in love with a villain | choni

-15-

6:45 pm

Toni insisted on taking the trash out of the team's office to let the helpers have a break to rest. She entered every office and took with her the trash bags down to the gate's segregation bins. She was quietly separating the trash from the bags, with her gloved hands, when she noticed a pile of neat papers folded inside.

Out of curiosity, she took them out and placed the bag on the ground. The paper contains recorded accounts in the balance sheet and income statement which she immediately recognized from her knowledge. The method of computing the accounts was dodgy in her eyes and it looked like planned enough before transferring to a ledger.

She wasn't sure why she was bothered, but she thought of letting Cheryl know about it, just in case, so she headed back, washed her hands, and proceeded to her office.

"CM?" she softly called after knocking and a couple of seconds later, Cheryl with her oversized hoodie and fitted shorts, opened the door.

"What do you want?" she asked, displeased.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Cheryl sighed looking at the papers in her hands. "Come in."

"Uh, what are these for?" Cheryl asked, scowling as her eyes confusedly scanned the papers. "These are Ace's papers, right?"

Toni nodded, anxious. "Yeah, uh, I found them in the trash."

"Okay? So? What's your point here?"

"Okay...look, I have full knowledge of the accounting process, and accounting in general...I'm pretty confident that those accounts are put into a trial and error method."

Cheryl furrowed her eyebrows, trying to read if she's bluffing, but she sounded so serious.

"Carry on," she said, waiting for her next words.

"Uhm...it's like a method of foreshadowing. Like by boosting revenue and gains, or by deflating current period expenses or through replacing the amounts with estimated ones to see what results it'll give the statements in the latter recorded accounts after adjustments. It just...looks uhm-"

"What?"

"Manipulated? The accounts are being manipulated, so..." she exhaled anxiously, "I know, he's your cousin, but I'm just trying to let you know...can I look through the ledger from like...5 to 10 years ago?"

Cheryl scoffed, chuckling. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"No? Why would I do that?" Toni replied, ached from Cheryl's cold and shallow tone of speaking.

"Why would I trust you over my cousin?" Cheryl raised her eyebrows, her eyes bearing its reluctance.

"Okay fine," Toni nodded, "I'm just helping."

"Well, I don't need your help. Hell, you could be the reason for the sabotage? Part from your father's heritage?"

Toni scowled and laughed sarcastically. "Really now? Are you crazy? I just helped this fucking team to reduce your enemy and now I'm the bad guy?"

Cheryl clenched her jaws.

"I am just trying to help," Toni said, agitated, "now if you don't want it, then fine! Can you be thankful for once that I'm concerned about your financial status? Given what you said that your profit is deflating?"

Cheryl narrowed her eyes, looking at the girl who's now infuriated.

"Honestly, I shouldn't be bothered about this, right? But I am. Hell, if I strongly cursed this trap, I would never tell you this and I would gladly celebrate but," she shook her head, disappointed, "whatever. I'm doing this because despite all this bullshit, you saved my life twice, but if you don't believe me, then good luck to your future flop if ever I was right. You can always consult a licensed and trustworthy accountant. Obviously, you won't believe me and I am not reliable because I didn't have a degree, no? And...yeah, I'm the daughter of the man that robbed your dad, a scrap. Excuse me."