Nothing much happened about the email for a while, then one day the main boss came by to inspect things again. He stopped at Melissa's desk, and waited for the men to leave to their job assignments. Then he told her that he appreciated the fact that she found out where the money had gone. He said that it wasn't necessarily the amount of money that bothered him, it was the fact that it was one of his best guys who was ripping him off. He told Melissa that he just came by to thank her and to vent about the fact that he had to confront his best foreman. She asked him what he was going to do, he said that he would give Jim a chance to pay him back with weekly garnishments, or he would fire him and press charges. Whatever happened, he told her not to worry and that she did a fine job.
Melissa felt very proud of herself as she was not only working a real job, but she helped catch a thief in the company. She was a bit surprised that Jim would be the guy stealing, he seemed like such a nice guy. She went about her business and didn't think much more about it.
The following week was pretty much like normal, fairly steady work, the guys coming in and out. All of them ogling Melissa as they passed by her desk. On Thursday, she got an email from the boss who told her that he was going to confront Jim that evening and he hoped it went well. He also thanked her again for her assistance.
Melissa went home, happy and proud of her good work. Soon after, Jim returned from his job, he found the main boss sitting in the office. Curious, he asked what was up.
"Why don't you tell me?" the boss asked.
"Excuse me?" Jim replied.
The boss went on to tell him what he had found out and flat out said that if he did not want to be fired and face charges, he would have to reimburse all of the money.
Jim was humiliated, but grateful that the boss gave him a chance to keep his job. He apologized, and then asked the boss what gave him away. The boss just said he crunched some numbers and it just became clear. They shook hands and the boss left as Jim went to clean up before heading home.
Jim stops in his tracks. What does he see? |