She Forgot Auditors Collect Evidence

Whats with this tie?

I tossed the brand-new tie, tags still attached, onto the coffee table.

Ethan Gray glanced at it without even frowning.

The new management trainee slipped it into my bag when I wasnt paying attention.

Mia Smith?

Who else would be clueless enough to do something like that?

I let out a cold laugh.

The entire company knew we were sworn enemiesI slashed his budgets, and he mocked me for not understanding technology.

What nobody knew was that wed been secretly married for seven years and already had a five-year-old child.

The next day, she cried in the cafeteria:

President Gray told me privately that he feels suffocated in his marriage

On the third day, she deliberately scalded herself in the stairwell and tearfully accused me of pushing her.

Cyberbullying. Doxxing. Number one on the trending charts.

Mia Smith, do you know what an Audit Director does best?

Gather evidence.

I found a brand-new tie in Ethan Gray's briefcase.

The pattern was tacky, and the tag was still attached.

"Explain this."

I tossed the tie onto the coffee table with a thud.

Ethan had just come out of the shower. He glanced at it, and his brow furrowed so deeply you could crush a fly between them.

"One of the new management trainees gave it to me."

He toweled his hair while kicking the tie farther away with disgust. "Said she wanted to thank me for teaching her how to write weekly reports. I refused it, but she stuffed it into my bag when I wasn't looking."

"Mia Smith?"

"Who else would be that clueless?"

I let out a cold laugh.

Not only clueless, but bold too.

As the Group Audit Director, my daily job was finding faults.

And Ethan was the Group VP of R&D.

In the eyes of the company's thousand-plus employees, we were sworn enemies who couldn't stand each other.

Last month, I had just killed a three-million-dollar budget for the R&D department. Ethan publicly mocked me in a meeting for not understanding technology, and I fired back in the group chat that he didn't understand compliance.

The entire company thought we were at each other's throats.

Who would've thought that this cold and aloof VP Ethan heated up milk for me every night and blow-dried my hair?

We went from high school uniforms to wedding dresses. Seven years of secret marriage, and we even had a five-year-old child.

"Did she pull something again today?" I asked.

"Yeah." Ethan sat down beside me and naturally took the audit report from my hands to help me organize it. "In front of a dozen people, she insisted on reaching over to straighten my collar, saying my tie was crooked."

"You let her touch you?"

"I asked her if she wanted to file for workers' compensation for a workplace injury."

Ethan's sharp tongue was as reliable as ever.

"Then she started crying, saying I was too mean and didn't understand a young woman's feelings."

"Feelings?"

I picked up that tie. "Giving a male superior such a personal itemthat's sexual harassment."

She'd been on the job less than two months, hadn't accomplished much, and was putting all her energy into trying to seduce executives.

Treating the workplace like a dating game.

In my audit red-line standards, this counted as a high-risk uncontrollable factor.

"Let's just throw it away." Ethan got up to grab the trash can.

"Wait."

I stopped him. "It'd be such a waste to throw it away."

"What are you planning?"

"We should let everyone see just how 'polite' Miss Smith is."

I put the tie back in the bag.

Ethan understood the look in my eyes and smiled. "You're going to mess with her again?"

"I'm in audit."

I turned off the living room light, my tone calm.

"Tomorrow, keep her away from you. That perfume of hers is giving me a headache."

The next morning, I brought the bag to the company's front desk.

The receptionist had just finished applying her lipstick. When she saw me, she immediately stood up. "Good morning, Miss Shaw."

"Morning."

I placed the bag on the counter. "Someone left this with Mr. Gray yesterday. Put it in lost and found."

"Okay, should I log who lost it?"

"No need." I adjusted my cuffs. "It's nothing valuable anyway. If no one claims it, just treat it as scrap."

With that, I swiped my card and entered the elevator.

At three in the afternoon, I went to the R&D department to review last quarter's expense reports.

Ethan was discussing architecture with several core team members.

I sat at a nearby workstation checking data. Ethan didn't even glance at me, still stone-faced while reprimanding people.

"Who set this parameter? Did water get into their brain?"

The engineer being scolded kept his head down, not daring to make a sound.

The atmosphere was oppressive.

Until a high-pitched voice broke the silence.

"Everyone's working so hard! I bought afternoon tea for you all!"

Mia Smith walked in carrying two large bags from Starbucks.

She was wearing a knit sweater today with a rather low neckline, bending over to distribute coffee to the engineers around her.

"Thanks, Mia!"

"Mia, you're so thoughtful!"

Several male colleagues smiled as they accepted the drinks.

Mia finally walked to Ethan's desk and pulled out a delicate little box.

It was a pink heart-shaped mousse cake.

"Mr. Gray, I made this myselflow sugar, low calorie. I saved it especially for you."

She held the cake with both hands, leaning forward so that half her chest was practically pressed against Ethan's desk.

She even made a point of displaying the sticky note on it, which had a smiley face drawn on it.

I closed my folder with a sharp snap.

Mia acted as if she'd only just noticed me. "Oh my! Miss Shaw, you're here too?"

She looked at me with an innocent expression. "I'm so sorry, Miss Shaw. I thought you were in the audit department, so I didn't prepare one for you."

The room went quiet for a second.

This cheap tacticI couldn't even be bothered to respond.

"It's fine." I said coolly. "I don't eat street vendor food, and I don't eat unlicensed products."

Mia's face froze. "This is my own baking, made with all imported ingredients..."

"Without a food business license, it's an unlicensed product." I cut her off. "Also, it's work hours right now."

She bit her lip and looked at Ethan with grievance, her eyes instantly turning red. "Mr. Gray, I just wanted everyone to relax a bit. Why is Miss Shaw targeting me like this..."

Ethan finally looked up from his screen.

He glanced at the pink cake, then at Mia.

His gaze was like he was looking at an idiot.

"The R&D department has regulations prohibiting any food or sugary drinks from being brought in."

Ethan's voice had no warmth whatsoever.

"Employee handbook, Chapter 3, Article 5. Did you not memorize it?"

Mia froze. "I... I thought it was just afternoon tea..."

"Take it out."

Ethan pointed at the door. "Next time I see these non-compliant items on my desk, you'll disappear along with them."

Mia's tears actually fell.

She picked up the cake and ran out.

The surrounding engineers exchanged glances and quickly lowered their heads to drink their coffee, not daring to speak.

I reopened my folder and continued checking the data.

Ethan turned his head. "Miss Shaw, are you done checking that parameter from earlier?"

"Not yet." I didn't look up. "This travel expense claim is over budget. Resubmit it."

"Got it. I'll follow Miss Shaw's instructions."

There was a trace of barely perceptible amusement in his tone.

But I knew Mia definitely wouldn't let this go.

Sure enough, within half an hour, an anonymous post appeared on the company's internal forum.

That anonymous post hung on the company's internal forum all afternoon and got a lot of traction.

The content was several hundred words long, accusing me of being heartless and not understanding how to care for subordinates.

Although no names were mentioned, the label "audit department's female demon" applied to no one in the entire company except me.

In the comments section, several newly registered accounts kept stirring things up:

"I heard she's jealous of that pretty management trainee, so she's taking it out on Mr. Gray."

"Older women are scary. When their own lives aren't going well, they can't stand to see others happy."

When my assistant, Zoe, handed me the tablet, her hands were shaking. "Sarah, do you need me to contact IT to delete the post? This is damaging your reputation..."

"No need."

I scrolled through the screen and casually took a few screenshots to save.

"Why delete it? This is all evidence."

This level of public opinion attack was nothingnot even an itch to me.

As an auditor, I'd seen plenty of dirty things.

Compared to that, this kind of venting from a young woman was both childish and low-level.

I glanced out the window.

Rain was pouring down.

The weather forecast showed there would be a major rainstorm tonight.

Ethan sent me a message: "Meet at the garage. I have an umbrella."

I packed up my things and headed downstairs.

To avoid suspicion, we never left the office together.

Usually he'd go get the car first, I'd wait for him, then get in.

We'd kept this secret relationship going for seven years.

I arrived at the garage.

Ethan's car was already parked in a corner.

I opened the back door and quickly slipped inside.

The windows had the darkest privacy filmyou couldn't see inside from outside at all.

"This rain is really coming down."

Ethan handed me a dry towel. "Wipe your hair. The entrance had a big draft just now, and you got rained on, didn't you?"

"I'm fine." I took the towel. "Let's go."

Ethan had just shifted into gear and hadn't even pressed the gas when a white figure suddenly rushed out.

"Screech"

Ethan slammed on the brakes.

My body lurched forward. I frowned and looked ahead.

It was Mia Smith.

She didn't have an umbrella.

Her white shirt was already soaked through, clinging tightly to her body, with her black bra visible underneath.

Her hair was plastered wetly to her face. She looked like a pitiful little white rabbit.

She stood in front of the car, blocking the way.

If Ethan had reacted a second slower, he might have hit her.

"Is she crazy?"

Ethan's tone instantly dropped to freezing.

He hated people who didn't follow traffic rules.

Mia came around to the driver's side and tapped lightly on the window.

"Mr. Gray... Mr. Gray..."

Her voice was tearful, trembling badly.

I sat in the back seat, arms crossed, watching this scene with cold eyes.

"Should I open the window?" Ethan glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

"Go ahead." I said flatly. "Let's see what she wants."

Ethan lowered the window.

Rain immediately drifted in through the gap.

"Mr. Gray."

Mia's fingers were white from the cold, looking utterly pitiful. "The rain is too heavy. I can't get a cab, and the garage is so dark. I'm scared being here alone..."

As she spoke, she tried to press her soaked chest against the window gap.

"Mr. Gray, could you drop me off at the nearest subway station... I'm so cold."

Any other man might have let her in the car.

Even if he didn't drive her home, he'd at least let her get in to escape the rain.

Unfortunately for her, she was dealing with Ethan.

Ethan had maintained his virtue for so many yearshe wouldn't be seduced that easily.

Ethan looked at her calmly.

"The company lobby has heating and spare umbrellas."

Ethan's voice was clear and cold.

"The administration department has a contract with a taxi service. The front desk has one-touch cab calling, and the company reimburses the full fare. You don't need to hail a cab yourself."

Ethan pointed at the dashcam.

"My car is a private vehicle. It doesn't have commercial operating qualifications. My car is only open to my immediate family members."

"Mia Smith, are you my immediate family?"

Mia froze.

Unwilling to give up, she bit her lip, trembling even harder. "But Mr. Gray... I'm really cold. I feel dizzy right now. Can't you help me?"

She reached for the back door handle.

Ethan quickly locked the doors.

She pulled twice but couldn't open it. Unable to see me inside, she could only see her own disheveled reflection.

"Mr. Gray?"

Ethan's hand hovered over the window button. "If you're really sick, I can call 911 for you right now. An ambulance will get here faster than I can."

I couldn't help but chuckle. Ethan's mouth was savage. Fortunately, the person outside couldn't hear me.

"Also, as a management trainee, even during off-hours, you need to maintain your professional image."

"Dressed like this, blocking a male superior's carif word gets out, it'll affect your probation evaluation."

Mia's face turned deathly pale.

She instinctively covered her chest and stepped back.

"Mr. Gray, how can you think of me like that... I just..."

"Move."

Ethan didn't want to hear any more nonsense.

Reluctantly, she bit her teeth and backed away, looking back every few steps.

Ethan raised the window and hit the gas. The car rushed into the rain.

"Brilliant."

I clapped. "Worthy of Mr. Gray with his excellent sense of boundaries."

Ethan said, "If I'd let her in, I'd have had to get the car deep-cleaned inside and out. Not worth it."

The car merged onto the elevated highway.

"Honey."

"Hmm?"

"Next time something like this happens, can you handle it directly?" There was a hint of helplessness in Ethan's tone. "I'd like to see you tear into a homewrecker too. Always making me play the villain."

I said with a smile, "Tearing into her now would be no fun. Let's wait a bit longer. She's not going to give up that easily."

The atmosphere at the company was strange the next day.

Several employees huddled together, their eyes occasionally drifting toward me.

Back in my office, I logged into the internal network.

The anonymous section was lively, as expected.

Someone had posted vaguely about last night's incident.

The comments section had a very unified toneMr. Gray definitely wanted to help, but didn't dare.

Because the company had an ice queen making all the executives live in fear, worried that one wrong step would get them reported by the audit department.

I wore this scapegoat quite steadily.

At noon, I went to the cafeteria.

It was peak lunch hour.

I picked up a tray and deliberately chose a corner seat.

Mia Smith was wearing a V-neck knit sweater with a rather low neckline today.

At her table sat four other new management trainees.

"Mia, are you okay? Why are you coughing so badly?"

"I'm fine." Mia's voice was soft and sweet, with a heavy nasal tone. "I just got rained on last night and have a slight fever."

"Mr. Gray was really too much, leaving you there alone in that downpour."

"Don't say that about Mr. Gray."

Mia's watery eyes were full of protectiveness. "Mr. Gray is actually a very good person. Last night I saw the reluctance in his eyes."

"Then why didn't he let you in the car?"

"Because it wouldn't be compliant." Mia sighed. "If Mr. Gray had given me a ride, people might have said he had improper conduct. Wouldn't that harm him?"

"Plus, Mr. Gray sent me a private message on SnapChat to explain."

"He even said he's been feeling quite oppressed."

I put down my fork.

I opened my phone's recording app.

Spreading rumors about the audit department abusing power, fabricating private messages from executives, implying an executive had personal feelings for her.

After recording for two minutes, I saved the audio and stood up.

"Ahem..." Mia caught sight of me from the corner of her eye and was so startled her spoon clinked against the bowl.

"M-Miss Shaw."

The table of trainees immediately fell silent, heads down eating their rice.

Mia quickly adjusted her expression. "Hello, Miss Shaw. I just felt a bit dizzy and lost my balance."

She looked up at me with reddened eyes, looking like a scared little white rabbit.

"Miss Shaw, you're eating too? There's no space here. Maybe you could sit at the next table?"

I ignored her performance, my gaze coldly sweeping across her phone screen.

"Mia Smith, as a management trainee, what did you score on your onboarding training test?"

She paused, then said timidly, "N-ninety-five."

"Then recite the employee code of conduct."

She bit her lip, looking at me blankly.

"Spreading false statements in the workplace, discussing company management systems inappropriately, slandering superiors."

I looked down at her from my position. "You just said the audit department is overstepping its bounds? That Mr. Gray has no choice in the matter?"

"I... I didn't mean it like that."

Tears immediately filled her eyes. She waved her hands frantically. "I was just feeling bad that Mr. Gray was being misunderstood. I wanted to help explain..."

"Explain?"

Ethan walked over.

Mia said in a high-pitched voice, "Mr. Gray... Miss Shaw misunderstood me. I was just saying that last night you sent a SnapChat message to care"

Ethan stepped aside.

Mia lunged forward into empty air and barely managed to steady herself by grabbing the chair back. Her posture was awkward.

Ethan pulled out his phone and directly opened his chat with Mia.

The interface was clean, with only one system notification about accepting a friend request.

The date was her first day on the job.

After that, completely blank.

"Mia Smith, I have severe OCD and germaphobia."

Ethan's voice wasn't loud, but loud enough for everyone around to hear clearly. "I don't add random people, I don't respond to nonsense, and I definitely wouldn't send this kind of ambiguous message to an employee who tried to violate protocol by hitching a ride. Do you have delusions?"

The cafeteria fell dead silent.

The few trainees who had been backing her up moments ago now had faces turning green.

Mia's face flushed like a pig's liver. Tears hung on her lashesfalling or not falling, both equally awkward.

"Mr. Gray... I..."

"Also."

Ethan looked at me. "Miss Shaw enforcing compliance is her job."

With that, he didn't even glance at Mia and turned to leave.