Worst Cupid Ever

Shouldn't Have Done That

"I—I do not understand." Genevieve flipped through the file, heart pounding and hands trembling. "This is coming as a surprise to me." She raised pleading eyes to the four people seated in the conference room. Raymond Dominic sat at the head of the table; Tina, the head of finance, sat at his right, and to his left were two unfamiliar severe-looking men.

"What's there not to understand? Do you know how much was lost in that—" Raymond stopped mid-sentence. Resting his elbows on the glossy surface of the table, he swiped at the tablet screen in front of him. He appeared exhausted with his sleeves folded up his forearms, his tie loosened, and tired lines around his eyes. With a sigh, he looked up. There was resolve in his gaze.

"We have decided to—"

"Please," Genevieve dropped the flat file and clasped both hands before her chest, "do not say what you are about to say."

They had called her along with a few other staff to report at the conference room on the top floor, something about a last-minute panel set up to tackle a mistake from some departments. Nothing in a million years would have prepared her for the shit storm she stepped into. The panel had questioned three staff before her; all came out shaken.

Eight months ago, her department had been put in charge of finding a company that supplies memory chips. They had done a thorough job and ended up with a small distribution company in India that had an excellent track record on computer chip supply. When she was called in to face the panel, she was bombarded with questions, slides upon slides of numbers that didn't compute. Then the morning papers too. From what she was seeing, the distribution company was not clean.

"J-just give me some time to go through the documents. Something isn't right. The company we approved was—is genuine. There must be a mistake somewhere."

Tina wouldn't even meet her gaze. That wasn't the case with Raymond though. His stare was an intense mix of exhaustion and annoyance.

"Miss Johnson–"

Genevieve went on talking. She could not afford to get fired. "I am certain of it. If you could just read through all the company's files, you'd see they're clean. I know because–"

"Miss Johnson—"

"No, please." She cut in, desperate to save herself. "Two months before you came, they made a delivery. If you'd allow me to get the file, you'd see that—"

"Stop!" He gestured at the flat file. "This is fraud. Do you understand the seriousness of your mistake? Admit that you did not do a thorough job. I read the file; I saw the numbers. Do you know how much we lost?"

"But I do not work in—"

"Let me finish, Miss Johnson," he smoothly cut in.

Genevieve swallowed her reply.

"I know you do not work in the Accounting Department but the records show the team you head suggested the company. Am I wrong?"

"No." She was in a bad spot.

Fraud. Fraud.

The words banged in her head, scrambling her thoughts, making her think a mile a minute. Scenarios flashed, making cold sweat form on her brow. If this gets out, she could kiss getting a good-paying job goodbye. And her mum... Jesus. Genevieve's heart rate doubled.

Raymond held her gaze. Genevieve was tempted to look away, but she forced herself not to.

I am not guilty. I'm not a criminal.

"The only reason I'm not firing you this instant is because of some useless clauses in your employment contract."

Useless? Genevieve frowned, her manic worry giving way to irritation. What a toad.