Chapter 19: I Love You

I rushed to the toilet because I wanted to change my clothes. After replacing my working clothes with a clean hangout dress, I was about to leave the small cubicle. Suddenly, I heard something from the sink area.  

 “All’s good?” It’s June’s voice.

“Yes, it’s safe! Oh, how about ‘that’ one?” Caithlyn whispered, emphasizing on ‘that’. Since it was quiet here, I could hear it too.  

“Oh, I’m still clueless about it. I still try to find out about it, but still, no clue. I wonder who did it?” June said.  

Then I couldn’t hear anything else. All I could hear was the sound of flowing water. 

After a while, Caithlyn said, “Let’s go home.” 

“Yes, see you next week, Lyn.”

I was still in the bathroom until I was sure they weren’t in the toilet anymore. What did they talk about? About ‘that’ one? Was it about the money embezzlement?  

After checking around and it was safe since no one was there, I rushed to wash my face. Then I powdered it, applied lip gloss to my lips, and combed my hair. Then I left the toilet.  

When I returned to the working room, Cecil sent a text. ‘Go now? Jenny, Anna, and I are waiting downstairs.’

I replied right away, ‘Okay, you can go first. I’m still waiting for Edward. Let’s meet in All Tasty.’

‘Got it!’ That’s what she replied.

Then Edward entered the room. “Ready?” 

“Yes. Let’s go!!” 

While bringing the document bags for Monday, Edward and I headed to the parking lot. He took the bags from my arms and put them on the backseats. 

After sitting, I immediately told him, “When I was in the toilet, I heard June and Caithlyn talking about ‘that’ and they also talked about who did it.”

“What’s ‘that’?” He frowned. 

I shook my head. “I don’t know. They only said ‘that’. I guessed maybe it was about the money embezzlement.”

“Hmm … I wonder if the culprit may be someone else.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s possible. We must open our eyes wide to see if anyone is suspicious. Incomes and expenditures in all financial records of the company are noted clearly, including in Marketing. We have the dates and the amount for all transactions. The staff name who handled each transaction is also noted. So we can trace it from the financial record.”

“That’s the problem! Despite having the records, no one checked all the details. Considering we have so many transactions each month. You know it better than I do about this.”

“Yes, you’re right.” I nodded. “As an accounting staff, my job was more to note all transaction proofs to create accounting documents and reports, and also to check the product stocks by the end-of-year. It’s for matching our record with the actual amount in the storage.” Then I was silent for a while. “If we have the data for each product, I can check one by one. From what I have worked, based on the income statement, the company has a high profit. So, I didn’t expect we would have a problem like this.”

“Yes, it’s doable,” he said, “but I doubt you can find any evidence there. Considering the prices that buyers paid and the prices on each transaction are different. It’s true that Marketing can offer a discount percentage to potential buyers. However, the total they offer and what buyers pay must be the same. No one has any right to take advantage of the discount percentage considering they already received a selling commission and also a bonus if they can surpass the target.”

His fingers tapped the desk. “How to prove it will be difficult because no buyers will want to give us the proof. The embezzlement has been going on for years, and the prime suspects are only three of them because they are the longest working there. The rest of the staff are mostly new. The newer staff mostly joined us 2-3 years ago. While the embezzlement has happened from five years or more until now.”

“It makes sense.” I nodded. “I’ll tell you if I already find someone to help us.”

“Please ASAP, okay? I can’t wait to catch them.” He looked upset. 

“Yes, Boss!”

Afterward, we went to the mall. Cecil, Jenny, and Anna already left long before us. In the car, I thought about my friends or acquaintances who could help to set a trap. After five minutes, I gave up. I would rethink about it after returning from Singapore. 

It was crowded in the street. Well, it was expected because it was the weekend. I noticed many cars from outside of our city in the street. After 45 minutes, we finally arrived at the mall parking lot. 

Cecil sent me a text. ‘Have you arrived? We have been here. Let me know if you are already here, okay?’

I replied to her right away, ‘Yes, we were just here, but we are trying to find a place to park the car. Go ahead. Book a table and start it first if Edward and I haven’t come after fifteen minutes. We will be there soon. Thanks, bestie!’

Since the parking lot was full, Edward had to turn the car twice before we could find an empty spot to park. Many people in our city loved going to the mall, especially on the weekends. The mall was one of the favorite malls in our city. So finding a parking spot there, especially on the weekends, was always a challenge.

“Honey, they already arrived for a while. Let’s hurry.”

“Okay!” He held my hand. 

On the elevator, he hugged my waist with an arm. I was awkward, but also proud to stand beside him. Who wouldn’t be proud to have a handsome, powerful, and smart boyfriend like him? 

Some people paid attention to us. Some of them looked puzzled. Probably they saw Edward was more suitable to go with the most beautiful and thinnest woman in the world. However, he was with me. I knew it was just my overthinking. But I couldn’t help it. I felt inferior again.  

He gazed at me, who was silent. Later, he squeezed my hand gently. “Lana? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Let’s go!!” I held his hand. 

He removed his arm around my waist. When the elevator reached the upper level, all left it, except us.  

When the door closed, he whispered in my ear, “Are you uncomfortable I hugged your waist?”

I was about to deny it, but I finally was honest with him. “Actually, I was down because many looked at us. They probably thought I didn’t deserve you.”

He said nothing. When we reached the second floor, the elevator door opened. He escorted me to the side then looked below.  

I was confused. We should go to All Tasty on this floor. Then why did he just stand here?

He whispered in my ear again, “You are overthinking too much. It isn’t necessary that people think negatively about others.” 

I was startled. I thought he was silent because he thought it was a trivial thing. 

He continued, “Most people are only concerned about what happens with them. So, if they think negatively about you, it’s fine.” He held my shoulders, turning my body so we could be face-to-face. “You are my girlfriend. It’s a fact. I love you and I want to be with you.” 

Afterward, he was quiet for a moment. He tucked a strand of my hair below my ear while gazing at me closely. “Do you feel the same?”

As if a breeze from Heaven blew in my direction, I smiled widely. “Yes,” I whispered. “More than anything, I want to be with you.” 

He held my hands now. “Then stop thinking that you are unworthy of me.” He squeezed my hands. “You are, baby,” he said slowly, emphasizing every word. "You are worthy of me."

I almost cried. I cleared my throat several times to remove a lump there. After a while, I nodded. “Let’s go! Cecil, Jenny, and Anna must have been waiting for us.”

He nodded. Then he wrapped his arm around my waist. Together, we walked to the restaurant. This time I walked more lightly because I was happy. 

When we got there, Jenny waved at us. It was almost full there. Fortunately, they already had a table. Edward and I approached their table. They already started eating.  

“The parking lot is full? It’s been a half hour since we are here,” Cecil said. 

“Sorry. Yes, it was packed until he had to turn around twice to get a spot,” I said while staring at my friends with an apology.  

“That’s okay. We started first. Sorry, sir,” Anna said to Edward.  

“It’s okay. We are outside of the office. Just call me by my name,” he said while smiling.