“Malon, thank you for last night,” Nancy said, her voice filled with gratitude.

“No need to thank me,” Vespera replied with a warm smile. “Head out first. See you at the office,” Nancy said before leaving the room.

A thousand-armed Dominic led the way to the branch office, accompanied by Vespera, Gietand, and two senior executives from headquarters who had arrived a few days earlier. The atmosphere at the branch office was tense, the team on edge since they heard of Dominic’s visit. No one dared to relax; each person was wary of a surprise.

Nancy had changed into a crisp, all-business suit, looking sleek and professional. As Dominic arrived at the company entrance, she stood by the door with the entire branch management team, awaiting his arrival.

“Welcome, Mr. Beid. We’re honored to have you here,” she greeted him warmly.

Dominic shot her a quick glance. He then offered a few polite words to the executives before heading straight into the meeting room.

They spent the entire day at the branch office—attending meetings, reviewing performance reports, analyzing financial statements, and assessing the progress of key projects. For lunch, Namera arranged for them to dine at a well-known local restaurant. By evening, she had scheduled a formal dinner with important partners involved in their major projects.

The branch’s assistant general manager and finance manager also joined, filling the private dining room with a table full of executives and stakeholders.

After a long day of work, Vespera and Gerend were completely drained. They sat in the lounge area outside the private dining room, finally able to catch their breath. “Vespera, did you notice? Ms. Acosta seems like a completely different person today compared to last night,” Gerard commented, indulging in some office gossip. After working together for the past two days, they had become familiar enough that he now called her by her first name.

Staring intently at her tablet, Vespera didn’t look up. “Last night was personal. Today is business. She knows how to keep the two separate.”

“You’ve just never seen her when she doesn’t,” Gerard replied.

“Well, whatever’s going on in her personal life is her problem. She and Mr. Reid can sort out their own drama,” Vespera replied.

“You’re still a little shaken up from last night, aren’t you?” Gerard asked.

“To be honest, it’s pretty complicated,” Vespera admitted.

Thinking about Dominic’s comment about not liking women, Vespera couldn’t help but glance at Gerard. As she looked at his refined, scholarly features, her expression grew thoughtful.

“Who are you looking at me like that?” Gerard asked.

Vespera quickly looked away. “It’s nothing.” She turned her focus back to her tablet, pretending to be absorbed in her work.

Curious about what had her so focused, Gerard leaned over for a closer look. He found her going through the factory’s attendance records, payroll documents, and other related files.

“Is there a problem?” he asked.

“Yes. The attendance sheet matches the payroll records, but when I cross-checked with the daily on-site reports in the attachments, I found that the actual number of people present is always two less—every single day.”

That doesn’t sound right. Gerard took the tablet from her and started reviewing the data himself. Seeing the payroll and attendance records lined up, and that the daily attendance reports didn’t explicitly state the total headcount, he realized finance wouldn’t usually pay that much attention. Whether planned or quickly overlooked in detail, it wasn’t an obvious discrepancy. With Dominic overseeing a large-scale inspection, it was even less likely he’d catch such a minor detail.

“This shouldn’t be happening,” Vespera said. “The factory has dedicated personnel managing recruitment and attendance. The clock-in records show 1,024 employees, but the site headcount is always 1,002.”

The only logical explanation is that someone is exploiting a management loophole to siphon off ghost salaries. But who’s behind it and how they’re pulling it off, she couldn’t figure out.

Gerard quickly skimmed through the files. “Apa,” he murmured. “It seems this has been going on for ten years. With the amount converted to dollars, these two ‘ghosts’…”

For this to go unnoticed for a decade, the culprit must be someone inside the company. A scheme like this couldn’t last long without internal collusion. “We should inform Mr. Head, but he’s scheduled to attend the Gowan Investment business summit in Benkot…”

“How about this: I’ll head to the factory tomorrow and try to track down these ‘ghost employees’ myself,” Vespera suggested.

“Good,” Gerard replied.

Just then, someone stepped out of the private room. Upon seeing their reaction, a look of menace crossed their face.

Chapter End

The dinner concluded, Dersdale still seemed impeccably composed. His posture was sharp and focused, and his steps were steady and assured. He handed Vespera and Gerard his keyring and asked them to settle the bill. It became painfully clear he was thoroughly implicated.

Though not as drunk as she had been the night before, Nancy quickly caught up with him, tugging at his arm. “How about coming to my place? I have the wine you enjoy.”

“No thanks,” Dominic replied flatly, dismissing her without a second thought.

As he walked down the hallway, his foot caught on an uneven patch in the carpet, and he stumbled. Before Vespera and Gerard could react, Nancy quickly stepped forward, arms outstretched, ready to catch him. But just before she could reach him, Dominic reached back. Vespera was yanked forward, crashing directly into Nancy’s arms. Their faces were only inches apart.

Vespera stood there, shocked. Had she really just become Dominic’s personal crash pad?

Nancy froze for a moment, her expression darkening. Did he really just use his secretary as a human shield instead of letting her catch him?

Fuming, she stormed off as soon as they exited the restaurant.

Vespera, however, didn’t have the luxury of walking away. She had only been in this job for three days—quitting wasn’t an option yet.

Once they got into the car, she finally noticed a dull ache in her knee. Looking down, she saw a deep bruise already forming—dark purple, with tiny flecks of blood beneath the surface. It must have happened when Dominic yanked her earlier. His leg had been absurdly hard.