Steemit Challenge S26-w4 : The Unlikely Friendship

Teena is a sharp and smart woman.She just joined the marketing department. At work,her job was to check travel expenses and make sure everything followed company rules. Dev welcomed her well on her first day.

“Glad to have you here,” he said smiling. “We’re a peaceful people here.”

"Thank you sir" Teena smiled.

Dev the head in the department—was known for keeping things more light with i don't care attitude since he is from a high class and rich family, he has the courage in taking risks . He joked with staff, handled clients very well, and made sure everyone felt relaxed and enjoyable. He always calls everyone he sees if male "Bossman" if female "Big Madam".

For weeks, everything went well. Teena did her work. Dev did his. Staff liked her because she didn’t stress anyone. Dev even started calling her “Madam Balance” because she kept things fair and balance.

But after a few weeks, Teena started noticing problems.

Receipts were missing. Some staff submitted vague travel reports. Hotel bills were unusually high. She flagged them and sent emails to Dev.

Dev replied casually:
“It’s fine. These guys are handling big accounts. Let them breathe.”

Teena didn’t like that. She believed rules were rules. She started thinking Dev was too soft—especially with his favorite staff.

Dev, on the other hand, thought Teena was too rigid.

“She’s sharp,” he told HR one day, “but she acts like we’re in a courtroom.”

Soon, tension grew. Every week, there was a disagreement and arguments.

Teena questioned a ₦400,000 hotel bill. Dev said it was part of a client dinner.
Teena flagged a flight booked without approval. Dev said it was urgent.
Teena asked for receipts. Dev said, “I’ll get them later.”

One Friday afternoon, things boiled over.

Teena walked into Dev’s office with a printed report.

Teena:
“This ₦650,000 trip to Lagos—no approval, no receipts, and the staff wasn’t even assigned to that region.”

Dev (sighing):
“Oh my God! Teena, you’re making this things more harder than it needs to be,try to be calm.”

Teena:
“I’m doing my job. You’re ignoring the rules.”

Dev (raising his voice):
“You think I don’t care? You think I just sit here and let people waste money?”

Teena:
“I think you protect your favorites and overlook the rest.”

Dev stood up, frustrated.

Dev:
“Keep quiet. You don’t know what I deal with. You see numbers. I see people. You think everything is black and white.”

Teena didn’t respond. She left the office quietly and angry.

That weekend, Teena couldn’t stop thinking. "If Dev was truly careless, why did some expenses get flagged internally before she even touched them? Or is it that dev is stealing from the company!?" She said to herself.

On Monday morning she was still really angry with dev, she came in early and bounce into dev office but he wasn't there. As she was about turning to leave. Her heel caught the edge of the rug. She stumbled forward, crashing into the wooden drawer beside Dev’s desk. Papers spilled out. A folder slid across the floor, marked in bold red: “INTERNAL EXPENSE AUDIT – CONFIDENTIAL.”

Dev had been quietly tracking every suspicious expense secretly thoe it's really a risk because it might not go as he expected. He had a private spreadsheet—names, dates, amounts, even notes on who approved. He hadn’t stopped anything directly, but he was watching everything.

At that moment Dev walked into his office.

Teena:
“I'm sorry for bouncing into your office. And I mistakenly fall and crashed into your drawer and i saw your spreadsheet.”

Dev looked up, surprised to see her in his office on the floor with a bruise on her right leg.

Teena continued:
“You’ve been tracking everything. Why didn’t you say anything but take the risk of staying silent and no actions when needed?”

Dev seeing Teena has fallen said calmly:
“Sorry for the Accident" he continued... "I needed to be sure that's why I took the risk of staying silently. If I raised alarm too early, people would have cover their tracks.”

Teena:
“I misjudged you.”

Dev:
“And I misjudged you too. I thought you were just here to make noise and to be strict.”

Dev help her standup from the ground.

From that day, things changed.

Teena started sharing her reports with Dev before sending them to HR. Dev gave her access to his private notes. Together, they built a better system—one that balanced rules with real-life situations.

The team noticed the difference and they were all shocked. There were fewer mistakes. Clearer approvals. And Less tension in the department.

They two becomes the best friend and workmate and they finally work's together in peace and less argument althrough their time together in the marketing department with different tasks.

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I place my invite to:
@ruthjoe,
@waterjoe,
@kouba01
to participate.

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Cc:
@dove11