Didn't trust the situation. Didn't trust whatever was inside that folder. But something in her voice made him pull out a chair. He sat without putting down the wrench. Laura remained standing for several seconds before finally lowering herself into the chair across from him.
The kitchen suddenly felt much smaller than it really was. "Earlier today," she began, "I received an anonymous report through our ethics hotline." Jake frowned. Okay. "The report accused your supervisor, David Mercer, of payroll fraud.
Jake blinked. David? Laura nodded. The report claimed he created three employees who don't actually exist. Jake stared at her.
That's impossible. Laura slid the folder toward him. I thought so, too. Jake hesitated before opening it. The first page contained payroll records, names he didn't recognize, employee numbers, salaries, payment history stretching back nearly 2 years.
The second page showed something worse, work schedules, task assignments, maintenance reports. His name appeared everywhere. Again and again, hundreds of entries, jobs that should have been divided among multiple technicians all routed to him. Jake's breathing slowed. What is this?
Laura folded her hands together. It's evidence. The room seemed strangely quiet. Too quiet. David Mercer has been collecting salaries for three fake employees and redirecting their workload to you.
Jake looked at the papers again. His brain struggled to process the words. No. I'm sorry. No.
His voice became sharper. That doesn't make sense. It does when you see all of it. Laura opened another section of the folder. Performance charts filled the pages, response times, productivity metrics, equipment uptime percentages, rankings.
Jake recognized the numbers. He recorded many of them himself, but he had never seen them compiled together, never seen them compared. His eyes moved across the charts, then stopped, then moved back. Number one. Number one in response time.
Number one in productivity. Number one in equipment efficiency. Number one in overall performance. His stomach dropped. "What is this?"
He whispered. Laura swallowed hard. "Your actual performance record." Jake stared at her. "No."
"Yes." "That's not possible." "It is." Laura reached into the folder and removed another document. "Annual reviews."
Jake recognized David's signature immediately. Reviews he had read every year. Reviews that always sounded almost positive. Almost. Consistently described as reliable, but not leadership material.
Strong work ethic, but inconsistent results. Valuable contributor, but not ready for advancement. Words Jake had memorized. Words he had believed. Laura placed another document beside them.
"Internal ranking reports. His real rankings." Top performer. Exceptional candidate. Promotion recommended.