Elijah showed up in Leanna's office a while later.
Leanna told the assistant who led him here to make a cup of coffee.
The assistant was going to do it, but Elijah said, "It's alright. I'm leaving soon."
The assistant looked at Leanna, and she closed the door after Leanna nodded.
Elijah took the seat before Leanna's desk and placed the document folder on the desk. "It's right here, Leanna."
"Thanks." Leanna massaged her temples. "I should've taken this myself, but I didn't have time."
"It's alright." Elijah smiled. "It just so happens that I have work to do nearby, so I thought I would come over. I've heard about the case. I asked around on my way here, and it seems like the guys Jimmy talked with last night work for a company that was established about two months ago. They say the boss of the company is a foreigner, but nobody has seen him before."
Leanna frowned. "So, you're saying the company is shady."
Elijah nodded. "Jimmy's a b*stard, but this isn't his first rodeo. He's careful, especially after the company got in trouble. This isn't a mistake he would make."
Leanna pursed her lips. "But I saw him and another member of the top brass forcing Maya to drink. And they tried to take her away."
"That happened back when Maya's husband was in trouble. Who knows what would have happened to Maya if you weren't there the other day? She asked for Jimmy's help, so even if she called the cops on him, he could still say she did it with consent. Or if he did help her, Maya might just cave for her husband."
Leanna balled her hands that were resting on the table into fists, her brows furrowing into a frown.
Elijah continued, "But this time, not only did the victim not cave, but she's also trying to break the news to the whole nation. Either they did a sloppy job with her, or this is all a trap."
After a short pause, Elijah asked, "So what do you think, Leanna?"
Leanna was still frowning. "I would like to think the girl was forced, but…" But Elijah's right. The b*stard knows what he's doing. He wouldn't make this kind of mistake.
Someone knocked on the door, and an assistant said, "Miss McKinney? Mr. Ollander is here."
Elijah stood up. "I'll be going now, Leanna. Call me if you need anything."
Leanna nodded. "Thank you."
"Ah, what's a favor between friends?"
After Elijah left, Leanna opened up the document folder and took out Jimmy's records.
Ten minutes later, a disgruntled Jimmy entered her office and plopped into the chair before her desk. He snapped, "What do you need, Miss McKinney?"
Leanna smiled. "You seem irritated, Mr. Ollander. Did I disturb you?"
Well, she's smiling. Jimmy calmed down a little. "No. It's just I have nothing to do here."
"What?"
"I mean, you're handling everything here, not me."
Leanna said, "Is that why I have to clean up your messes, Mr. Ollander? Because I have total control of the company?"
Jimmy didn't like her tone, but he was in the wrong, so he said, "It wasn't a big deal. She's after money. We just have to give her some."
"How much, exactly?"
Impatiently, Jimmy said, "She's going to demand a lot. Let's make her wait a few days. She'll lower her price then." Then he scoffed. "I can't believe her. Of everything she could do, she went for a scam. Seriously, young people these days."
"Mr. Ollander, she's about your daughter's age, and yet you slept with her anyway," snapped Leanna.
"Hey, she came to me. Not like I forced her to."
"If it was consensual, then none of this would have happened."
Jimmy froze. He had drunk a bit the night before. The girl was fidgety, but it was all arranged according to the guys he talked to, so he took the offer, thinking it was just harmless fun. However, it turned out to be a disaster. Those people were obviously trying to take him for all he had. He wouldn't let that happen, so he tossed the problem to Leanna. He knew that she wouldn't ignore this issue as it was related to the company's reputation.
"How do you plan to settle this, Mr. Ollander?"
"I told you. Throw some money at her."
"Give me the exact amount. I need to tell the finance department. And please settle this before the evening, Mr. Ollander."
Jimmy froze. "What do you mean?"
Calmly, Leanna said, "What I mean is you're giving the money to the company. You want me to settle matters for you? Sorry, but I'm just the owner of a small studio. I have no money to settle matters, so it's on you."
Jimmy chortled. "Yeah, right. Aidan must have given you—"
"Oh, I see. So, you're going to take a loan from Pearson Group. Good. I'll call a press conference later and tell everyone about the loan. Proof that we'll pay the money back, so to speak."
Jimmy shot up. "What? Why are you calling a press conference?"
Leanna leaned on her chair. Calmly, she said, "To clear things up, of course. We need to give them a reason to lend us the money. But don't you worry. I'm sure they'll lend us the money once they know about your situation."
Infuriated, Jimmy tried to argue, but he couldn't even form a coherent sentence.
Leanna pressed down on the landline. "Send Raymond to my office."
"Of course."
A minute later, Raymond entered Leanna's office. "What do you need, Miss McKinney?"
"Call a press conference for me."
Curious, Raymond asked, "What will the agenda be?"
"Mr. Ollander plans to borrow some money from Pearson Group. To reassure them that we're going to pay back our debts, I'm going to issue a public IOU."
Raymond looked at Jimmy. "Sir…"
Jimmy slammed his hand on the table, furious. "Fine, tell your finance people to take a hundred and fifty grand from my account! Happy?"
Leanna smiled and slowly answered, "Three million."
"No! That's just—"
Leanna told Raymond, "We'll call the press conference at two."
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