by Linda Verji
While in the elevator, Eve sent Nina a message letting her know that it was time. Nina sent a confirmation text back. Got it.
The elevator doors opened on the top floor and Eve stepped out. She headed straight for her new office (a.k.a. Sharon’s former office). Ryan was already at his desk. When he saw Eve coming, he immediately jumped to his feet.
Sounding panicked, he greeted, “Good morning, Mrs. Welling!”
“Good morning, Ryan,” she greeted before correcting, “and it’s Ms. Linyard now.” Jumping right into the issue at hand, she asked, “Are you comfortable working with me or do you want to leave with Sharon?”
The question caught Ryan by surprise and he had to swallow before saying, “I don’t mind working with you but…” His words faded into silence.
“But what?” Eve prodded.
“But…” His nervous gaze slid past her to the door of the CEO’s office. “The senior Mrs. Welling is still in the office.”
“Not for long.” Eve didn’t expound on that statement but instead said, “Mona will be taking Benisio’s desk.”
Ryan snatched a glance at Benisio. “What about Benisio?”
“He’s taking my office,” Eve said.
To be honest, Benisio wanted to wash his hands completely of Sharon and anything to do with her including La Belle. However, he didn’t want to leave Eve alone in this den of vipers. Eve’s former position as advisor was perfect for his purposes. He could hang around the company without any official tasks then leave when he wanted to.
Mona shuffled over to her new desk just as Eve’s phone chimed. A quick glance at the message said that it was from Nina and it held only two words. It’s up. Seconds later, another message came in. This time it was a link to the video.
Hiding a smile, Eve moved towards the door to Sharon’s office. When Benisio took a step as if to follow her, she shook her head. “No, I can handle her on my own.”
Benisio frowned. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” With a reassuring smile, Eve turned the doorknob and entered the office.
Sharon was seated behind her desk. She looked disheveled, like she’d been working all night and morning to find a way to keep that desk. Her short hair was standing on edge, she had dark circles around her eyes, and her lips were set in an angry line. It was obvious that none of her attempts to wrestle the company back under her control had been unsuccessful.
She was reading something on the computer but when Eve walked in, she looked up to meet her eyes. Immediately a sneer lifted her top lip. “Eve!”
With no emotion in her voice, Eve informed her, “You’re in my seat.”
Sharon’s hands immediately flew to the arms of the seat as if to protect it. “It’s my seat.”
Eve studied the woman for a long minute then chuckled. “Obviously, I wasn’t clear yesterday.”
Sharon didn’t say anything to that.
“Let me make it clearer for you.” Eve lifted her phone and scrolled to the last message Nina had sent her. She forwarded it to Sharon, and Sharon’s phone beeped on the desk announcing the arrival of Eve’s message. Eve gestured with her chin to the phone. “Your phone’s ringing, Sharon. Pick it up.”
The order was enough to make fury flare in Sharon’s eyes, but surprisingly, she reached for her phone. It took her a minute to click on the link but the moment she saw the video, she realized what it was. A sharp gasp fell from her lips.
Her wide gaze shot to Eve. “You said you wouldn’t put them up.”
“Correction, I asked you to leave if you didn’t want me to put them up,” Eve reminded her. “You didn’t leave so I put it up.”
Sharon jerked to her feet as she yelled, “Eve!”
“I’m sorry. Did you think I was bluffing?” Eve asked. The shock in Sharon’s eyes said that she was right. She chuckled. “This is a warning shot. If I have to get security to drag you out of here, there will be no blurred faces.”
“You call this a warning shot?” Sharon’s voice was shrill and filled with panic. “When people see this video and realize that it’s from Nina they’ll know that it’s me. Everyone knows that she only comes after me.”
“They’ll only guess that it’s you,” Eve corrected her. “But if you keep sitting on my seat, I’ll confirm it for them. So make a choice, Sharon? Will you keep testing me or are you getting out of my seat?”
Sharon opened her mouth as if to say something but closed it again. It was obvious that she’d sensed defeat yet couldn’t quite accept it.
Sticking the knife another inch in, Eve said, “Once I confirm that it’s you in the videos, Carter will know what you’ve been up to. You don’t want that to happen, do you?”
“Carter!” His name fell from Sharon’s lips in a horrified gasp.
“Yes, Carter.” Eve threatened, “If you don’t want him to find out what a snake you are, I suggest that you stop with these games.”
“He’s your husband.”
“He was my husband.” Eve forced a chuckle as she added, “Didn’t he tell you? I already handed him divorce papers.”
Disbelief glinted in Sharon’s eyes as she exclaimed. “Eve!”
“Sharon!” Eve mimicked then added, “Get out of my office.”
Sharon didn’t move immediately. She stayed standing behind that desk as if trying to figure out what more she could say to keep Eve from evicting her. Eve saw the moment she realized defeat. Sharon’s shoulders sagged and she exhaled deeply. But true to her stubborn personality, she threw in a last, “You won’t get away with this.”
Eve gave her a bored, “Won’t I?”
“This is my company,” Sharon gritted. “I’ll get it back.”
“Good luck,” Eve mocked.
Her face a grotesque mask of anger, Sharon reached for her purse. She roughly yanked the purse’s strap over her shoulder, rounded her desk and started towards the door. Eve, who was still standing by the door, moved aside for the woman. However, just as her ex-mother-in-law neared her, she stopped her with a raised hand.
“Ah… by the way,” Eve said, “the company will announce that you stepped aside due to health issues. I suggest you stick with that story if you don’t want people asking why you were kicked out of La Belle.”
Sharon’s nostrils flared and her voice rose in anger. “You’re going to say I’m sick?”
“Well, it’s not too far off the mark, is-” Eve didn’t finish her sentence because right then Sharon took a swift step forward. Sharon’s hand cracked across Eve’s face.
Pain. Excruciating pain shot through Eve’s face. Usually, her self-control would’ve kicked in and she would’ve grabbed her aching face while apologizing to Sharon. But this time her body had a mind of its own. Before she could even think about it, her hand flew to land a hard slap on the older woman’s cheek. Slap!
“Aah!” Sharon’s head jerked sideways with the force of the slap. She staggered backwards as pain and disbelief shimmered in her eyes. Clutching her cheek, she exclaimed, “You slapped me!”
“Quid pro quo. Remember it for the next time we meet,” Eve bit out. “Now get out of my office.”
CHAPTER 15
Carter saw the video that Nina Wu posted.
It wasn’t deliberate. Nina Wu was on his do-not-watch list so there was no way he’d see anything of hers without someone directing his attention to it. And that’s just what happened.
He woke up to a message from a coworker. The message asked, ‘Is this your mom?’ and was accompanied by a link. Despite the voice in his head that told him not to click the link, he clicked it. The title was provocative but gave no clues about what the video was about. It read; Were We All Duped Again?
Carter didn’t want to play the video, but his fingers had a mind of their own. They pressed play.
The video was vague. A woman and a man were in a room. Their faces were blurred and their voices were distorted. The two were talking about faking FDA approval for a product, but even the name of that prod
uct had been beeped out. There was nothing to identify the woman giving orders in the video as Sharon. But Carter’s heart-rate increased and a weird unsettled feeling grew in his stomach.
“It’s not Mom,” he whispered. “It’s not Mom.”
It’s not Mom, the loudest voice in his head agreed. Nina Wu had a vendetta against his mother and she was known for making up things. This was just another one of her stunts to discredit Sharon.
The smallest voice in his head reminded him that everything Nina had said about La Belle so far had been true.
Okay fine, the loud voice admitted. But nothing in this video positively identifies Mom as the woman in it.
Yes, but Nina has been consistently posting only about Mom, the little voice reminded Carter. This video is probably about her. Look at the comment section. Everyone agrees with me.
The comment section of that video was a hotbed of assumptions and theories. The general thought was that the woman in the videos was Sharon.
Those are all just baseless assumption, the loud voice insisted. Nothing in the video proves that it’s Mom. It could be about some other woman, the loud voice insisted. Mom said that she wasn’t involved in changing the formula. She wouldn’t lie.
The little voice went silent but there was no denying the lingering doubt it left or the odd breathlessness Carter felt as he closed Nina’s page.
It wasn’t true. It wasn’t true. It wasn’t true. Those words echoed in his brain as he showered. His mother wasn’t that kind of person. She would never deliberately endanger their clients then pin it on someone else. It wasn’t true.
By the time he finished dressing up, he’d almost convinced himself that that video was just one of Nina Wu’s hoaxes. She had no filter and no fear. If that was Sharon in the video, she would’ve announced it loud and clear for everyone to hear. No, it wasn’t Sharon.
He was just taking the stairs down when his mother walked into the house. One look at her expression and he could tell that she was angry. But what solidified that impression was how she violently she threw her purse at their housekeeper, Martha, who’d come out to meet her. The purse smacked Martha’s face and she let out a small yelp. Sharon didn’t even apologize; she kept walking towards the living room.
Carter, who was still at the top of the stairs, was shocked. He exclaimed, “Mom!”
Sharon’s head immediately snapped towards his direction. The moment she saw him all the anger disappeared from her expression in a flash and it was replaced by a smile. “Carter, good morning.”
Had she always been able to change her expressions that fast? No, he would’ve noticed. Maybe she just wasn’t as angry as he thought.
“Good morning.” As he came down the stairs, he pointed to their housekeeper. “I think your purse just hit Martha’s face.”
“It did?” Sharon drew in a sharp breath and her concerned gaze swept to their housekeeper. “Oh, Martha. I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you?”
“No. I’m okay, Mrs. Welling.” Martha wasn’t fazed by his mother’s actions. She was expressionless as she asked, “Do you want me to put breakfast out for you? You didn’t have anything before you left.”
“Yes, please.” Sharon turned back to Carter. “You’re eating with me, right?”
Carter nodded.
The conversation at breakfast was deeply dissatisfying. When he asked his mother where she was coming from so early in the day, she dodged the question. When he asked her if she’d seen Nina Wu’s newest upload, she changed the subject and instead asked him if Eve had asked for a divorce.
“You should finish it quickly,” she said when he admitted that Eve wanted a divorce. “I’ll let our lawyer know that you’re going to see him today.”
Carter didn’t say anything to that, mostly because he had no intentions of cutting ties with Eve, especially not before he’d uncovered the truth behind what was happening. When they were done with breakfast, Sharon said that she was going to her office to find out what could be done to solve the La Belle issue. Carter would’ve offered to help but he had plans of his own; plans he couldn’t tell his mother about.
Eve and Benisio weren’t talking, but they weren’t the only people involved in the plan to oust his mother. The Board had several members. Carter called one of them.
“Hello?” Henry Mullins, La Belle’s CFO and a voting member of the Board, answered on the first ring.
“Henry, it’s Carter.” Without wasting time on pleasantries, he asked, “I’d like to meet you today. Is it possible?”
Henry inhaled sharply. “You want to meet me?”
“Yes.”
“Look, if you’re going to threaten me like your mother did, then you’re wasting your time.” Henry’s voice rose in anger. “I did what I did and I’m not taking it back.”
Though the fact that his mother had threatened Henry bothered him, Carter set it aside and instead said, “No, no, no, it’s not threats. I just want to talk.”
“Talk about what?” the other man demanded curtly.
“I’m just trying to find out what’s going on.” His voice soothing, Carter asked, “Can we meet? You can choose the place… anywhere you’re comfortable with, and I’ll come to you.”
It took a while for Henry to speak again. Fortunately, when he did speak it was a reluctant, “Fine, let’s meet at…”
Carter took note of the address. Henry wanted to meet in an hour’s time at a popular coffee-shop. As soon as their call ended, Carter grabbed his car keys and headed out the door. He arrived at the coffee-shop well ahead of the meeting time and took a table at the corner. To kill time, Carter went to YouTube. Inevitably, he landed back on Nina’s video. That wasn’t Sharon, right? It wasn’t. It couldn’t be.
“Ah, so you saw it too.” A voice cut into his thoughts.
Startled, Carter looked up only to find a familiar face looking down at him. “Henry, I hadn’t even noticed that you were here.”
The tall, thin, fifty-something man took a seat opposite Carter. Curiosity gleaming in his sharp eyes, Henry asked, “So… what do you think?”
Carter closed the video then set his phone on the table. “What do I think about what?”
“About the video.” The older man studied him keenly. “You’ve watched it all, right?”
“I’ve watched it all.” Carter paused before answering, “I think nothing.”
“I’m not surprised.” Henry scoffed. “You’re her son after all.”
It was obviously not a compliment, and Carter got the feeling that Henry had little love for his mother. Why? He was one of Sharon’s longest serving executives. Where was his loyalty? Again, Benisio’s words snuck in. Ask yourself why everyone would just turn on her like this.
Hiding a sigh, Carter asked, “What would you like to order? It’s on me.”
“Coffee and a sandwich are fine,” Henry said. He waited until the server had taken their orders before asking, “So what did you want to talk about?”
Carter met his eyes. “I’d like to know what’s going on. Why did you and the Board decide to let my mother go?”
Henry’s eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to claim that you don’t know why we had to fire Sharon?”
“Claiming implies that I’m lying, which I’m not,” Carter said. “I don’t know why you fired my mother and I’d like to know.”
“What did she tell you?”
“That it was because of Lewis Wick.”
“Lewis Wick? Please!” Henry scoffed. “He has nothing to do with why we let Sharon go.”
The server chose to stop by right then. She set their food in front of them then left.
Henry continued, “We let Sharon go because of Sharon. She’s the one who forced us into a corner.”
Carter frowned. “What does that mean?”
“Your mother was behind the whole conditioner incident,” Henry explained. “Charlie is just a patsy.”
It was almost as if a part of Carter had been expecting this. He wasn’t as shock
ed as he should’ve been. Instead, the weight that had settled on his chest ever since he’d seen Nina Wu’s video became heavier.
Despite the sudden tightness in his throat, he managed to ask, “Did Eve tell you this, or did Wick?”
“Neither. We’d never do something this drastic on the strength of just someone’s words. Not even Eve’s. We did it because here’s proof, Carter.” Henry leaned forward and his voice lowered as he continued, “We saw Nina Wu’s video too. However, our version had no blurred faces or masked voices. It was as clear as the day. That was your mother, and she was bribing an FDA official to lie about approvals that they never gave. Sharon is lucky that all we did was fire her. The only reason we didn’t bring in the police is because we don’t want to burn down La Belle while trying to get rid of her.”
Carter wanted to insist that they were mistaken but the heavy feeling in his chest intensified. His mother had said that she wasn’t involved. He wanted to believe her. But so many people were telling him or hinting at the opposite. He forced himself to ask, “Where’s the real video?”
“Eve should have it.” His expression grave, Henry added, “Once you see it, you’ll realize why we can’t let Sharon keep running La Belle.”
Long after Henry left the café, Carter stayed seated while nursing his cold coffee. He wanted to sift through and analyze everything Henry had said but his mind had blanked out. It was almost like it’d malfunctioned; like a car that had just stopped in the middle of the road because it couldn’t handle the journey.
* * * * *
“WILL THERE BE job cuts?” Brigitte Palt, the Head of HR, asked.
“We don’t believe so,” Eve, who was seated at the head of the table, said. “The market is responding well to the change in management.”
Surrounding her were all the heads of the various departments. She’d called them in so that she could reassure them that nothing would change just because Sharon was gone.