The Human Lucky Charm Finally Screwed Up Over 0.007 Millimeters

Back then, it was Dale’s brother-in-law, Michael Gugino himself, who recruited me with a salary twenty percent above industry standard.

He said he needed someone with an uncompromising eye for quality control.

I took a deep breath.

“Mr. Huidobro, if this is something you can’t resolve, then I’ll have to escalate it to Mr. Gugino.”

That only made him angrier.

“Lisa, going over my head is a serious career-limiting move. And Michael is bedridden right now. If this stresses him out and worsens his condition, can you take responsibility for that? This production bay is under my authority now. You running to him makes me look incompetent. Stay right where you are. I’m coming down there myself.”

Dale stormed into the production bay not long after.

The first thing he did was have someone snatch my phone out of my hand.

“I have zero patience for people who can’t understand the chain of command.”

He dropped into a chair and said mockingly, “So, what’s this supposedly world-ending crisis that just had to be escalated?”

I could hear his irritation underneath every word he uttered.

Swallowing my pride, I explained how Kimmy had altered the production specs.

Dale fell silent for a moment. Then, he asked, “Kimmy, why did you do that?”

I thought that he was finally listening.

“Because my numerologist said I shouldn’t be exposed to too many decimal points, or it’ll negate my wealth-attracting energy.”

Then, Kimmy slipped her arm through Dale’s.

“You’ve said the floor’s margins are shrinking. But I’ve been here for so long, and everyone talks about how capable Ms. Turner is. It doesn’t add up. I think Ms. Turner has been exaggerating specs on purpose, adding an extra 0.007 mm to every screw. Multiply that by a million units, and that’s at least $7,000 right there. Over a year, that’s a lot of money.”

Everyone could tell she was implying that I embezzled money.

Several workers spoke up for me at once.

“Mr. Huidobro, Ms. Turner isn’t that kind of person.”

“Ms. Turner’s very responsible. Maybe others would pull something like that, but she never would!”

“Ms. Turner pays for overtime meals out of her own pocket. She wouldn’t even take a bottle of water from us. Someone like that wouldn’t skim.”

Most of them were veterans I had brought over from my old team.

We had worked together for years.

I could feel a tightness in my throat.

Standing up for me at a moment like this meant that they were risking their own jobs.

Kimmy snorted and said, “Doesn’t that prove Ms. Turner looks down on pocket change like yours? Mr. Huidobro, she even threatened you with the chairman. I think that’s suspicious. I’d say her finances deserve a closer inspection.”

Dale had been looking for an excuse to make an example out of me. He seized it instantly.

“Audit her. Audit everything.”

He ordered the production bay to keep running through the night. The shipment had to go out on schedule the next morning.

A few senior workers tried to argue, but Dale cut them off.

“Anyone who doesn’t want to work can walk out right now. But if you’re quitting voluntarily, you can forget about your severance and overtime pay.”

Everyone had been grinding for a full month for this order.

Losing their jobs and their overtime meant that their families would suffer.

No one said another word.

I raised my voice.

“Mr. Huidobro, the screws produced yesterday are defective. We can’t…”

Before I could finish, Dale made someone clamp a hand over my mouth and drag me away.

He locked me inside the storage room.

It was not long before compliance officers arrived.

As the whistleblower, Kimmy came with them.

She pointed at me.

“I’ve seen Lisa slipping money to people in Finance.”

“Do you have any proof?”

“Yes, I do. Here!”