On my aforementioned business trip to England, I was an experienced UK driver. My first time in England I drove from Gatwick to the Midlands while feeling very jet-lagged behind the wheel on the “wrong” side of an Austin. I narrowly avoided having an accident on a roundabout, but somehow I adjusted and arrived safely at my destination. By the time of that later trip, being stuck on the M25 motorway felt the same to me as Route 128 traffic did outside of Boston.
It was the first trip to England for my very lovely traveling companion, so I rented the car and did almost all of the driving. She wanted to give it a try, and we had fun with her practicing around the village, near the inn where we were staying.
Several years earlier, Ted had returned from his site visit to Canada. He submitted his expense report and worked on his site report. Ted’s car rental was for at least several hundred dollars, I don’t remember the amount, but the contract/receipt didn’t look quite right for Canada. My little internal warning bell began to ring again. Given the circumstances of Ted’s probation, I didn’t question him. Rather, I dutifully completed my review of Ted’s expense report and forwarded it to Accounting, with a note questioning the car rental receipt.
Some days later, Accounting called me. I was told they had an expense report from someone else for that same week. They called her and she explained that, as the senior employee, she had rented the car and did all of the driving, with Ted as a passenger. The rental agency was contacted, and the serial number on Ted’s agreement was traced to their counter at Logan Airport. Ted’s receipt was an inside job, being both genuine and fraudulent.
The news hit me hard. That was it for Ted. He had attempted to defraud the company, and in turn the customer. I didn’t know exactly how he got hold of an official, properly printed receipt, but Ted had to be fired immediately. I went to my boss’ office, closed the door, and explained the situation. He called the administrator who had provided us with the probation form that Ted signed, and we waited for him to come over and advise me on the termination process.