Chapter 5: The Employee Who Knew Too Much
The sentence seemed to change the temperature of the store.
Mr. Harris held his tablet against his chest while Derek stared at him, waiting for the punch line.
“The person is here?”” Derek repeated.
Harris nodded.
“That's what the message says.””
“Then call security.””
“No.””
Derek threw up his hands.
“Why not?””
“Because I haven't established what happened.””
“Your system rejected an order to stop a shipment, and now you're telling us the person responsible is standing somewhere in the building. What exactly are you waiting for?””
Mr. Grant lifted one hand.
“Mr. Harris, show me the sender.””
Harris unlocked the tablet and placed it on the counter.
The message had come through the internal operations system. It contained a dispatch reference, a confirmation that the hold had been rejected, and a name attached to the final authorization.
The name was partially hidden behind a permissions warning.
Mr. Harris tapped the screen.
*ACCESS RESTRICTED. CONTACT AUTHORIZED SUPERVISOR.*
He tried again.
The same warning appeared.
“That's strange,” he said.
Derek leaned closer.
“Maybe your account doesn't have permission.””
“I'm the store manager.””
“Which doesn't mean you have permission to see every operations record.””
Harris looked at him sharply.
“How would you know that?””
Derek shrugged.
“Everybody knows the company has different access levels.””
Mr. Grant studied the salesman.
“Everybody?””
Derek stiffened.
“I'm familiar with the procedures.””
“Which procedures?””
“The normal ones.””
Mr. Grant waited.
Derek looked away first.
Harris picked up the tablet.
“I'm contacting the operations supervisor.””
He placed the call on speaker.
It rang twice before a woman answered.
“Operations. This is Monica.””
“This is Harris at the flagship store,” the manager said.
“I need immediate verification of a shipment authorization.””
“Do you have the reference number?””
“Yes.””
He read it aloud.
There was a pause. Keys clicked in the background.
“I'm seeing the shipment,” Monica said.
“What appears to be the problem?””
“The hold request was rejected.””
“That's correct. The release has already been approved.””
“By whom?””
Another pause.
“I can't disclose that information through this channel.””
Harris looked at Mr. Grant.
“I'm standing with the person who issued the hold.””
“Then he needs to submit the appropriate verification.””
Mr. Grant leaned toward the tablet.
“The verification has already been submitted.””
Monica fell silent.
“Who is speaking?”” she asked.
“Someone who expects the shipment to remain in the building until the authorization is verified.””
“Sir, I understand your concern, but the system shows a valid release.””
“Does it show who entered the release?””
“I'm not authorized to disclose that.””
“Are you authorized to stop it?””
A longer silence followed.
“I would need approval from my supervisor.””
“Then contact your supervisor.””
Harris watched Mr. Grant carefully.
There was no shouting, no threat, no dramatic declaration of status. Yet the older man spoke with a certainty that made even the distant voice on the speakerphone sound uncertain.
Monica finally responded.
“Please remain available. I'll escalate the request.””
The call ended.
Derek snorted.
“That's helpful.””
Harris turned toward him.
“You need to stop.””
“Stop what? Pointing out that nobody has explained anything?””
Mr. Grant placed the tablet on the counter.
“You want an explanation, Derek?””
“Yes.””
“Then answer a question.””
Derek folded his arms.
“Go ahead.””
“Did you see the shipment schedule before today?””
“No.””
“Did you discuss tonight's delivery with anyone?””
“No.””
“Did you access the operations system?””
“Absolutely not.””
Mr. Grant nodded.
“Good.””
Derek frowned.
“Good? What does that mean?””
“It means your answers can be checked.””
The salesman shifted uneasily.
“You can't accuse me of something without evidence.””
“I haven't accused you of anything.””
“You're asking questions like I'm a suspect.””
“I'm asking questions because something happened.””
Mr. Harris looked down at the tablet.
A new notification had arrived.
He opened it, and his breathing changed.
“Mr. Grant,” he said, “the supervisor has responded.””
“Read it.””
Harris swallowed.
“The shipment cannot be stopped through the store system. A second authorization is required.””
“From whom?””
“The regional office.””
Mr. Grant considered that.
“Call them.””
Harris immediately dialed the number listed in the message.
This time, a man answered almost instantly.
“Regional operations.””
“This is Harris. I need to verify an authorization attached to tonight's shipment.””
“Send the reference through the system.””
“I've done that.””
“Then the system will tell you whether it's valid.””
“It has already rejected our hold.””
“Then the hold is not valid.””
Harris looked at Mr. Grant.
“Sir, I need to speak with someone who can review the authorization itself.””
The voice on the other end grew impatient.
“Manager Harris, you're not authorized to interrupt a cleared dispatch because of a disagreement at your store.””
“It's not a disagreement.””
“Then what is it?””
Harris glanced at the older man.
“A verification issue.””
“Your job is to follow the approved process.””
Mr. Grant held out his hand.
Harris passed him the tablet.
“Who am I speaking with?”” Mr. Grant asked.
The man on the line paused.
“Regional operations.””
“Your name.””
“Why?””
“Because I'm asking.””
The man's voice hardened.
“Sir, I don't know who you are, but you don't get to call into a regional department and demand personal information.””
Mr. Grant remained still.
“I'm not asking for personal information. I'm asking who is responsible for this decision.””
“You can submit a formal inquiry.””
“Will the shipment leave before the inquiry is answered?””
“It's scheduled to leave tonight.””
“That wasn't my question.””
The man exhaled impatiently.
“Look, the authorization is valid. The release is approved. If you have a problem, take it up with the appropriate office.””
Mr. Grant handed the tablet back to Harris.
“What's the dispatch time?””
Harris checked the schedule.
“Thirty-five minutes.””
“Then we have thirty-five minutes.””
Derek shook his head.
“You can't just hold everyone here because you don't like an answer.””
Mr. Grant looked at him.
“Do you know what's in the shipment?””
“No.””
“Have you verified the authorization?””
“No.””
“Then you don't know whether the answer is correct.””
Derek's mouth tightened.
“I know how a business operates.””
“Then you know verification comes before release.””
Harris's tablet chimed again.
He glanced at the screen.
This time, he didn't speak immediately.
He turned the device around.
A new internal message had arrived, this one from the store's personnel system.
*EMPLOYEE ACCESS REVIEW INITIATED. SUBJECT: DEREK.*
Derek stared at the words.
“What is that?””
Harris slowly lowered the tablet.
“I don't know.””
“Why does it have my name?””
“I don't know, Derek.””
The salesman snatched his phone from his pocket and began scrolling frantically.
Then he stopped.
His face turned pale.
Mr. Grant watched him.
“What did you find?””
Derek locked his screen.
“Nothing.””
Mr. Grant's gaze remained steady.
“Then why are your hands shaking?””
Derek looked toward the back-office door.
May you like
And for the first time, it was clear that he wasn't afraid of losing a sale.
He was afraid that someone had discovered something he had worked very hard to hide.
