My EA’s 160k Mistake

Poppy had been my executive assistant for less than six months when she posted a photo of her new designer handbag on social media on New Year’s Day. “There’s nothing better than buying a luxury bag with money you’ve earned yourself. “And to all the men who think they can get me into bed with a few gifts? Dream on. You’re not even my type.” Meanwhile, a bank alert popped up on my phone. My supplementary credit card had just been charged $50,000. I furrowed my brows. For convenience, I’d given my EA a supplementary card to use for work-related expenses. Over time, Poppy’d started using it to buy things for herself, too. I’d usually turn a blind eye. It wasn’t a significant amount of money, and I’d thought of it as a little perk for Poppy. Since then, Poppy had only grown bolder, spending more lavishly with each passing month. After a brief hesitation, I sent her a message, relaying my expectation that it shouldn’t happen again. Yet the very next day, the entire office was buzzing with gossip. Apparently, I tried to take advantage of Poppy, and when she turned me down, I demanded that she return all the gits I’d given her. My coworkers wasted no time branding me a pathetic loser with no class. I didn’t bother to clear the air. Instead, I called my lawyer, documented every charge Poppy had put on my card, and sent her the itemized statement. “You have three days to pay back a total of $160,000.” Chapter 1 I was called to the office unexpectedly on New Year’s Day. Once I was done with work, I noticed a post on social media from my EA, Poppy Lovin. The update had a huge number of likes. The comment section was blowing up too. In her replies to those comments, Poppy strongly hinted that I was the one trying to abuse my power and sleep with her. I frowned. That was the confusing bit. I was the one who hired Poppy to be my executive assistant. I had run the necessary background checks on hiring. She was a recent college graduate from a working-class family, paid right at the standard entry-level rate. The reason I recommended her for employment was her modest, small-town roots. Coming from humble beginnings, I assumed she’d be grounded and trustworthy. During her first couple of months on the job, Poppy had done remarkably well. She put her head down, worked hard, and wasn’t afraid to ask questions to learn. It all seemed completely above board. Then came the day she confessed her feelings out of the blue and threw herself into my arms. According to her, she saw me romantically. Without hesitation, I turned her down. We had a twenty-year age gap. To put it bluntly, I could practically be her dad. From that point on, I made a conscious effort to keep my distance and instructed HR to headhunt a replacement. However, up until now, there hadn’t been any decent candidates. That was right around the time Poppy completely checked out at work. On top of that, she often charged her rent and personal shopping on my supplementary credit card. At first, the expenses were just the daily essentials and dining out. I just pretended not to notice. It was pretty tough for a young small-town girl to make it out on her own anyway. Plus, on an intern’s salary, making ends meet in a big city was a real grind. Even when I caught wind of some nasty rumor about me going around the office, I wanted to pull Poppy aside for a talk. It was time to clear the air once and for all. To my dismay, Poppy said, “Mr. Milton, you run a multi-billion-dollar company. Why are you sweating over some pocket change? “A real man doesn’t penny-pinch over small stuff.” Poppy’s entire aesthetic completely changed. Stilettos, black stockings, a form-fitting mini skirt, paired with bold, sultry lipstick. Caked in heavy eyeshadow, she acted like she couldn’t care less. Her attitude put me off. “What you do with your own money is your business, but I have zero obligation to bankroll your vanity.” Chapter 2 “Fine, I get it. It’s not a big deal. I won’t use your card again,” Poppy said, her face dripping with annoyance. Her attitude was so bad that I wanted to call her out on it. However, Poppy was quick to cut me off. “Honestly, men around my dad’s age sure nag a lot.” While talking, she started to touch up her makeup right in front of my face. Her tone was utterly dismissive and annoyed. “Poppy, I should point out that this is a professional workplace, not your home, so fix your attitude. Secondly, you’re right. I’m not your father. I have no obligation to spoil you. “So here’s what’s going to happen. You will return the supplementary credit card to me.” I extended my arm. Startled, Poppy smeared her lipstick past her lip line. She grimaced. “Jeez, Mr. Milton. You’re the worst. Look what you made me do! What are you going to do to compensate me?” She flipped the switch, acting all pouty. I said solemnly, “Hand over the credit card.” “You’re seriously being so petty. The card isn’t on me right now. Can’t I just give it back to you later?” Turning on her heel, she walked out. “Stop nagging me. I’ve never seen anyone so stingy.” Even when she muttered under her breath, I caught every word she said. Watching her receding figure, I could feel my blood pressure shooting through the roof. This was what I got for being a nice guy. Without hesitation, I dialed my private wealth manager, Chase, at the bank. Chase’s voice came through. “Mr. Milton, how may I assist you?” “Freeze the supplementary credit card linked to my account. “Do it right now,” I said. Chase replied, “Yes, sir.” With that out of the way, I called for an important meeting. After the meeting wrapped up, Brandon, the VP, pulled me aside. “A word in private, Kai?” “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Brandon dragged me to his office. “Just see for yourself.” He handed his phone to me, open to a thread on our company’s employee message board. An anonymous user dropped a bombshell post that was going viral among the staff. The title read, “Seeking advice: My boss is harassing me into a relationship. What do I do?” The post essentially read that she was a recent college graduate working as an executive assistant. Her boss had been trying every trick in the book to pressure her into sleeping with him. She needed the money, but she refused to compromise her integrity for a paycheck. The comment section was flooded with replies. “Are you kidding me? Who is the creep?” “Give us his name! We’ll stand up for you!” “Yeah, right…” The responses were all anonymous. As my expression turned grim, Brandon said, “Kai, doesn’t this sound a lot like you?” Granted, several managers and C-suite executives had their own EAs. However, I was the only one who hired a fresh graduate. The implication was crystal clear. Needless to say, the odds were high that Poppy was behind the post. “I’ll get IT to scrub the thread immediately.” “Just leave it. Run an audit to confirm who made the post.” While saying this, I took a screenshot of the post. Brandon glanced at me in confusion before responding, “Sure.” Chapter 3 Once Brandon was gone, I called the legal counsel, Teddy, to the office and asked for the transaction history on the supplementary credit card to be pulled. As it turned out, Poppy had racked up $160,000 in charges. Hardly any of the transactions involved me or the business. Virtually all of it went straight into her personal shopping. Teddy said, “Mr. Milton, this is outright theft. If you file a lawsuit or press charges, she’s looking at some jail time.” “Just notify her to pay $160,000 back in three days, and make sure she understands the legal ramifications if she refuses.” “Sure thing.” Teddy took off. By the time I checked the message board again around eight that evening, while working overtime, the poster had already taken down the thread. I was about to pack my things and head out. To my surprise, the door to my office opened. Poppy stepped in, looking rather distressed. “I know I messed up, Mr. Milton. You know my financial situation. I don’t have $160,000. “Please, can you overlook this? I won’t spend another dime of your money again. Here’s your supplementary card. Take it. I won’t use it again.” Acting like a victim, she returned the credit card to me. Since I had already put a freeze on the card, the bit of plastic was essentially useless. She leaned in close to hand it over, but conveniently lost her footing and tumbled right into my chest. Out of reflex, I caught her, but a gut instinct warned me something was off, and I yanked my hands back. “I’ll take the card. If there’s nothing else, you can show yourself out.” “Mr. Milton, what about the money?” “You’ll need to figure that out on your own.” “You’re loaded, Mr. Milton. Why must you squeeze every last drop out of me? I just finished college. All I’m trying to do is survive as your EA and make a living…” I was having none of it. “Remember, you have three days.” Turning around, I made a beeline out of the office. Out of nowhere, she wrapped her arms around me and pressed in. “Mr. Milton, I accept your terms. I’ll offer myself to cover what I owe. Just take me! “Make me yours…” She lunged at me, and I pushed her out of the way. “Unbelievable.” I strode out of there. Unbeknownst to me, her eyes flickered cunningly. Shaken by her bizarre antics, I hardly slept a wink. I woke up the next day, feeling groggy. Then, I saw the dozens of missed calls and hundreds of messages on my phone. Just as I grabbed my phone, another call came in. It was Brandon. “Kai, thank God you answered. We’ve got a situation!” “What happened? What’s the situation?” “Check your phone feed now,” Brandon urged. I quickly checked social media and found the top local trend. “Multi-Billionaire Executive Harasses Young EA.” The video immediately launched into a leaked audio clip. The clip featured the very conversation I had with Poppy in my office. It was clear the audio had been spliced and taken entirely out of context. For instance, the clip made it sound like I was ruthlessly shaking down a helpless, fresh college grad for money. It painted a narrative where I, bitter that she rejected my workplace advances, forced her to return gifts I’d given her. The leak came from an influencer account boasting over a million followers. Right after dropping the audio file, the creator rolled a sit-down interview with Poppy. Poppy said on camera, “This whole experience has been traumatizing. I didn’t think he was capable of this. “When he asked me to be his lover, I refused immediately and returned his credit card and the gifts, but that wasn’t enough. He demanded cash. Where is a girl right out of college going to find that kind of money?” Chapter 4 “The guy told me to figure something out. I knew he was threatening me for sexual favors. I felt trapped… Sob…” Poppy wept sorrowfully. The influencer jumped to offer her comfort. “Don’t cry. Women in the workplace already face enough uphill battles. Rest assured, I will get you justice, and I know our followers will stand up for you too.” I tapped open the comment section and scrolled through the replies. My full name, job title, and personal info had already been posted online. Even pictures of my face had been plastered all over the comments. “He looks decent, but he turns out to be a creep!” “Gross! Another guy abusing women at work!” “Count me in on boycotting everything this company sells. It starts with me.” That reply had nearly 300,000 likes. Suddenly, cancel culture came for me with full force. Our company faced an immediate, widespread consumer backlash. Internet trolls placed orders, only to cancel and request refunds to mess with our operations. The hate mail and insults didn’t stop. Within a week, my home address and family details were fully doxxed. My kid faced relentless bullying and isolation from his peers at school, causing him to spiral into depression. The stress and shame landed my folks in the hospital. My wife lost faith in me. My in-laws tore into me, asking if I was determined to destroy a happy family with my own hands. Brandon brought me more bad news. Our existing suppliers had halted all shipments while demanding payment on outstanding invoices. The market backlash was brutal. With inventory piling up, the company was facing an imminent liquidity crisis. If the capital chain broke, the business would fall apart. Just then, a call from a random number came through. Poppy’s voice came on the line. She called to set up a meeting with me. The location was set in an isolated area with no surveillance. I asked, “What do you want?” Poppy said smugly, “Doesn’t feel so great, does it, Mr. Milton? “Why pick a fight with me? You’re way too old for this game. I can ruin you with just one click. “Don’t even try to record this. I’ll just deny it was me. I have more dirt on you. Just try me. Pay me 10 million dollars for emotional distress, and I might consider telling the public that it’s all a big misunderstanding. What do you say?” She acted like she held all the cards and had me right where she wanted me. I scoffed. “Neat little game you’ve got going. Too bad I’m not playing by your rules.” With that, I turned to leave. I hadn’t exactly been sitting on my hands the whole time. Following the digital paper trail of her card spending, I traced every vendor location and gathered witness statements from the people on-site. I also caught her putting unauthorized charges on corporate tabs at upscale restaurants under my firm’s name. Those tabs amounted to a very substantial number. These witness accounts were more than enough to establish that every dollar spent was for her personal use. Meanwhile, I instructed Teddy to press forward with a lawsuit against Poppy for embezzlement and theft, given the total damages involved. To top it off, Brandon discovered that she was dropping my name to solicit illegal kickbacks from company vendors. I compiled every piece of evidence. Unexpectedly, I managed to secure security video footage of Poppy hosting her friends at an upscale restaurant. The dinner alone cost $18,800. “Poppy, you’re living the high life! Best EA job ever!” “Tell me about it. Mr. Milton is such a sucker. I played him like a fiddle. I even threw myself at him before, but he turned me down. As if a hot bod like mine isn’t good enough.” “Oh, you threw yourself at him?” “Duh. If I had succeeded, I’d have been set for life. Too bad he didn’t appreciate what was right in front of him.” “Well, he must be blind. I can’t believe he said no to a hottie like you. Is he even a man?” As I watched the video, a sneer crept across my lips. I knew the time had come for me to strike back.