Free Merging Assets by Cheryl Dragon Page A

Crystal entered the office. Fred closed the door.
    “Okay, we’re here. What?” Crystal asked.
    “You won’t believe this.” Fred laughed.
    “This really isn’t the time for guessing games,” Roman said.
    “Your friends will be telling you this at lunch, Crystal, I’m sure. I only heard because of my friend in HR. The owners were back east for another business venture and never approved any of the inquiries. They had no idea what was going on until they got your letter,” Fred said.
    She shrugged. “They didn’t have to know about it. HR had the right to review the situation.”
    “Your letter must’ve been taken very seriously. Himmel and Douglas were investigated. They admitted they’ve been sleeping together and working together to get rid of you. Rumor is Himmel fudged something somewhere and worried you’d find it. Anyway, both of them got fired. I think Himmel’s wife is leaving him.” Fred folded his arms.
    Crystal laughed. “Serves them both right. Coming after us for doing things by procedure when they were in a secret relationship. I never thought he’d falsify records though. Wow, Himmel. His wife is nice. I met her at the holiday party last year. I still don’t understand why they went after me unless it was something to do with Accounts Payable.”
    “The investigation is ongoing. Who knows what they’ll find, but odds are you’d have uncovered it and they’d have been screwed. Maybe, that’s why they kept sending you to the warehouse and launched the investigation. They didn’t really care. It was just a big cover up. We may never get all the details, but you’d have found it. You don’t miss a thing, and you’re bluntly honest. That’s rare, and I love it.” Fred kissed her on the lips.
    “Thanks. It’s not always good, it seems,” she said.
    “For us it is. For your financial clients, it will be.” Andy winked at her.
    “Just be prepared, everyone,” Fred said.
    Andy’s smartphone chimed. Then Crystal’s ringtone went off. She looked at it and ignored the call. Andy did the same.
    The silence made Lance a little nervous. Would they offer Crystal a better job? More money. What about the guys?
    Crystal shook her head. “No way. We’re not going back. The owners hired Himmel and Douglas and need to learn from their mistakes. They lost five great employees because they didn’t stay in the loop and communicate effectively. If people with power trample their employees, the employees leave. There are other options available for employment. When you treat people like that, they’ll start over elsewhere rather than be belittled and blamed.”
    “Thank God! I wasn’t going back no matter what they offered me.” Lance grinned.
    “Me, either. An apology would be nice but too little, too late.” Roman nodded.
    “Same here. I like being our own boss,” Andy said.
    Fred nodded. “Me, too. Security is good, but there’s no trust in that place anymore.”
    “We can trust each other. And we know we were right. I hope the owners fix all of their bad picks in the executive wing and rebuild the trust with their employees. At least, we didn’t burn the bridge. Douglas and Himmel set fire to it,” Crystal said.
    “I hope they both stay in town so we can rub it in their faces,” Lance said.
    Crystal laughed. “I hope they leave, and we never see them again. It’s good to know we’ve been vindicated. Now, back to our work.”
    * * * *
    At lunch, Crystal was on cloud nine. Proven blameless and free, she sat with the three women she’d driven to Lucky Springs with. Ashley had grown up here and still work in sales at the factory. Her guys were in quality control. Zoe was marketing and already had a baby with her salesmen. Lizzie had left customer service for the bee hunks.
    “I still can’t believe all the drama,” Lizzie said.
    Ashley nodded. “Zoe and I both lodged complaints with HR, not that it would’ve helped with Douglas behind it.”
    “She was one of those