Smartystan

When the reports came back, Bellinda knew exactly what to do. Her personal finances had flummoxed her, but the role of chief executive officer of Delaseer never deterred her from being spot on about her abilities. The digital forms all amounted to the money flowing in and the small amount going out. Totally exempt from taxes, she could handle the amount of figures that came across her desk. She didn’t even use synths. It was all brain. She decided to lay out the digital forms and calculate in her head. She even showed her work.

Go walked past her desk.

“B, we’re going to get some BBQ,” he announced.

“That’s great. I’m still busy with these reports.”

“You want us to bring you back something?”

“A six rack of ribs with sweet potato fries and iced tea.”

“That's what I thought. Just making sure,” he added.

Once the other executives had left the building, the quiet solitude of Belinda and her numbers created a sacrosanct atmosphere for her to concentrate on her task. With all of the tools available for her to crunch numbers, she selected to figure, check, and recheck all of the data. As the minutes rushed by, she was like a basketball player looking at the game clock, the shock clock, and lining up beyond the three-point arc and shooting her shot. This remained practice. She missed some of the calculations and then went back to correct them.

Then, she came to the portion about the salaries that everyone received. Her brow furrowed. It appeared as if she made more than CEO Dr. Strong.

“This is highly irregular,” she said to herself. She checked the digitized books again and absolutely, she made more bank than her boss. Quickly, she looked through the various documents that showed the figures. Her heart began to beat more. All she knew was that she had to correct this. That she had to make sure that the money he was getting outweighed her earnings. By starting over, she checked and double checked and rechecked the amount of money that everyone made that past three quarters. Everything came out the same. In fact, she was the top earner. She couldn’t have fixed the books, not because of inability but because of her own standards.

The c-suite returned with all of the food. Go swung by and gave her the meal she had asked for just moments ago. She let her food go cold before having to devour it. Intent on correcting this error, Belinda put in extra hours. Like a learned machine herself, she worked smarter and corrected her mistakes. Every set of instructions she gave herself lent to her becoming an even more capable chief financial officer. The blonde jokes peeled away as she looked for new ways to rearrange the current fiscal issues that had arisen in just a few moments. By knowing this had been going on for months, she switched tactics to ensure that the payroll system properly doled out payments that constituted the right earnings for the right person.

Belinda edged closer to the idea of being completely clear on how she handled the accounts. She looked at all of the money that Delaseer generated, the operating income, net income, total assets, and total equity. All of that checked out on the screens. What she did revolutionized the company’s accounting practices. To take the numbers that had been associated with the company, she changed the format and watched as the numbers dazzled on the screen. Her eyes widened. It was like getting over writer’s block or the “squirms” or something. She had conquered the documents with just a few swipes of her fingers.

Problems still persisted. How would she make sure everyone got their proper pay? How could she possibly ensure that the money they made could be allocated to them in proper form? She sighed. After one hurdle, five or ten stood right before her. Her eyebrows raised. She’d go straight to the top. She stopped by Dr. Strong’s office.

“Hey, did you enjoy your lunch?” He asked.

“Nope. Too busy. So, about the quarterly reports, I slayed one dragon only to have a few more stand in my way.”

“I’m listening.”

“I make more than you.”

Dr. Strong let the bombshell burst.

“I don’t know how, I don’t know why. There could be a glitch in the system somewhere….”

“It’s alright. I know you’re a top notch accountant and businesswoman. We’ll just figure this one out with diligence,” Dr. Strong mentioned.

Belinda smiled. “I appreciate your understanding, Covey.”

“Hey, that’s what it takes to be a boss. You’re a boss, too.”

“I know,” she said with a smirk.

“Let’s see those ‘books,’” They weren’t really binders of information but he still liked to use the old terms.

“What we have in this last quarter is a selection of all of the c-suite’s salaries. I bump up just above you.”

Dr. Strong looked at her for a long time. “I did that on purpose.”

“You what?”

“I intentionally gave you all more money than myself. I know you all have personal fortunes that exceed mine, but I felt it not a sacrifice to continue to motivate all of you to reach even higher plateaus of performance,” he said.

“Thank…you,” Belinda let out the words but couldn’t believe exactly what she was saying.

“I appreciate it, but I haven’t been motivated by money in years. This for profit 501 (c) (3) is just a beautiful manifestation of all our minds enmeshed in the idea of making something beautiful. That led to our country-state. We are better off because we had the power to be better off, so to say.”

“I agree. As Founders, we’re tasked with more than just looking over profits and understanding the cash flow. That’s all important, but it’s not what we’re here to do.”

“I know. This institution is a staple for the mind and a beacon of rational hope amidst a wasteland.”

“Yes.”