Surprised Ever After

Ch. 7: A Dangerous Question

Ashton

The fourth level turns quiet when I enter the room. People freeze like the mannequins behind the display windows at malls; their mouths are hanging open, and their voices falter as I stride along the aisle between cubicles. I regularly visit this level — even though not this side of the floor — and have worked here long enough to know that I'm not people's favorite. The good news is, I don't live off what people feel about me.

Hendrick, our shipment division guy, jumps from his seat when I stand at his door.

"Mr. Knight! I was going to go to your office," he says. I've been demanding updates about the cargo incident, but he wasn't fast enough for my liking.

I walk straight to the chair across from him, but instead of sitting down, I stand on my spot. "Anything new from the investigation?"

"I'm afraid there is nothing specific yet. It's either the cargo crew's negligence during the loading process, or there was a leakage."

"A leakage? How is that possible? Everything was done properly from our side as usual, right?"

"I'm sure we did everything as per our standards, sir. But that's what they're looking into now. If there was a gas leakage, we want to know more about who is responsible for this incident."

I slip my hands into my pockets and pace back and forth across the room. "Salo Logisitc isn't on the top list in the freight industry. I wonder who chose them to ship our products and why."

He gulps audibly. "I did, sir, with the logistic manager's approval, of course."

I stop and turn to him. "Did you do some background checks before signing the shipment contract?"

It takes him two seconds before replying, "Yes, sir."

"Why did you choose them?"

"Among all the companies who responded to our demand, Salo gave the most reasonable rate for the service and earliest departure."

"That's all?"

"And it's a friend's reference."

"A friend?" I raise an eyebrow at how stupid he sounds. Why did we hire him again? "Do you mean like a friend who suggests a new restaurant to test? Or an awesome place for a holiday?"

As I speak, the sound of clicking high heels echoes from outside Hendrick's office, and it's getting louder before it stops completely. I don't need to turn around to know that it's Jess joining us.

"No, sir. She's someone knowledgable and has an experience with their cargo service." Hendrick glances at Jessie, who is now standing next to me, his panicking eyes screaming for help.

"So you took the decision based on one reference of the former user?"

"It's me. I gave the recommendation," says Jess. "Salo Logistic is not the first-class company in the business, but that's the best we could grab given our situation. Lim withdrew, and we were running late, Ashton. You know it's not easy to deal with our clients when we don't deliver our service on time. So, we took this decision."

The fact that this mess is the domino of my stupidity in burning the bridge with Lim, I feel even more stupid for cornering Hendrick. "And now we're even more behind," I reply in a beaten tone.

Jessie takes a deep breath. "I'm aware. I've been on the video call with our clients, and we tried to go with plan B because of this incident. But yeah, it was not a satisfactory call."

"There you are." Daniel's voice prompts us to look at the door. I didn't hear footsteps approaching, but that's Daniel for us. He's like a cat tiptoeing and sniffing without us noticing his presence.