Photo by: Roger Bultot
I expected a whistleblower case. I met her at the boardwalk.
Esmerelda sat looking at the gantry where humanity’s first interstellar spaceship took off. “It was a small design firm,” she said. “Everyone did lots of jobs. He hired me as a secretary. Before it was done, I designed ninety-percent of the XV-11.”
“But William Tull made hundreds of billions off that design. Did he pay you?”
“Paid me a secretary’s wage.”
I saw dollar signs. “Well, let’s sue him! He owes you billions at least.”
“Naw.”
“Why not?”
“I ran accounting too.” Esmerelda smiled. “Islands are cheap these days.”
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Written for the Friday Fictioneers: https://rochellewisoff.com/2020/12/09/11-december-2020/
EagleAye
Ha ha! Good one. And makes sense. If the secretary was that clever, then of course she’d be clever enough to line her pockets!
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Dear Eric,
It sounds like she knew exactly what she was doing. 😉 Fun stuff.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Probably the smartest person at the firm. 😉 Thanks Rochelle! 🙂
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Esmerelda sounds like a jack-of-all-trades – worked as a secretary, designed a spaceship, ran accounting, cooked the books, bought a few islands, and ratted herself out. (Because, weirdly, paying secretary wage for rocket scientist work is legal, but accounting fraud is not.) Now she just has to arrest herself, put herself in prison, and then guard herself there.
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You know what, she could probably do all of that. 😉
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Probably best not get to get lawyers involved, given the circumstances…
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Nope. Then again, there’s no extradition treaty between her island and the US. She’s probably safe for now. 😉
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Hell hath no fury… well done Esmerelda
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Thanks most kindly! 🙂
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I think Tull probably knew how the accounts were being done, it gives him leverage on any dispute.
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Esmerelda is one clever woman and certainly can take care of herself. Entertaining story!
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Great ending, Eric. Accounting may sound boring, but it can sure add up (pun intended).
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If she’s that smart, she’s plenty smart enough to leave no clues to her, um… shall we say misdemeanor
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Oh, good for Esmeralda!
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It took me a minute to figure out the ending. She knows how to play the game!
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Well, she’s a gal who can take care of herself, it seems.
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Haha. Good for her. 🙂
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