Chapter 32 Ruthless Tactics
In the end, Fiona didn't even give Rufus a shot to turn himself in.
The second he stepped outta the office, the cops slapped cuffs on him.
"Fiona, you heartless witch! Karma's gonna get you!" Rufus spat as they shoved him into the squad car.
Wyatt frowned and shot a look at Fiona.
Fiona, cool as a cucumber, didn't even flinch at Rufus's rant.
Wyatt raised an eyebrow. "When'd you set all this up? You didn't even give me a heads-up."
"This mess happened on my watch, so I had to clean it up before passing it to you," Fiona said, all calm and collected.
"Not even letting him turn himself in, that's cold. We've known each other five years, right? How'd I miss you were this hardcore?" Wyatt crossed his arms, looking chill but with a hint of respect in his eyes.
"If I don't handle them right, I'll be the one in hot water." Fiona paused. "Plus, they trashed my friend's car, and it wasn't cheap."
"Vengeful, nice touch," Wyatt said with a thumbs-up and a grin.
"Mr. Durham, I'll take care of the next steps. You cool with that?" Fiona waved a list in her hand.
If Wyatt had any doubts about Fiona before, they were gone now.
"Sure thing." he nodded.
Fiona waved over a nervous-looking guy nearby.
It was Sean Cole, the HR Director.
Sean and the other managers, seeing Rufus get hauled off, were on edge.
With Rufus in charge, none of the management was clean; it was just a matter of how dirty they were.
Now, it felt like an invisible guillotine was hanging over everyone's heads, ready to drop at any second.
Sean hurried over. "Ms. Woods, Mr. Durham."
Fiona ordered, "Get everyone together for a meeting."
"Got it." Sean quickly pulled out his phone and started calling everyone in the work group.
Next to him, Wyatt took out his phone and opened Darwin's chat, wanting to tell him how cool and interesting Fiona was.
But his fingers hovered over the keyboard.
In the end, Wyatt closed the chat.
Darwin was about to get hitched.
No need to tell him about other cool and interesting women.
Wyatt slipped his phone back into his suit pocket.
He smiled at Fiona. "Ms. Woods, it's almost noon. What do you wanna eat?"
Fiona replied, "Let's hit the cafeteria after the meeting."
Wyatt was a bit taken aback.
He'd dated a lot of women, some he was serious about.
Some loved Michelin-starred spots, others only ate at fancy joints.
Basically, they were all high-maintenance.
This was the first time a woman suggested the cafeteria.
Darwin was willing to drop cash on Fiona.
He'd write checks without blinking.
Wyatt had thought Fiona was just another gold digger.
But now, it seemed she wasn't.
"What're you staring at?" Fiona noticed Wyatt's curious look and shot him a glare.
Wyatt's eyes crinkled with a smile. "After knowing Darwin for so long, I've finally seen him misjudge someone. You're a real gem."
Fiona went quiet, let out a cold laugh, and then turned and walked into the conference room.
These playboys never had anything good to say.
She hadn't forgotten the day she handed in her resignation to Darwin. Wyatt had been all smiles, joking that he could buy her for a higher price.
Since they knew someone from HQ was coming, most of the engineering department staff were on-site.
As soon as Sean called, everyone hustled into the conference room.
With Rufus arrested, no one dared to slack off.
"Ms. Woods, everyone's here except those out on procurement," Sean said, wiping sweat from his forehead. "About Rufus, we..."
He hadn't finished when everyone's phones started buzzing.
They all pulled out their phones and quickly checked.
In the engineering department group chat, Wyatt had posted all the dirt Rufus had confessed to.
Everyone was floored after reading it.
"False accusations! This is pure slander!"
"I didn't do any of this. Rufus is nuts, throwing everyone under the bus!"
"Yeah, Mr. Durham, Ms. Woods, you gotta believe us!"
"I was transferred from Bay City and have worked at Mr. Solomon's family business, the Solomon Group, for over ten years."
"Enough." Fiona tapped the table.
The noisy room gradually quieted down.
Everyone flushed.
Except for a few who looked guilty, the rest all seemed to feel they had been greatly wronged.
Fiona spoke slowly, "Rufus's confession is pretty detailed. Do you think the company won't find anything if they dig into this?"
Those who had been eager to explain suddenly choked up.
Fiona added, "What you did wasn't very clever, and it won't be hard to investigate."
"Ms. Woods, I only took about half a million dollars! And I was forced to!" One person couldn't stay calm and immediately stood up, crying, "I haven't touched a cent of that money. It's all in my wife's account. I can return it all to the company. Please don't call the cops!"
Once someone started, others quickly followed suit, begging to return the money.
Some had already blown the money on houses, cars, or women. They sat there looking like they were about to die.
"I've got a general understanding of the situation here," Fiona said, looking at everyone. "Most of you were led astray by Rufus."
"Yes, Ms. Woods, you see clearly!"
"Rufus always said that if everyone embezzled a little, it would be absolutely safe."
"Exactly." Fiona nodded. "I have an idea. Although I'll be in trouble when Mr. Solomon finds out, it's better than seeing so many of you lose everything."
"Ms. Woods, just tell us. We'll definitely cooperate!"
Fiona sighed. "Returning the money is a must. The company's money didn't come from nowhere. You have no objections, right?"
"No objections! I'll return it immediately!"
"Yes, I'll have my wife transfer the money right away!"
"But, Ms. Woods, I can't come up with that much money right now."
"For those who can't, write an IOU and pay it back slowly," Fiona said generously, "As long as you own up to your mistakes and genuinely try to make up for them, I'll have the confidence to plead with Mr. Solomon for you."
To avoid going to jail, everyone was very proactive.
Even those not in the conference room called in, tearfully begging Fiona to give them a chance.
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