Robert Simms went over the facts for the hundredth time and still as perplexed as the first time. It had to be a conspiracy and yet it couldn't be a conspiracy – after all, only one lie detector result came back as deceptive.
Large sums of money were being embezzled from the Chicago office. He'd placed Gerald Dalton in charge of getting to the bottom of the matter. When Gerald reported back that it was still a mystery, Robert asked him to request that the staff submit to lie detector tests. Robert was assured that there were no discrepancies in the tests and the expert who administered the tests sent a report that stated that everyone was truthful in not being involved, or having knowledge of the missing money.
Robert asked for the test results and asked another expert to review the results. This expert told that one of his employees was being highly deceptive. His expert was flabbergasted that the initial tester would have passed this employee, a Ms. Marnie Dickinson.
Robert called the initial tester and asked him about Ms Dickinson's test results and was floored by his answer. "Oh, no, I know what the results say but there are many factors that can skewer the results. Mar ... Ms. Dickinson does not have a deceptive bone in her body! I would stake my professional reputation on that!"
He felt that he had no choice but to go to the Chicago office and get to the bottom of this on his own. He was, of course, interested in meeting Marnie Dickinson but was told that she never got in before 1pm. When he expressed shock over this he was told that it was not important because she worked hard when she was in and was good at delegating responsibilities.
Robert requested the personnel files of all the staff but pulled out Marnie's file right away. He looked at her resume and saw that she was very young, had no college education and no experience in the field. Yet she'd been hired in anyhow.
The personnel manager had looked confused when he'd questioned this and said that she was hired because she was clearly the most qualified candidate.
When he asked anyone about Marnie, a warm smile would break across the person's face, and he'd be told how wonderful she was. Then they'd look at him suspiciously and say that they hoped he was not accusing Marnie of something, because she was just too honest and wonderful to ever do anything wrong. Several people said that if Marnie got fired they would quit.
Robert couldn't wait to see a woman that was beginning to take on mythic proportions in his mind. Since investigating this case he'd been through a series of surprises and shocks but never more so then when he first saw Marnie.
She was wearing high heels but still could not be over 5'4". She was wearing a tight red leather dress that clung to her curves, and she had enough long blonde hair for three people. She was really...cute.
Just looking at her he knew why the personnel manager would be charmed: she radiated sex appeal. But it didn't explain the universal lovefest. And shouldn't some of the women be resentful of the Kewpie Doll?
One of the women was whispering to Marnie, no doubt warning her about him, but the blonde looked completely unworried. In fact, she smiled and walked toward him. He noticed that most of the staff, male and female, followed her progress with barely disguised adoration.
Hi, I'm Marnie Dickinson." She held out a well-manicured hand with long, red fingernails.
Robert was mildly perturbed that he was not the one to initiate the handshake. It was a minor thing but it would have made clear his authority. He held her hand firmly to show that he was in control. He also made note of the diamond bracelet she wore.
"Step into the office, Ms Dickinson," he said, but then realized she'd been halfway in by the time he began speaking. He closed the door behind them.
"Call me Marnie, please." She gave a sunny smile and he noticed that her lipstick matched her nails and outfit perfectly. He was had a sudden, strange moment where he wondered if he had stumbled into the filming of Legally Blonde 3.
"Very well, Marnie...the reason I asked you..."
"Can I call you Robert? I would really like to!" She looked at him with guileless blue eyes.
"I don't think that would be appropriate in...ok, why not? Call me Robert." He hadn't meant to say that. He wondered why he did. He tried force it out of his mind, telling himself that it was not important. He had more pressing matters before him.
"Thank you, Robert!" She cocked her head to one side in a fashion that was downright adorable.
"The reason I needed to see you, Marnie, is that, as you are well aware, money is missing. If someone has been doing some fancy accounting work to cover their tracks..."
"Robert?"
