When I Was a Wallflower (Leo and Amelie) novel Chapter 22

Chapter 22 Do You Still Love Him?
“What about Miss Clayton’s apology to Starlight Media’s owner regarding the leaked email?” asked the reporter who spoke up. “Do you think she should have done that? Will there be a formal apology in person?”
“No,” Leo swiftly answered. “It is not Elyse’s fault.”
He then slowly turned to look into the camera. “I have a word of advice for that woman; you are young and healthy. There are plenty of ways to earn a living. Being a homewrecker is the most foolish and risky path. It is best to avoid it.”
As if he knew Amelie was watching, his eyes were cold and ruthless the entire time he spoke.
He was lecturing her!
While Amelie had appeared before reporters many times, she had always subconsciously blocked her face. No one, not even four years ago, had yet to take a photo of her entire face.
Thus, none of the reporters realized Leo’s ex-wife was the woman the Starlight Media president was allegedly having an affair with. All they felt was confusion upon hearing his speech.
Why would Leo Alston give this random woman a word of advice?
Meanwhile, Julia had exploded with fury. She flung a slipper at the television, which landed on Leo’s face.
Still, it was not enough to calm her anger. She hopped up, itching to argue with Leo.
“Don’t go. There is no need.” Amelie suppressed her pain and grabbed Julia.
“What else can I do? Should I just let him slander you? Am I to let him bully you around?” Julia was beyond herself with anger. She was so furious that she might explode.
“Don’t worry,” said Amelie. “I will not let him push me around.”
Since Leo decided to trample all over her, why should she protect him?
“That’s it!” Some semblance of calm finally appeared on Julia’s face when she heard that. “We will now put out an announcement. We will let them know that you are the president of Starlight Media!”
“We have to make an announcement, but it will not be about that,” Amelia replied.
…
The press conference came to an end.
Suzie thereafter followed Elyse into the van.
“You sure are something, Elyse,” exclaimed Suzie. “You actually made Mr. Alston help you out. With his support, all of the ridiculous rumors will stop!”
Suzie was Elyse’s manager, but she did not know Elyse was behind the whole debacle about the leaked emails.
She let out a huge sigh of relief, for she had been worried sick over what happened the entire day.
“Alright.” She patted Elyse on the back of her hand. “With Mr. Alston’s protection, your career will be smooth sailing from now on.”
Elyse hummed in response. When she recalled how Leo had declared she was under his protection, her eyes shone brightly as she looked down at her lap.
What happened had been a pleasant surprise she had not thought possible.
…
The sun would not rise from the west just because of a human’s joy or sorrow.
When Amelie stepped out of the car, her eyes were red-rimmed.
There were large dark circles under her eyes.
Without Bria by her side, sleep was hard to come by.
Leila Potts still worked at the Alston Residence, and she had always been kind to Bria. Hence, she was not worried Bria would suffer any injustice in that house.
Her only concern was that Bria might miss her.
It did not matter though. Soon, Bria would be back by her side.
Today, Starlight Media was hosting the final round of interviews for its new hires.
Julia wanted Amelie there to personally oversee everything.
Since lounging around at home would only lead to her brooding, Amelie agreed to the request.
However, she did not drive. Due to how lethargic she felt, she came in a taxi.
Her taxi had yet to leave when a bright red BMW came screeching over.
Then, a finely dressed Jodie stepped out of the car.
Jodie was in a good mood today and her makeup was perfect with not a hair out of place.
Her high heels clacked against the pavement as she strutted away from the car.
Then, she swiftly entered Starlight Media’s office building.
Amelie frowned and followed after her.
When she saw Jodie walk toward the location set aside for the interviews, she smirked in realization before heading for Julia’s office.
“Jodie Alston is here for the final interviews, isn’t she?” Amelie asked before Julia could say a single word.
Julia was dressed in an outfit from some small-time brand that was not considered high-end but was well-designed. The outfit emphasized her sensuality by highlighting her thin waist and long legs.
When Julia heard that, she flipped through the list of final candidates. Jodie was truly on the list.
“The gall of this shameless woman to come interview with us! Do not worry. I will send her packing right away,” Julia declared.
“It is fine.” Amelie stopped Julia from charging out of the office. “No matter how badly she performs, hire her.”
“What do you mean by that?” Julia was confused. “Do you still love that b*stard? Are you so in love that you wish to give his sister a chance?”
Starlight Media was currently involved in a variety of niches within the industry. Their talents consisted of influencers who specialized in shopping live streams, shorts, podcasts, and more.
In the industry, it was well-known that the influencers of Starlight Media had higher net worth than celebrities. They were even more popular than actual celebrities.
In the past, everyone would do anything and everything to be a celebrity. Now, even celebrities were trying to be internet influencers.
Jodie was likely here because of that reputation.
“Of course not,” Amelie quickly answered.
While she had no wish to settle the score regarding Jodie’s past schemes, Jodie had insulted Bria just the other day. That was unforgivable.
Since Melissa did not know how to properly educate her children, Amelie would teach Jodie some manners in her place.
Amelie grabbed the contract Julia had prepared and tweaked a few of the sentences in it. “This is for her to sign later.”
…
Although Jodie was selected for the final interviews, her answers were rather boring and unimaginative.
The interviewers all shook their heads and gave her low scores.
Even so, when the list of accepted candidates was announced, Jodie heard her name being called out.
Not knowing that her performance had been extremely lackluster, she jumped for joy when she heard her name. She even thought she had done well.
Soon, she was given a contract to sign.
After signing the documents, she strode out of the room with her head held high as if she was a famous celebrity.
Just then, Amelie walked out of the interview room.
Jodie was not shocked to see Amelie exit the interview room, but she did not think Amelie was there as an interviewer either.
After all, in her eyes, Amelie was a good-for-nothing woman. In her mind, there was nothing special about Amelie other than her attractive face.
She was certain Amelie was here to seek help from the president because the president’s wife was targeting her.
Jodie did hear that the president of Starlight Media would be in the building today.
All of those factors combined with the dark circles under Amelie’s eyes made her more and more certain of her assumption.
When she saw Amelie walking over to the elevator, she knew Amelie had failed in her plea for help. She could not help but rejoice at that thought.
As no one was hanging around, she swiftly dashed into the elevator after Amelie. Then, she crossed her arms in front of her chest and leaned against the wall in a high and mighty pose.
“Why not look around for a while longer before you leave?” she haughtily asked. “The security here is very tight. If you don’t look while you can, you might not have another chance.”
Her voice was shrill and sharp.
Besides that, her face was twisted in a contemptuous look.
Seeing that, Amelie decided to veer away from her usual tactic of ignoring Jodie. “I am heading toward the Janitorial Department right now,” she replied with a nod.
When Jodie heard that, she let out a loud bark of laughter. “As expected of someone so lowly.”
Jodie then continued, “Still, you are quite self-aware to know that you are only fit to tour the Janitorial Department of this company!”
Amelie ignored her and walked out when the elevator arrived at the floor where the Janitorial Department was located.
Jodie was not done insulting her though, so she followed suit. She loudly rattled off insult after insult in a proud voice.
“I am different,” she stated.
“I just signed the contract to be an official member of Starlight Media just now. The company will take care of every aspect of my career. Soon, I will be a top-tier influencer like Jamie and Julia White! Oh, yes. I will also be Blake Gareth’s colleague. We will be working together.”
Amelie found Jodie’s claims to be… extremely fantastical and delusional.
In fact, she even wanted to laugh.
Did Jodie think she could succeed as an influencer just because she said so?
There was nothing special about Jodie, and she was not even a good person. Even if the company was willing to splurge on her, she could never be a top-tier influencer.
However, Jodie was ignorant of Amelie’s thoughts. She assumed Amelie was merely silent because her words had hurt Amelie.
Still, the more pain Amelie suffered, the happier she was.
The happier she was, the more she wanted to hurt Amelie.
Just then, Jodie strode forward and blocked Amelie’s path forward.