Chapter 51 chain knot

Edward made it a point to visit our division in person from corporate headquarters to introduce the new division director.He called all his colleagues to speak and said that we are very lucky to have someone as qualified and able as Charlie to lead us.Edward didn't elaborate on those eligibility criteria, but I think that's because Charlie's entire background is in the sales department, not in the accounting department, which is what our branch is responsible for.I know it's harsh to think, but in this case -- at least mine -- it's not unreasonable.I've been in the accounting department for over twenty years, and for the past eight years I've been number two in the division.

’ Having spoken, and after the other colleagues had gone back to their posts, Edward touched my arm and said to me, “Alan, I thought I should introduce you again in private,” he said, “Charlie,” and he turned to Charlie, "This is Ellen, I mentioned it to you." Charlie nodded, his eyes resting on me, scrutinizing me.He was personally a year or two shorter than Edward, and seemed to be about my height.About the same age as me - you couldn't tell his exact age from his appearance, there was not a single wrinkle in his face, and his brown skin showed that he had spent a lot of time in the sun.

"Alan was Thomas' right-hand man during his tenure," Edward continued. "Since Thomas retired, he has been on his own. How long has it been, Alan? Six months? Seven months? Lay down the burden." A sardonic smile appeared on the corner of Charlie's mouth, and he said dully, "I believe that's true." Then, the smile disappeared, "I'll talk to you later, Alan." "Yes, Director." I said, knowing that it was a dismissal order, so I left wisely. As I walked across the office, back to my desk, I realized that many eyes were following me, but none of them said anything.

Tom strolled over, a tall, thin man a little below me. "Alan, it doesn't make sense," he said, "to be ignored like that." I felt my face was tense and uncomfortable. "Perhaps," I swallowed with difficulty, "but it's hard to say about things in society. This kind of thing happens often. To be honest, I really didn't covet that position." In fact, I really didn't care at first. When Thomas retired, he told me, "Alan, I recommended you to take over my position, but the headquarters thinks we need fresh blood to promote this unit. It's really unfair, but—" He didn't finish, but I understood what he meant.

And I also accepted the fact that until these months slowly passed, that position remained vacant, and it was obvious that it was difficult to find the right person at the headquarters. In this situation, it is impossible to hold out hope, and as time goes by , I even convinced myself that the company would give me this position in the end.However, things backfired. "Well," said Tom, "I just want you to know how I feel, and I'm not the only one who feels that way. There are a lot of people here who regret this arrangement." Maybe that's the case, but on the other hand, some people are just glad I'm not the director.Sally is one of them.

Sally, the younger of the two typing and copying ladies, was a puny chick whom I had several times chastised for talking on the phone and for wearing her skirts too short. Within three weeks of Charlie's arrival, Sally was appointed as his personal secretary, with a raise. I never mentioned my personal bad luck, but I felt that it was my duty to remind Charlie that doing so would displease another lady, who was better than Sally in terms of work ability and qualifications. But Charlie shrugged and said: "There are many people with deep experience and old traditions here." I should understand that this is a warning to me that the time to be punished is coming.

But I didn't understand it, so the next time I was called to his office, I was completely unprepared. He kept standing at his desk like a penitent student. "Alan, why are you still reviewing such things?" He said, knocking on the subpoena on the table, "Isn't this my responsibility?" "Well," I said, "technically, yes, but your ex never wanted to be bothered with trivial matters, so he sent them to me for review, and I assumed you would do the same." "Oh," said Charlie.Pausing for a while, he looked at the format of the subpoena, "Last week, how many subpoenas did you approve?"

I shrugged. "Don't know. They come from different departments at different times. But we average twenty or thirty a week." "Oh," Charlie said again, tapped the subpoena, and leaned back in his chair . "Okay," he said curtly, "let's see if we can make some sense out of this mess. Put Sally in charge, collect and keep the subpoenas for a week until Friday, and then send them all at once for my review. " "Payments would be much slower that way," I said. "It won't be much slower," said Charlie, "and it will give us a better idea of ​​what we're doing here." .

That's what they say, but I know they can't do what Charlie says.A week later, he called me to his office again, and this time, the entire stack of subpoenas was placed on his desk. "Okay, Alan," he said kindly, "tell me why these summonses were returned and stamped 'Excuse me.' I picked up the summons and deliberately flipped through it slowly.In fact, there is no need for this, I already knew the crux of the matter. "Simple," I said, "the ladies forget to put in the proper numbers, and I don't remind them, and they often forget." "Well, all right," said Charlie, "then why don't you remind them and watch them do it before you send it to me?"

"Because I haven't even seen a trace of these subpoenas," I said, "I thought you meant to send them directly to you for approval." "Alan, Alan," Charlie said, "what I want to do is to establish a monitoring system. You can't expect me to know every detail of the subpoena. Anyway, I didn't know it at first." I thought to myself, it's obvious you don't understand, but I just stood there without saying a word "Look, Alan," Charlie went on, "I'm going to work with you, and I'm going to do it fairly, But you're holding me back, you're not only playing tricks like this, but you're constantly trying to drive me and my colleagues apart." "Nothing like that."

"I'm sorry," said Charlie coldly, "but I have reason to believe it happened." "Well, nothing I say or do will change your mind," I said, "but you're not alone in your plight. You know, for six months I worked two jobs , what do you get in the end? nothing.At the very least, I should have a bonus or raise. " Charlie looked at me seriously, "This matter should be decided by the headquarters." "What they need is a reminder!" I said.I hate myself, but the truth is, I expected too much to get the position of division chief, and I desperately needed the money. "I'm not sure about that kind of thing," said Charlie. "I didn't want to say it, but leaving this vacancy open for so long is to give you a chance to prove what you're capable of, and you failed. Alan, so Even if I'm happy to recommend, it's not necessarily useful. In fact, the only thing I would consider recommending is that you retire early." Leaning back in the swivel chair, with his arms folded across his chest, he added sternly, "You'd better consider this suggestion and act upon it." "Yes, Director," I said. When I got back to the office, I sat down and clutched the blotter in front of me, petrified by all this injustice. In retrospect, didn't the headquarters ask me not to hinder Charlie, and I didn't covet the position of director. As for the subpoena, I acted according to orders, and the work procedures are clear, and it is not my fault. I don't believe that if the vacancy is not filled for a long time, it is testing my ability to work. It is just an excuse for not compensating what the company owes me.I have a way to go beyond Charlie's position and ask Edward for his due reward. But I was suddenly a little discouraged. No matter how I felt about Charlie, there was nothing I could do about Edward's never interfering with the directorship. I was sitting there looking at my hands blankly when Sally came up with a stack of returned summonses. "The director asked you to code the number, and then handed it over to me to re-do it." She paused, and added, "He wants me to tell you that you are responsible for doing it well, and don't call back the ticket." I sighed , "Okay, let it go." I sat still for a minute or two, then reached for the ballpoint pen and began mechanically writing the subpoena number. As I filled out the number, my eye fell on Charlie's signature on the "approval box." I think that like many great people, when he wrote his signature carefully, his signature had degenerated into a form, and his signature was almost impossible for me to recognize what those letters were.Since he took office, I have seen many of his signatures, and I have never thought of it. Until now, I have found that it is so easy to imitate. Pushing away those subpoenas, taking out a note, I began to try to imitate.The first few imitations were abysmal, but after a few minutes I got pretty good at them, and I'm sure that with practice I'll be able to do them perfectly. I crumpled the note and threw it in the wastebasket.At this time, a plan for how to get the money needed has been formed in the mind, and as long as it is ready, it can be implemented. But that's only possible when everything is ready, and now there is nothing to do except to finish those subpoenas and send them to Sally.When I handed the subpoena to Sally, she didn't read it, and stuffed it into an envelope. I cleared my throat and said, "From now on, when the subpoena comes in, give it to me to have a look. After the director has gone through it, show it to me again." She looked at me curiously and asked, "After he approves it?" I nodded and waited for the question, which was difficult to answer.However, I have to read it a second time. Once the director approves, there will be no doubts except for binding and filing. Then I can control it. What I can't control is the problem before the director's approval. I said, "If I am personally responsible, I have the right to look again." I know it's a bit pretentious to say that, but maybe it's all about gaining ground.Sally gave me a contemptuous look, then accepted my reasoning with a shrug.That's it, so far so good. Even so, I cannot put my name on the summons, nor risk it being sent to my home.So, at noon I skipped lunch and started setting up a company that didn't exist - Superb Commodities.In fact, setting up a company is easier than you think. Although a mailing address is required, my ancestor can complete the formalities with an email address. In addition, he also opened a bank account and saved a signature card in the bank file. After everything was satisfactory, I returned to the company, only a few minutes later than usual, and worked in a regular manner in the afternoon.When I got off work, I tucked some blank subpoenas in the newspaper and took them home. That night, I practiced the director's signature until the ballpoint pen could write easily, effortlessly, and perfectly.Then, using my old typewriter, I typed a bill for payment of one hundred and ninety-six dollars and fifty cents on the blank, not too large or too small to arouse any suspicion. I rechecked each item to make sure there were no negligence or omissions, so as not to make mistakes by myself. After the inspection was satisfactory, I picked up the pen and hesitated for a while, and then wrote Charlie's name in the "approval column". I compared the imitated one with the director's original one, and tried to distinguish it as much as possible, but I couldn't tell the authenticity from the fake one.I smiled and locked the summons in the desk, ready to go to sleep. On Friday afternoon, Sally put a large stack of subpoenas approved and signed by the director on my desk.She didn't speak, but her expression clearly told me that she thought it was my mother-in-law.When she walked away, I thought to myself, you know what? I pretended to re-examine the summons, and then, while no one was paying attention, I safely sandwiched the fake summons, waiting another five or six minutes just to be safe, before sending it to Sally. "All right," I said. "Okay!" she said, casually putting it aside. This surprised me, as I expected she would immediately put it in an envelope and seal it up, and once it was done, it would be much safer from being looked at.I stood at her desk and hesitated. "Is there anything else?" Sally asked. "No more." I said, and went back to my desk, but I couldn't take my eyes off the summons that was exposed there. When I was thinking about finding an excuse to get it back, the company's courier just came in, and Sally hurriedly put the subpoena into an envelope and handed it to the courier.I let out a breath of relief.That ease was short-lived. Although I have been in the company for so many years, I still don't know how long it will take for the check to be written and mailed once the subpoena is approved and sent to the headquarters. The next week and the next week, I was literally on pins and needles, going to the post office every week with mixed hopes and fears.At last there was it—a thin brown envelope that said "Excellent Commodity Company."My plan has worked out, I've got the money... My original plan was to stop this business as soon as I got enough money to pay my debts.Perhaps, if I had followed my original plan, everything would have gone smoothly, but if it went too well, it would be a little foolish to call it a day. Of course, I kept cheating the company with fake subpoenas, and it wasn't until Charlie called me into his office and showed me a pile of subpoenas on his desk that I realized how foolish it was to fake subpoenas in the first place. "Ellen, what the hell are you doing?" he said. "Even if Sally didn't notice that we were sending out more subpoenas than we were receiving, sooner or later a check of the accounts would have caught your trick." I looked at him blankly, "I don't know what an auditor is." "Of course not," Charlie said. "Sally and I were the only ones in the branch who knew. But someone with your background and experience should know that when a company's expenses inexplicably exceed most, the company Steps will definitely be taken to find out why." I didn't realize the real meaning of his words until afterward. At that time, I was so frightened that my crime was discovered by the company that I couldn't comprehend it. The director looked at me disgustedly. "Obviously, you don't know, do you?" He shook his head, "Honestly speaking, I think the company owes you a little over the years, so I'll give you a week to 'automatically' refund the money, and then send Headquarters report. If you can make it up, I can assure you that the company will not pursue it." I stood up slowly, said "thank you", and walked away slowly. Charlie stopped me and said, "Of course, you're fine if you don't come to work. I'll explain to my colleagues that you're on vacation. But leave the office key with Sally." I nodded and backed out. Sally accepted the key with a serious face and said, "You may not believe it, but I'm really sorry that there's nothing I can do." "Yes," I said, "you can't help it." As I turned around, I thought to myself, at least I have a week left, and that's what counts. A week may matter, but you know, if you're trying to raise a big sum of money under pressure, a week isn't enough, and the verdict will be extended once, maybe again, and this hope brings me to the night before the deadline Charlie's house. He lived at the end of a quiet street on the outskirts of the city. When I stood in front of his house and rang the doorbell, I shivered in the night wind. I heard the doorbell ding-dong ringing inside, but the room was quiet and pretty.I pressed harder, worried that he might not be home and my deadline was up, but then the door swung open and Charlie glared at me. "My God, Alan, what are you doing here." "I have to talk to you," I said, "I don't want to be in the office." He hesitated, looking back into the room.For a moment, I thought he was going to shut the door for me, but he shrugged and moved aside to let me in. "Okay," he said. "The house is a mess, please don't take offense," he continued loudly, leading me into the hall. "My wife went to see her sister. I've been living a bachelor life for a week and a half." He opened a door at the end of the passage, and led me into a well-decorated study, with a stone fireplace, with cylindrical gas-burning pipes, and a fire burning in the pipes, the interior was as warm as spring, and the fireplace On the left there is a door leading into the house, which is ajar. Another thing immediately caught my eye—two glasses sitting side by side on a low coffee table, both half-filled, and one with lipstick on the rim. That's why Charlie answered the door late. cause of tension. He has a woman here with him--not his wife. When Charlie caught the look in my eyes, he frowned. "Okay, Alan, what do you want to talk about?" "I need a little more time to raise money," I said, "give it another week." Charlie shook his head and said, "No, if you don't have any money, you won't have it for another week." "Yes, I will," I added hastily, "I have some property and have found a buyer, but that person will also need time to raise money." It's a lie, a week is always a week no matter what.During that time, I might be able to find out more about Charlie and women, and push Charlie not to tell. Now, he took out a snowflake from his breast pocket, gently held it between his fingers, lifted it to his chest, and asked, "How much can you get?" "Six thousand," I said eagerly, "enough to return what was embezzled, and leave..." "Keep what?" Charlie interrupted me. "Six thousand is only one-tenth of the money you embezzled." "What's the matter," I argued, "the subpoenas of the excellent company are only in the early three thousand." "I believe 'Excellent' is that amount," he said, "but add in the money you made up for 'Combat Company', 'Dingda Company' and many other fake companies, and the total comes to nearly seventy-five thousand dollars." I was dumbfounded, and it took me a long time to get in and out of a "No!" My voice was weak, "I don't know anything about those other companies." "Oh, don't deny it, Ellen," said Charlie, "you don't really want people to believe it, do you?" My God!I should have known that the amount I embezzled would not attract attention! That's why I know how to do small sums! "But you, you don't have to be careful, because you take me as a scapegoat. That's why you give me a week to raise money, you think I'm going to run away, let me make up whatever story I want, well, it's not going to be like that, I'm going to make everybody know the truth. " "That's enough!" Charlie shouted fiercely, "I really don't know what your intentions are? You may not be able to pay back the money in a thousand years, and you actually want to drag me into trouble. Let me tell you——Your move, the All my sympathy for you has been wiped out." He made an emphatic gesture with the cigar, "You said you could get six thousand yuan in a week, that's great, you can use that money to hire a lawyer." Then he turned around suddenly, put the cigar in his mouth, Light a match on the fireplace. Completely overwhelmed by the remark, I grabbed the closest thing - a heavy glass ashtray - and slammed it on the back of his head. Charlie leaned forward, touched the fireplace, and fell, motionless, to the ground. For a long time, I just stared at him.Then, bending over, I pulled him away from the fireplace and felt for his heartbeat.No, I have killed him by mistake!So I was terrified and flustered, and turned and fled. I drove frantically back to the apartment, but had no memory of how I got home.My first coherent memory is standing in the apartment door, breathing heavily, trying to figure out what to do next. However, I knew there was nothing I could do, and even if I hadn't left my fingerprints, the woman behind the door would have heard the whole argument - and probably seen me.She'll point me out, I have no escape route - only one. Without taking off my coat, I went straight into the bathroom, opened the medicine cabinet, and took out the sleeping pills I had left there.The whole jar was almost full, I poured two tablets in my hand, swallowed it with a glass of water, then poured two more tablets, but didn't have the courage to swallow again. Finally, I put the pills back in the bottle, went into the bedroom, lay on the bed with all my clothes on, and the pills took effect, and I fell asleep. The phone woke me up the next morning, and I dragged myself out of bed to answer the phone in frustration.But it wasn't the police call I expected, it was Edward from corporate headquarters. "Alan," he said, "thank God you're home. There's something big going on at the company and we need you to be here right now, and I hate to interrupt your vacation, but, to be clear, Charlie's dead, don't know Was it an accident, or suicide. He had a gas stove in his study, and we don't know whether the gas was on, didn't light it, or what, or he struck a match, and in any case, his house exploded and caught fire, and we'll never be sure how." His voice paused, and then he added, "You're going to find out sooner or later, Alan, so I better tell you first that Charlie keeps approving money to companies that don't exist, and he knows we're looking for someone to audit the books, and he knows he's going to get caught. So he seems to have resorted to suicide—suicide.” I started shaking, thinking about the road I almost walked. "Can we trust you, Alan." Edward asked. "Okay," I said reluctantly, "of course." "Well, then, Alan, we're reconsidering you as Division Chief. You may not be the best executive in the world, but at least you're honest, and I can't say enough about that. " "Yes." I said, putting down the phone. I can hardly believe this has happened.However, things do happen.The gas explosion wiped out all evidence of what actually happened, and now I can say whatever I like about the subpoena. But why didn't Charlie's girlfriend report the crime?This stumped me for a while. Then, I understood that she might be a married woman herself, afraid of scandal.For whatever reason, she didn't show up, and because of her non-show, my world suddenly brightened up. I changed my clothes in the bathroom, and I made up my mind that I would never do stupid things like fake subpoenas in the future. Because I can't have such good luck again. While I was putting on my tie, the doorbell rang.I tie the knot, straighten it, and go to the door. Sally stood there smiling mysteriously, a bunch of keys hanging from her raised fingers. That's when Charlie fired me, I handed it to her.She said, "Now that you're going back to the office, you need these keys. I want to bring them to you myself, so you don't have to ask for them yourself." "Really, Ellen," she said, with the smile on her face gone, "for a wise man, you behaved foolishly last night, just walk away and leave him lying there like that!" I calmly opened the door and locked it.I said, "You, the woman that Charlie was with last night? "Yes," she said, "you're lucky that I was there, and if I hadn't been there to put out those fires and go into the kitchen and fix the clock for the fire to be lit in an hour, you'd have your hands in handcuffs by now instead of Take the position of director." "But why?" I said. "Because Charlie didn't do those other fake subpoenas. It took me three weeks to figure out what I was up to, and then, uh—what you can do, I can do, and it's safe, because when necessary , I can point at you and say you did it, how about you? You can’t prove that you didn’t do it.” "Of course, now that he's dead, poor Charlie is the scapegoat," she gasped. "Although it is a pity in some respects, his signature is really easy to imitate, and..." she continued, "Now that you are going to be the director, your signature is not difficult to imitate. Right? What do you think?"