Johan's Joy (Heroes for Hire #22) - Dale Mayer Page 0,24
right?”
“The question is, has it just been forgotten? Because it’s just stuck down there and who cares? Or is it something people are moving in and out secretly? Or is this something that accidentally got dumped here because they didn’t have storage space at the big lab, or maybe they needed to move it somewhere else. Like an unusual or unexpected event. Remember though. The lab itself is down the block, but we still have some researchers in this building. However, I think they are more online researchers, not actual researchers testing formulas in a lab. So I don’t see how our in-house researchers would need the medicines and the medical supplies and such. Do you?”
Galen shook his head. “Who would know the differences between any research guys here and those at the lab itself? Much less any physical inventory designated for the online research guys here and the actual lab guys down the block?”
“Potentially the foreman from the shipping dock, who’s a full-time employee by the way.”
“Interesting,” Galen responded.
“Potentially anybody dealing with inventory.”
“Like Joy?”
“Or the one before her.”
“We can’t ask Chelsea anymore,” Galen said, “but what if she found this stockpile of undocumented inventory?”
“I don’t know,” Johan said, sitting back at his desk, reaching for his coffee. He flipped the plastic lid off the top and took a sip. “But, if any of this material has been purchased, it’s got to be going through the corporate accounts, right?”
“I haven’t seen anything like this so far in the books, though it’s early.”
“Right, so I’m wondering whether somebody doesn’t have a fake account that all this material is running in and out of, so nobody’s the wiser.”
“And the point of the fake account would be like to launder money, only this is to launder inventory. Is that what you’re saying?” Galen asked.
“Exactly.”
“So then,” Galen continued, “money in, money out, but where are they siphoning the money in from and where would the money go out to?”
“Well, possibly it’s the company’s money to begin with, that they’re just shuffling around. Think three-card monte, just the online version,” Johan mused. “It’s also possible that they’re moving this for somebody else, a third party.”
“That almost makes more sense too,” Galen said, “and there’ll be a million excuses as to why they can’t take possession of the shipment right now.”
Johan thought about that and then nodded. “And that brings up a lot of other options too, doesn’t it?”
Galen looked at him, gave a wry smile, and said, “Absolutely.”
Chapter 5
Joy watched as Johan walked past her office, but he wasn’t even looking in her direction.
“You really are stuck on him, aren’t you?” Phyllis said, from beside her.
She looked at her coworker, surprised. “Why do you say that?”
“Every time you hear footsteps, you look up.”
“You don’t?” she challenged.
“Nope, I sure don’t,” Phyllis said. “Nobody I care about here.”
“A lot of people are here,” Joy said. “Surely you could find somebody as a potential partner.”
“Not interested,” she said. “Working together kills a relationship.”
“Are you even after a relationship?” Joy asked. “Sounds like a roll in the hay is what you’re after.”
“Whatever. Either way, it’s still bad news.”
A note in her voice made Joy wonder if Phyllis hadn’t already tried it and had paid the price for the indiscretion. Considering where she worked, maybe so. “Good point,” she said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea myself either.” She noted the empty chair beside them. “Is Doris coming back today?”
Phyllis looked up, gave a shrug, and said, “Who knows?”
Something about Phyllis and her complete detachment to everything except for whatever Joy was doing made her feel slightly uncomfortable. And unnerved.
Finally Phyllis got up and said, “I have to get out of here.” And she left the room.
Fascinated, Joy watched as her coworker walked away. Phyllis didn’t say she would go to the washroom or to get a coffee from the lunchroom, just that she needed to get out of here. But then the scenario for Joy was different. She already knew the chances of her staying here long-term were pretty small. And she certainly wouldn’t work in this small windowless hovel of an office very long. Yet, while she didn’t understand what the processes were in this company, she wanted to.
She didn’t know if her visit with the owner had been more of a nudge to her subconscious, throwing her a potential bone down the road more than anything. But she’d already started mapping out how the processes in the company worked. Little snippets of information available from lots