All Chapters of Don't Mess With Finance: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Two weeks had passed, and my reimbursement still hadn't hit my account. Staring at the pitiful balance, I got up and headed to the finance office to ask about it."Ms. Lane, why hasn't my reimbursement arrived yet? I've already fronted all the expenses for client meetings. If the money doesn't show up today, I can't even do my job!"Naomi Lane's face was thunderous. She slammed a stack of expense reports onto the desk with a sharp slap. "If you hadn't come to me, I'd have come looking for you! Just look at these—do you even know how to fill out an expense report? Learn how to fill these out correctly instead of embarrassing yourself!"I blinked in confusion. "What's wrong? Haven't I always filled them out this way? Everything worked fine before—why is it suddenly wrong now?"Naomi rolled her eyes, poking at the papers. "I gave you leeway before, but not anymore!"I forced my frustration down and said, "Please show me exactly how it should be done. I'll fix it according to the rule

Chapter 2

Naomi snapped, "On purpose? Don't be ridiculous. I'm following the finance rules to the letter. You can complain all you want, but I'm not wrong. The choice is yours, but get out now!"My blood boiled, and I could feel my pulse spike. I glared at Naomi, but my manners kept me from swearing at her outright.After a moment of thought, I grabbed the expense report from my desk and pushed open the finance office door. "Fine! Stick to your precious rules. I'm going straight to Mr. Gray to see whether this receipt can actually be reimbursed!"Naomi showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, her expression was pure challenge. "Go ahead! Don't think I'm intimidated just because you involve Mr. Gray. Someone like you should have been kicked off the company roster a long time ago. I'm curious whether Mr. Gray would really choose to offend the company's lifeline for a nobody like you."Back at my desk, I clutched my pillow, trying to calm the storm of anger and frustration surging inside. But I fa

Chapter 3

David said, "Today, I'm giving you a special privilege. Any reimbursement that isn't properly filled out will be returned for correction until it meets the standards. At the monthly meeting, you'll be this month's employee of the month. Don't forget to go up and give your speech."Naomi's eyes lit up with delight. "Thank you, Mr. Gray! I'll give it my all, so I won't let you down!"David looked thoroughly pleased. Then he fixed me with a hard look. "See that? Salespeople like you are useless and lazy! You don't even bother to learn from others and waste company resources on trivial nonsense every day. Have you no shame? Now, redo your expense report exactly as Ms. Lane instructed!"My hands trembled as I clutched the reports. The frustration lodged in my chest pressed painfully, and tears threatened to spill over.As I walked out of David's office, Naomi shot out behind me. Her eyes glinted with contempt as she looked me up and down. "Weren't you going to get Mr. Gray to sort thi

Chapter 4

I had always stayed late voluntarily, working unpaid overtime so as not to disrupt my colleagues in finance. I would burn the midnight oil to prepare every file in advance. But now, who in their right mind would repay their cruelty with kindness?The company's internal system pinged again with a flashing red alert. "Sales department staff must organize all order files immediately. This concerns crucial matters like tax reporting. Set aside other work and deal with it immediately!"I couldn't help but laugh at the glaring exclamation marks. Methodically, I gathered all this month's orders, verifying each against the records and tracing them back to their source according to the sales submission rules.I wasn't in a rush, but someone else clearly couldn't sit still.…The next morning, Naomi barged into the sales office. She jabbed a finger at me and barked, "Madeleine Shaw! Are you doing this on purpose? You know how critical end-of-month submissions are, yet you're deliberately

Chapter 5

"Madeleine, what on earth are you doing?" Lincoln snapped. "Every other sales team has already turned in their paperwork. Yours is the only one still missing. You said you needed to follow procedures, and I approved all of it, but deadlines don't wait for anyone. I need a definite timeline from you today. If your team causes a delay in the tax filing, you won't be the only one dealing with the consequences."I stared at him helplessly but said nothing.A colleague at the next desk finally couldn't hold back and muttered under their breath, "Madeleine hasn't done anything wrong. Didn't Naomi from finance do the same thing? It's been over a month, and Madeleine still has a pile of expense reports waiting for reimbursement. Why does finance get credit for doing this, but sales gets the criticism?"Lincoln caught on instantly. He didn't argue and simply walked off. In under two minutes, he came back, holding Naomi by the arm and forcing her to stand in front of me."Naomi, what are you

Chapter 6

Lincoln's furious voice exploded through the office, and Naomi froze where she stood. "You're an accountant, for God's sake. Instead of doing your job, you're using the little authority you have to make life difficult for your coworkers. Take a good look at yourself. Do you really think you deserve this position? If you can handle the job, then do it. If you can't, pack up and leave."Naomi shrank back under his scolding and didn't dare make a sound. That afternoon, she returned to the sales department.Her eyes were bloodshot, and her lids were swollen like walnuts. She stood in front of me with her head lowered and whispered, "Madeleine, I was wrong to hold up your expense reports. I'm here to apologize. I'm sorry. The finance department has to file our statements by the end of the month. I'm begging you—please give me the order documents."I looked at her with a half-smile that wasn't quite a smile and found the whole thing absurd. "Is that so, Ms. Lane? Don't worry. From now o

Chapter 7

Soft murmurs rippled through the room as my coworkers began whispering among themselves. Countless unreadable gazes bore into me from every direction, leaving me exposed with nowhere to hide. I felt like I was under a spotlight, wishing desperately I could sink into the floor and disappear.Just then, David abruptly shifted his tone and announced loudly, "In addition, Ms. Naomi Lane has shown remarkable dedication and responsibility in her work. Not only has she consistently kept the company's best interests in mind, but she has also worked through the night to help the company avoid substantial losses. She is unquestionably this month's Star Employee. On behalf of the company, I am pleased to award her a three-thousand-dollar cash bonus. Ms. Lane, please come up and address everyone. Let us give her a warm round of applause."The room erupted in thunderous clapping, following David's lead. The applause was deafening.When I looked up, my eyes met Naomi's just as she stood. She was

Chapter 8

After hearing me out, Vivian finally calmed down. When I asked for her help, she didn't hesitate for a second and immediately agreed. After hanging up, I let out a long, satisfying breath."Naomi and David, just you wait! I'll make sure you learn what happens when you cross me!"…I forced myself to wait patiently for a whole month. During that time, I endured endless glares from my coworkers and tried my best to make myself invisible. Even when Naomi came storming into the sales department to cause trouble, I held it all in.It wasn't until Thursday that David stormed into the sales office, seething with anger. "How are you even salespeople? Did you take care of the client at all? This was a 30‑million‑dollar deal! The factory has already produced the products, and now the client is gone! The company fronted the entire 30 million dollars. Do you even understand the responsibility you're supposed to bear?"The entire office kept their heads down under his tirade. After venting h

Chapter 9

Naomi let out a mocking laugh. "You really have no sense at all. You actually dare to show up?"I put on an anxious expression and kept my tone humble. "Ms. Lane, this payment is really urgent. It has to be transferred within three days. This is my first order this month. If it falls through, I'll probably be living on air for the rest of the month."Naomi's expression turned sly. She didn't even glance at the documents, instead staring at me with obvious interest. "A sales champion like you, afraid of losing such a tiny order? I thought you were actually impressive, and yet here you are, begging me."She toyed with the documents in her hand and said, "Here's your chance. I'll let you go if you kneel in front of the entire company and apologize to me. What do you say?"I could hardly believe what I'd just heard. Who did she take herself for—an empress? What right did she have to demand such a degrading act from me?My face drained of all color, and my hands clenched into fists as

Chapter 10

"Don't tell me you didn't know?" Vivian said, brushing past David's outstretched hand as she walked away.The office fell into a heavy silence. David's anger surged, turning his face a deep shade of red. "Damn it! Where's Madeleine? Where did you send the payment I authorized?"I opened the internal system without expression and switched to the page that interfaced with the finance department. "Mr. Gray, I submitted the payment request to finance first thing the morning after the contract was signed, but Ms. Lane said it needed verification before releasing the funds," I said. "Over the next three days, I sent ten reminders each day. I clearly outlined the deadline and importance of the payment in advance. I never expected it still wouldn't go through..."David's face deepened to a fiery red, and his chest heaved with ragged breaths. "Naomi? Where is that fool? What on earth is she doing?"David's roar rang through the office. Naomi stumbled over, looking as pale as a ghost. "N

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP