Chapter Nine

"Why do you have to locked me in the office Raine? You know I can't be here. I have more important things to do than stay here. I can't be still, I need to find her. I've said it before, if you cannot allow my indefinite leave, I can quit the job, or you can fire me! I don't care!" Dee ranted. Slowly feeling anger towards her friend.

"Dee, the private investigator needs time. He said that he will call as soon as he has any development, right? I'm sure he's busy finding and tracking her. And you can't do anything without his updates. Come on. I need you here." Raine begged to her friend.

"Why do you need me for? I'm just what?! A manager! Anyone can replace me, Raine…"

"No one can replace you Dee. We know and everyone knows that you are more than capable than  just being a manager here, even if you keep on retaining that title". Ellie interjected, as she entered the room.

"What are you doing here Ellie?" Dee asked surprised to see their CEO.

"Really Raine, do you have to call your girlfriend?" Dee asked totally annoyed now.

"Yes, because I can no longer stop you. But more than that, she's here as our CEO and not just my girlfriend."

"Dee…" Ellie called trying to get Dee's attention. It's true that we need you here. I need you here. Our people need you. Our company is facing one of the biggest frauds we have ever experienced. If we do not act now, this can put our company in jeopardy. It wouldn't matter if it's just me or the management that will suffer, but you need to remember, we have about 5,000 people relying on us and losing our business means they will suffer, including their families. Can you really let that happen? Can you live with that? We need your expertise in solving this matter." Ellie trying to explain the weight of the situation.

Dee did not react for few seconds, contemplating the matter at hand. "Fine Ellie, you win. I'll do this for you and because of that speech. It's unfair that you used the employees against me. But promise me, as soon as I find this son of a bitch whose wreaking havoc in our company, and after I've compiled all the necessary reports to start a fraud case, you'll let me go, deal?"

"Deal, I'm fine with that Dee. You can have an indefinite leave as soon as you find the culprit and prepare the necessary proof."

"Good. Raine, I need the Celonis process mining system approved right away." Dee asked switching gear and surprisingly, turning into work mode right away. "I need that tool now so we can perform the necessary process and data analytics. I've seen what that system can do in our demo and it's the best and easiest choice we have to solve this matter."

"If that's the case, the fastest way to do it is to make use of our own money first. If you'll wait for the company approval and stuff, it will take days, 2 weeks at least." Raine explained trying to catch up with Dee's decision.

"I can't wait that long." Dee said, suddenly getting her phone to call someone.

"Hey Pat, I was wondering if you can lend me $50,000 right now? It's not too much right? With your trust fund and all, this won't even break the bank. I need to buy one Celonis license and I can't wait for the company approval to acquire the system. Yeah, you're right. I will use it for the fraud case. I think so too, this is really the fastest way. I would be able to provide that amount but not as fast as you can. Are you good with that? Ahuh, great then. Thanks for contacting them for me. Just let me know once you have the license. I think its best if we look at the data later. I'll also bring Raine and Claire so we can have a sit down and analyze it better. Thanks Pat, I owe you one." Dee hanged up the phone.

"Sounds good to you Ellie, happy now?" Dee asked looking into Ellie's direction.

"As a CEO, I'm more than happy. Thank you, Dee. I'll keep my promise. The moment I have the complete report in my desk, you're free to do whatever you want." Ellie happily responded.

"Great, excuse me then, I need to talk to Claire. I'll probably pull out some of the audit managers too. Just for a day or two in order to fast track everything." Dee explained before she left.

Ellie and Raine stood there in the room, both amazed and bewildered on what just happened.

"How did you do that? I tried talking to her for hours, begged her but nothing worked." Raine asked, still in awe. "But you… you talk her through it and now, I feel that our problem will soon be solved in a blink of an eye." 

Ellie chuckled. "It's a secret Babe, my charm I guess." She said, kissing Raine on the lips before leaving.

"Thank God, you're here." Raine admitted.

"I know right. See you tonight?"

"Yeah, missing you already."

*******************************

After two days...

"Here's the report you requested Ms. CEO." Dee said as she entered Ellie's room.

"That son of a bitch, the one who tipped us was actually part of it. It was a collusion amongst our high-ranking employees. That's why our controls weren't able to detect it and our auditors wasn't able to see it immediately. It was very well hidden and properly justified in paper. We were able to see a pattern of irregularities using the new system, that's why we were able find a lead and follow the trail. These 3 reports contain everything. Who are involved, how did they do it, how much did we lose, and how do they plan to continue… It was getting bigger and bigger and I guess our whistle blower got scared of what might have happen, so he retreated before everything exploded." Dee explained continuously. 

"Great job Dee. Thank you so much." Ellie replied, really impressed on the result of the analysis.

"Don't thank me. A lot of us worked overnight because of this. I'll send you the list of the employees so you can properly reward them."

"Will do…And here's your reward…" Ellie said giving Dee a piece of paper.

"What is this?" Dee asked, not sure of what to expect.

"Her address…"

"You... you mean Marge's address…?" Dee asked, making sure she heard Ellie correctly.

"Yes, I harassed you, so did the same to your investigator until I got the information that I wanted. You're not the only one who is good in keeping her word Dee." Ellie explained.

"Thank you. Thank you so much Ellie." Dee hugging Ellie in an instant.

"No worries. What are you waiting for? You already have the address. Go get her okay, and don't let her out of your sight again. 10 years is too long Dee… it's about time."

"I know, thanks Ellie. If you need more information, Pat, Raine or Claire can definitely answer it. They are fully briefed on the matter."

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I got it from here."