Chapter 133
Mr. Charlie was all at sea. He’d set a new password when he left the warehouse. If there was someone in there, how the hell did they get out?
There’s no way they could’ve cracked that complex password system.
But if the warehouse was empty, what’s the deal with the recording inside? Was the warehouse really under surveillance?
Did the warehouse manager betray them?
“Dean, go fetch the warehouse manager.” Arabella’s words made the three people in the room uneasy.
The other employees outside the office were gobsmacked. The warehouse manager had issues too?
Good Lord, what a hot mess the management was!
No wonder the company didn’t make any progress after a year!
So many problems were gnawing at the company.
The warehouse manager seemed to be in her early twenties, wearing glasses and looking all quiet–not the type who would stab the company in the back.
When Dean called her, she knew she couldn’t hide it anymore. With a sobbing voice, she murmured, “Ms. Bennett
Although she was older than Arabella, Arabella’s aura frightened her, and she didn’t dare meet Arabella’s gaze.
Arabella tapped her slender fingers on the table, scanning the four people in the room. “Oh right, we’re missing one more. Bring the head of the procurement department.” The other employees outside the door were stunned. Even the head of procurement was involved.
Were there any good guys left in the management?
Once everyone was there, Arabella casually started, “Now that everyone is here, spill the beans.”
“Ms. Bennett.” Mr. Charlie was scared out of his wits.
The head of procurement quickly exclaimed, “Ms. Bennett, I have nothing to do with this.”
“Ms. Bennett, I don’t know anything.” The warehouse manager also tried to defend herself.
The other leaders kept their heads down, knowing there was no point in arguing.
“If no one wants to fess up,” Arabella didn’t seem to be in a hurry, casually glancing at the people in front of her and saying, “Then I’ll have to guess.” Everyone kept their lips sealed.
“I’ve checked the company’s purchase orders. The procurement price for each type of fabric is almost the same as the market price. But if you’re in a long-term partnership with the supplier, the price can be lowered.”
“For instance, a hundred meters of regular pure cotton fabric usually costs around 130 bucks. If you partner long–term, you can get it for 80 bucks.”
“But the head of procurement has been buying in bulk at a price of 150. At this price, a roll of a hundred meters of fabric can make at least seventy to eighty new items, but when it arrives at the warehouse, there are only twenty to thirty left.”
“Ms. Bennett, you don’t understand.”
Before Arabella could finish, the head of procurement hastily explained, “The young designers in the design department include too many elements in the new designs; they’re complex and consume a lot of fabric. It’s mainly consumed during production; it’s not my personal problem.”
“If workers on the production line really made seventy to eighty new items, but only twenty to thirty arrived at the warehouse, how could they possibly agree? Their wages are calculated per piece.”
There’s a huge difference!
“What if these extra fifty pieces were sold elsewhere by you guys and the money earned was shared among you?” Arabella casually/suggested, “What if you agreed with the cloth supplier on a price of 80 bucks per hundred meters of fabric but wrote 150 on the books?”
Arabella tapped on the computer a few times and then turned the screen towards her.
“You’re in partnership with three cloth suppliers. Each month, at different times, these three suppliers make transfers to your personal account. If this isn’t kickbacks, can you explain to me what it is?”
The head of procurement was stunned. She hadn’t expected Arabella to find out all this. How was this possible?
“There are issues with the purchase amount, quantity, and quality.” Arabella’s gaze shifted to the quiet girl in front. “There are issues with the intake and output. Now it’s your turn to explain.”
The warehouse manager was terrified and stammered, “Ms. Bennett, I didn’t.”
“I’ve checked the company’s surveillance and the surveillance of nearby courier points.”
Arabella’s slender fingers tapped on the keyboard, and countless surveillance images appeared on the computer screen, filling everyone’s vision.
“The surveillance shows that you’ve sent goods from the warehouse to the nearby courier point more than three hundred times. You have several phone numbers, all registered under your name. You’ve sent more than three hundred parcels.”
“Ms. Bennett.” Facing the irrefutable surveillance evidence, the warehouse manager turned pale, and cold sweat trickled down her face.
“You sent a parcel to the courier point after work yesterday, but they hadn’t had time to send it out. There is information about the recipient. Dean called the recipient, and she said she had placed an order from an online shop called ‘Collins Fashion Online Store“.”
“I found the shop. It’s been in operation for 11 months. In other words, the second month after the company was established, you set up an online shop and sold the company’s products there. You didn’t get the company’s agreement or authorization.”
“Depending on the style the customer needs, if it’s a small quantity of clothes, you send them after work; if it’s a large quantity, you ship directly from the warehouse, calling the courier to pick it up at the warehouse. The courier has come to pick up more than two hundred times.”
“But each product is tens of dollars cheaper than the market price.”
The warehouse manager was so scared that her legs turned to jelly and she was trembling all over.
Arabella turned her gaze to the other three, stating firmly, “Not only did you sell the company’s high–quality products, but you also privately used inferior fabric to produce poor–quality clothes, then stuck the company’s label on them and sold them elsewhere, damaging the company’s reputation. Am I right?”
None of them had expected her to dig this deep; It was way beyond their wildest guesses!
It was as if she had hard evidence!
They were all scared shitless, pale as ghosts, beads of cold sweat trickling down their foreheads, at a loss for words as to how to explain all this.
“You guys have anything to say before I call the cops?” Arabella’s gaze swept over each of them, waiting for someone to speak up.
Eden, the team leader of Line 4, was the first one to crack under the pressure, blurting out, “Mr. Oscar made us do it. Either get on board with him or get out of the company. We really had no choice, man!”
“Yeah!” chimed in the leader of Line 5, “We’re in debt up to our eyeballs, and in a moment of stupidity.”
“Enough,” Mr. Charlie said, stopping them from continuing.
