Nathan Looked at Rita with confusion in his eyes. “That’s what this is for?”
She could just apply for a job if she wanted to get into the Brown Group.
Why would she get herself in the swirl?
“Isn’t that a simple thing to do? Like, way to simple.” So simple that made him felt unrealistic.
Rita smiled, her eyes glimmering. “It’s not simple, not at all.”
“You’ll know.” Rita didn't elaborate, she raised her eyes at Nathan. “So, what do you say? Wanna give it a shot or not?”
Looking at Rita, Nathan felt like a lay of light just pried open the darkness he was in. He saw hope and warmness.
“I’ll give it a shot.”
He agreed resolutely after a moment of silence.
His eyes laid on Rita’s face again. “So, what’s your plan? And, what do I need to do? Why don’t we have a talk about that?”
“You need to prepare some popcorn… and some beverage to wash it down.”
Popcorn and beverage?
What?
Nathan blinked, puzzled, “Huh?”
“Just sit and lay back while watching me juggle.” Rita laughed lightly.
Nathan’s mouth twitched. Was he being stupid to believe that a young girl could save him?
Was it too late to regret his decision now?
Rita knew what’s going on in Nathan’s mind by the look on his face. And she knew he would despair if she kept teasing.
So she faded the smile. “Bella just held a press and pinned everything on you. The situation is extremely adverse for SF now, and more so to the Brown Group. I assume that you will get a call from the board, and they’d like to see you.”
“And then?” her analysis sounded reasonable, so Nathan asked for further part of her plan.
Rita squinted. “By then, I want you to take me with you to the meeting, and I’ll deal with the board.”
“Alright.” Nathan agreed. He didn't know why he trusted a girl he just met so much.
Nathan’s assistant called him soon, telling to attend a meeting at the company half an hour later.
The two of them headed to the company right away after the call.
Rita wore a mask to masquerade as Nathan’s assistant.
“Nathan, have you seen the press?” Jason Snow, a manager of SF, said as caught sight of Nathan.
Nathan nodded, and Jason sighed. “That pours gas on the fire for us.”
“Tell me about it. After the press, our company has become the sole target of attack, hail of abuse is aiming at us. We have barely sold anything for the past few days.”
The manager gesticulated at his assistant to dispatch the sales figures to everyone in the room.
Frowns emerged on everyone’s face when they saw the data.
“It’s not just pecuniary problem, but also a reputational one. We received instruction from the head office today, they want this farce to be handled quick.”
The whole room was in dead silence.
“Any thoughts?” Jason glanced over the folks in the room.
But no one even dared to look back at him.
So Jason beckoned one guy.
The guy peered at Jason, and then said coldly. “President Snow, I think the best thing to do now is to accommodate to the fans and fire Nathan.”
Voices of agreement echoed in the room.
“That’s the only way to cease the fire.”
“But Bella made this up. she set Nathan up.” Another manager, a friend of Nathan’s, protested.
“Do you have proof?”
The manager’s anger flared. “Everyone in the company saw how Bella always made eyes at Nathan. Everyone saw it!”
“So what? There’s no surveillance tape of what happened to them in the fitting room that day. A lie what Bella said might be, she had evidence to prove it. She went to hospital and got a injury report the day they got caught making out.”
“Someone must’ve blackmailed her first, so her team came up with such vile countermove, leaving us with nothing to fight back.”
“Tell me about it. Hit after hit, we are doomed.”
All argument turned into sighs at the end.
“Jason, we know this is unfair for Nathan, but we have no choice.” The guy who suggested to fire Nathan looked at Jason. “If we don’t do this soon enough, the company might fall.”
By now, Jason could only compromise no matter how much he admired Nathan’s talent.
He looked at Nathan, his eyes red. “Don’t blame me, Nathan. I have no choice.”
Nathan was calm on the outside. But on the inside, he was ponderous.
His fists clenched tightly, fingers digging into his palms.
Though he had anticipated such outcome, but it still hurt him to hear it firsthand.
“To protect yourself, you sell your colleague, who is innocent. The fans put Nathan’s head on a guillotine, but you loose the cleave.”
Rita sneered.
Then for an instant, everyone flushed. But soon the embarrassment turned into anger.
“What rights does an assistant have to have a voice here? Get out!” a manager stood up violently and groaned at Rita.
“If you really have so much conscience, why don’t you come up with a method to fix this?”
The accusations did not freak Rita, she said slowly. “I do know how to fix this.”
Instantly, every eye, except for Nathan’s was on Rita.
But it was mockery in their eyes when they looked at her, thinking that she just bragging.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Sweet Divorce