Chapter 33 Using Both the Carrot and the Stick.
Fiona played it smart, using both the carrot and the stick.
First, she threw Rufus's case in their faces to scare the crap out of them.
Once they were shaking in their boots, terrified of ending up in jail, she dangled a lifeline, telling them to cough up the stolen cash.
Wyatt watched, itching to give Fiona a standing ovation.
After the dust settled, they managed to scrape together about thirty million bucks.
Fiona scanned the room.
Everyone was too freaked out even to breathe loudly.
Most of them returned the cash Rufus had pointed out.
But even best buds have their secrets.
No way Rufus knew every little detail about everyone's dirty laundry.
Fiona stayed quiet for a bit.
Then she looked up and scanned the crowd. "Y'all sure you got the amounts right?"
Some folks in the crowd couldn't meet her eyes.
The honest ones shouted their answers.
Fiona twirled her pen. "Double-check your math. If the higher-ups find out there's still money missing, it's gonna be a mess."
One guy piped up, "Uh... I think I miscalculated about seven million. It didn't go through my account."
Fiona smirked. "Wow, you got guts, stealing company money and using your own account?"
The guy turned white and scribbled another IOU.
After that, three or four more folks fessed up and wrote new IOUs.
The amounts were no joke.
In the end, they totaled forty-five million bucks.
"Ms. Woods, what about our jobs?" Sean asked, barely above a whisper.
He'd written an IOU for over a million and couldn't afford to lose his job.
"Like I said, Rufus led you astray. I still believe in your skills," Fiona softened her tone. "So, business as usual. I'll talk to Mr. Solomon about keeping you on, but you better watch your step. Screw up again, and I can't save you."
"Ms. Woods, you're a saint!" Sean gushed.
Fiona gave a small smile. "We all got bosses; it's tough for everyone. Just do your best from now on."
The meeting wrapped up.
Everyone left, looking relieved.
Some were muttering curses at Rufus, "That jerk! It's bad enough he messed up, but he had to drag us down too!"
"Yeah! He blew tens of thousands on booze and women, and I have to pay it back for him. I can't stand it!"
"If he ever gets out, I'm gonna make him pay!"
Fiona organized everything, put it in a folder, and handed it to Wyatt, who was watching her closely.
She said, "Mr. Durham, you handle these IOUs."
"Are you really gonna plead with Darwin?" Wyatt asked.
Fiona packed up her laptop and papers. "Nope. Mr. Solomon doesn't care about the details; he just wants results."
"Right." Wyatt chuckled. "So you really used both the carrot and the stick, huh?"
"What else?" Fiona shot Wyatt a look.
Wyatt straightened up. "You really gonna let them off the hook like that?"
Fiona shrugged, "What else can I do? The project's at a make-or-break point. Thanks to these slackers, we've already lost a month. If I fire them and bring in new folks, we'll lose even more time."
Time was money, especially on a construction site.
She added, "But listen, the core work? They’re done with that. Mr. Durham, you gotta send someone to take over ASAP. And double-check everything Rufus spilled. Keep the evidence tight. If anyone pulls this crap again, we nail 'em on the spot."
She never said she’d let them off easy. The threat would hang over their heads as long as they toed the line.
"Got it." Wyatt nodded.
Then he grinned, "How about we hit the cafeteria for lunch?"
Fiona paused.
Was he really that excited about cafeteria food?
She agreed.
She grabbed her laptop bag and started heading out.
After a few steps, Wyatt took the bag from her. "With only one hand working, you better save your strength. Let me carry it."
Fiona glanced at him, thinking, 'If someone’s willing to carry my bag, why not?'
It was almost noon. The sun in New Port was blazing.
Walking in the sunlight, Fiona felt warm and her mood lifted.
After they left, a skinny figure slipped out from a narrow passage behind the meeting room.
It was the guy who had pretended to be a villager, stirring up trouble.
He spat. "Bitch, you got some dirty tricks up your sleeve!"
He looked around, pulled out his phone, and headed towards the back door while dialing. "Hey! It's me! Is Mack safe now? Good. Rufus got nailed because of that woman, and Mack’s mess is her doing too!"
The construction site's cafeteria was great, but it was still just a cafeteria.
Fiona wandered around, checking things out.
There were still quite a few people eating.
When she walked in, she immediately drew a lot of stares.
"Who is she? She's stunning!"
"Not just stunning, check out that figure. She's got curves in all the right places!"
"If I could spend a night with a woman like that, I'd die happy!"
"Are you nuts? That's Mr. Solomon's secretary! Rufus got locked up because of her!"
"Her? A woman?"
Unfriendly eyes were glued to Fiona.
Fiona originally wanted to see if the cafeteria was skimping on the workers' meals.
But the attention threw her off, and she lost her appetite.
She put down her utensils, deciding not to eat.
Wyatt noticed.
Fiona asked, "Mr. Durham?"
Wyatt said, "Ms. Woods, I really owe you for this. If it weren't for your sharp judgment in exposing Rufus and these leeches, I wouldn't have been able to handle it myself and wouldn't have been able to report to Mr. Solomon!"
Fiona was taken aback.
Wyatt's voice was loud enough for half the cafeteria to hear.
He added, "When we get back to Bay City, I owe you a big meal to thank you properly!"
The stares around them shifted dramatically.
Fiona snapped out of it.
She lowered her eyes and smiled.
What a childish move from Wyatt!
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