asked during the farewell drinks, her voice tinged with regret. "Mark thinks highly of you. Just a few days ago, he asked me about you, and I told him you were doing great. How did it come to this?"
Emily, meanwhile, simply smiled. Focused on their upcoming wedding, she seemed unbothered by Jack's decision. After all, she had never thought much of his $3,000 monthly salary.
"It's all because Daniel lost his mind," Jack said with a grin, raising his glass. "Some things, I just didn't want to deal with. I wanted to work steadily for a few years, then marry Emily. But no matter what I did, Daniel refused to leave me alone and kept trying to drive me out."
"Now that it's all out in the open, there's nothing more to say," Jack continued, downing his drink. "These past six months, I've really appreciated your support. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. Emily, toast everyone for me!"
Jack's "exposé" had been carefully calculated. He knew his departure might cause some turmoil, but at least Daniel would no longer be able to stay at the company. More importantly, Bell wouldn't become Daniel's next target.
Private companies often turned a blind eye to employees pocketing kickbacks or manipulating accounts, as long as those employees brought in profit. But Daniel's mistakes weren't just about embezzlement. He had gone too far, alienating others and turning the finance department into his personal playground. That was something neither Mark nor the company could tolerate.
"If one door closes, another opens. Tonight, let's celebrate properly—it's on me!" Jack declared, draining his glass. "After this, let's hit Barbie's nightclub. Drinks are on me!"
Everyone knew Jack wasn't short on cash, so they happily agreed, heading to the Manhattan nightclub together.
The dim lights of Barbie's pulsed to the rhythm of the electronic music. A bottle of 12-year Chivas Regal went down quickly, and Jack suggested, "Julie, let's hit the dance floor!"
Few knew that Julie, now in her thirties, had once been a famed "queen of the night" in Miami's club scene. As she stepped into the crowd and began moving to the music, Jack, Bell, and Sophia finally understood what it meant to be a true master of the dance floor.
"Impressive, really impressive!" Jack exclaimed, genuinely in awe. Though he could twist and turn his body, he lacked Julie's rhythm and finesse. Back at the booth, he wiped the sweat from his brow, raised his glass, and said, "Julie, a toast to you! You have to teach me later!"
"No problem!" Julie, riding the high of the moment, downed her drink before grabbing Emily and heading back to the dance floor. "Emily, let me show you how it's done!"
"I was talking about teaching me…" Jack muttered as he watched the flashing strobe lights and the writhing crowd. "I said teach me, right?"
Bell, clearly tipsy, leaned in and shouted over the music, "Don't worry, bro. I'll teach you!"
"Teach me what?!" Jack shot him a look. "I taught you everything you know!"
Sophia pulled the two of them toward the dance floor, laughing. "Quit bickering. Let's go!"
Bars were all about fun, relaxation, and letting loose. The pounding beats and deafening music stirred something primal in everyone, their bodies moving freely under the influence of alcohol. Jack, determined to shake off the stress of the past six months, closed his eyes and swayed to the rhythm.
But too much relaxation wasn't always a good thing. Jack accidentally stepped on someone's foot. Turning around to apologize, he froze. "Sorry, I didn't mean to—wait, what?"
Standing behind him was none other than his former colleague—or rather, his ex-colleague's nephew—Ryan.
"It's you?" Ryan glared at Jack, his eyes filled with rage. "Watch where you're going, idiot!"
"Well, what do you know?" Jack said, grinning. "Small world, huh?"