On the morning of the seventh day, the management committee meeting was held, and I myself was called to present the technical side, but the truth is that the audit report would be released soon. Rigo sat at the other end of the table, still confident, smiling at Melissa who was outside the meeting room, clearly waiting for good news. He thought it was just about the sales performance. When the projector was turned on, the first slide appeared, “Irregularities in Client Entertainment Reimbursements – Sales Division,” and his face gradually changed.
\nLando spoke directly, “Based on the cross-checking we did over the past nine months, there are a total of four and a half million in reimbursements for Mr. Rigo del Mundo without any supporting documents. The codes RTN-4472, RTN-4481, and others were used for personal expenses, and the money was traced to Ms. Melissa Adina’s personal account.” The whole room fell silent. Rigo stood up, “That’s not true! That’s my money, my personal money!” I said calmly, but it was clearly heard by everyone, “Rigo, is it your personal money with remarks about client entertainment and a fake client signature? Is it your personal money with a receipt from a maternity clinic filed as a business dinner in Quezon City?”
\nThen Melissa suddenly entered the room without permission, crying and screaming, “Don’t involve our baby! We love each other, we’re not thieves!” Our CEO looked at her and said, “Ma’am Alana is in charge of this! She’s just jealous because she can’t stand us being together!” At that moment, I couldn’t help but stand up and, for the first time in six years, shouted at Rigo in front of everyone, “Are you jealous? Rigo, I forgive you when you said I needed to quit because we weren’t stable yet, and now you’re boasting about the kid you had using the company’s money?” Who among us is shameless?
\nEverything fell silent. Rigo blushed and his hand trembled, “Alana, please, let’s discuss this privately.” I sighed, “Then, Rigo, you’re done. You’re done with it now.” He said, “You’re the one who should reflect, you should reflect on what you did.” I didn’t break down, Rigo. I broke down because of my own greed. I said, “Rigo, when you said I should drop our child because we weren’t ready, were you ready back then? When your mother said I should reflect, did you reflect on what you did? I didn’t ruin you, Rigo, I ruined myself.”
\nI left the company on that day feeling relieved. I filed for annulment the next day and didn’t ask for any support, I just wanted to clear my name and show that the woman they called too dominant and workaholic is the one who can stand alone. A few months later, I was told that Rigo had left the company after paying back the stolen money using his family’s savings and that Melissa was banned from the industry. I remained as Director and, for the first time after a long time, I slept soundly, not because I won or lost, but because I finally got my self-respect back, which I had given to the wrong person for a long time.
\nThank you for your attention and reading until the end of the story \ud83d\ude4f Leave your thoughts, reactions, or suggestions in the comments. It will be a big help for us to make the next stories even better. Don’t forget to follow the page so you won’t miss the new stories every day \ud83d\udcd6\u2728<\/p>\n
Pagkasabi kong tumawag ng internal audit ay nanlamig si Siska pero agad siyang tumango at isinara ang pinto ng opisina ko. Ang totoo, hindi pera ang unang pumasok sa isip ko noong makita ko ang RTN-4472 na iyon kundi ang mukha ng sarili ko dalawang taon na ang nakalipas na pumipirma sa waiver para sa sarili kong anak. Parang sinampal ako nang paulit-ulit ng katotohanang ang budget na dapat ay para sa client ang siyang bumubuhay sa bago niyang pamilya. Binuksan ko ang finance portal at sinimulan kong hilahin ang lahat ng reimbursement ni Rigo sa loob ng siyam na buwan, at habang tumataas ang numero ay mas lalo akong kinikilabutan. Hindi lang pala iyon pang-hotel, may mga resibo ng mamahaling kainan sa BGC, gasoline na pang-long drive sa Tagaytay, at pati maternity check-up na naka-charge bilang client meeting sa isang clinic sa QC.
\nDumating si Sir Lando, ang head ng audit, at tahimik kong pinakita sa kanya ang screen. Hindi siya agad nagsalita, tinignan lang niya ang code, ang client name, at ang pangalan ni Melissa sa transfer screenshot na hawak ko. Sabi niya, “Alana, sigurado ka ba rito? Malaki ito.” Sabi ko, “Iyan mismo ang dahilan kung bakit ikaw ang tinawag ko. Ayokong idaan sa HR o sa commercial dahil asawa ko siya. Gusto kong dumaan sa tamang proseso.” Tumango siya at kinuha ang kopya ng ebidensya, “I-hold muna natin ito, bubuo ako ng maliit na team at i-cross-check namin ang lahat ng RTN na naka-pangalan sa kanya, pero kailangan ko ring i-freeze pansamantala ang access niya sa reimbursement system para hindi mabura.”
\nHabang ginagawa iyon ng audit ay bumalik ako sa normal na trabaho na parang walang nangyari. Sa group chat ay patuloy pa rin si Melissa sa pag-post ng mga bagong ebidensya kuno para patunayang mahal siya, at ang mga tao ay nagsisimula nang magsawa sa drama. Si Rigo naman ay panay ang tawag at text na kesyo pinapalaki ko raw ang bagay-bagay at huwag ko raw idamay ang trabaho sa personal na problema namin. Ang kapal ng mukha niyang sabihin iyon samantalang siya mismo ang nagdala ng pera ng kumpanya sa relasyon nila. Hindi ko siya sinagot. Sa bahay ay nag-impake na siya ng ilang gamit at lumipat na raw muna siya kina Melissa dahil buntis daw ito at kailangan ng kasama.
\nKinagabihan ay tumawag ulit ang biyenan ko at sa pagkakataong ito ay mas matapang pa, “Alana, kung talagang may hiya ka pa, pirmahan mo na ang annulment at huwag mo nang guluhin ang apo ko.” Hindi ako sumagot, pinatay ko lang ang tawag at tinitigan ang kisame. Doon ko na-realize na sa loob ng anim na taon ay ako lang pala ang nag-iisang nagtataguyod ng konsepto ng pamilya na iyon. Ako ang nag-adjust, ako ang nagparaya, ako ang nagpatawad sa lahat ng maliliit na kasinungalingan hanggang sa lumaki ito nang ganito.
\nKinabukasan ay mas malala ang lumabas. Tinawag ako ni Lando sa maliit na conference room at doon ay may dalawa pang auditor, at sa projector ay kitang-kita ang summary. Halos 487 million pesos ang kabuuang na-reimburse ni Rigo na walang maayos na supporting receipts, puro peke ang client signature at recycled ang mga resibo ng hotel. At ang pinakamasakit, may ilang biyahe na naka-file bilang client visit sa Cebu at Davao pero ang totoo ay bakasyon nila ni Melissa at kasama pa sa resibo ang pre-natal vitamins. Sabi ni Lando, “Alana, kailangan na nating i-escalate ito sa management committee bukas. Hindi na ito simpleng marital issue, this is fraud.” Tumango ako at sa unang pagkakataon sa loob ng ilang araw ay naramdaman kong hindi na ako nasasaktan, galit na ang nararamdaman ko.
\nPaglabas ko ng conference room ay nasalubong ko si Melissa sa pantry, hawak ang tiyan niya na halatang ipinapakita pa. Ngumiti siya sa akin na parang nagtagumpay, “Ma’am, sana maintindihan mo na. Kailangan na kasi ng baby namin ng buong pamilya.” Tinitigan ko siya at sa wakas ay sinabi ko nang malinaw, “Melissa, hindi mo pa alam kung gaano kalaki ang pinasok mo. Akala mo pag-ibig lang ang laban na ito, pero sa susunod na linggo ay maiintindihan mong hindi lang puso ang sinaktan mo kundi pati ang kumpanyang bumubuhay sa inyo.” Namutla siya pero nagkunwaring matapang pa rin. Umuwi ako nang araw na iyon na may dalang kopya ng audit draft at isang desisyon na buo na sa isip ko. Hindi na ako ang babaeng magpapalaglag ng sarili niyang anak para sa lalaking katulad niya.
\nSalamat sa pagbabasa hanggang dito \ud83d\ude4f Nasa comment section na ng Facebook page ang susunod na bahagi. I-click ang \u201cView all comments\u201d para mabasa ang Bahagi 3 \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udcd6<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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