THE AFFAIR BABY

Who calls the shots

If Blaine was going to take this quietly, she won't.

She turned to the little b***h. The wh*re who had apparently apprenticed well under her mother, and has now slept her way to the very top.

“You cannot be the boss here. You have no idea about the work culture or even our business model.” She said, trying her best not to yell.

“Oh. I do.” Ariel turned her eyes to her. “I worked here for a few months, have you forgotten?”

Ophelia gripped the table tightly, ignoring the temptation to leap at her.

How dare she humiliate them like this?

“But no, I cannot be your boss,” Ariel continued.

She found her shoulders relaxing. Maybe that was all the little witch needed, someone to remind her of her place.

“Your position in Mõshon has been terminated,” Ariel said.

“What?”

“You have been found guilty of misusing company resources, workplace bullying, gross underperformance, among a list of other things.”

“What?” Ophelia could not help repeating.

“The legal department is still debating whether we should sue or not, since you are family. But until then, please exit the premises and stay out.”

Ophelia looked at Blaine, who just sat there like a statue.

He was not saying anything, he was not defending her. He looked furious enough, but that was still not defending her.

“Oh.” Ariel giggled, bringing her hand up to cover her lips shyly. “I’m sorry.” She looked around the table. “Does anyone disapprove of my decision?”

To Ophelia’s horror, they all shook their heads.

The filthy backstabbers!

Her father had helped get some of them on this board.

She walked towards Ariel.

She was capable of standing up for herself, she did not need any of these cowards' support.

Ariel’s assistants moved to bar her way, but Ariel raised her hand and they stepped back.

“Do you know what you are doing?” She asked quietly, leaning down. “I can make your life hell and run you out of this country. Have you forgotten who my father is?”

Ariel smiled sweetly at her.

“The only thing that can stop me is you begging. I told you last night.”

“You are out of your mind. You think a Turner will beg the likes of you?”

Ariel giggled. “Oh, you will. There are still many hours left in that twenty-four I promised you.” She said gently.

Then, still smiling at her, she said, “Please escort the former director out. Don’t forget to revoke her access card. We don’t want any company property missing.”

Ophelia lost it.

“You bitch.” She screamed charging at her.

Her hand had barely managed to touch her hair when security grabbed her and began to haul her out.

I gently patted my barely ruffled hair down and turned back to the table.

The Tuckers in the room were staring at me. Some in shock, others with anger and hate.

Blaine was staring too, but his emotions were unreadable.

I smirked, and progressed with the meeting.

Whatever he thought did not matter to me.

***

“When will the feed go live?” Kan asked me.

“In three minutes,” I responded, holding my breath.

He took my hand and squeezed it in his.

Until I could find proof besides my own words to show that Ophelia poisoned me, and killed my mother, I will not stop torturing her and exposing her past crimes.

I looked at her now, standing in front of the big screen, on the stage, smiling.

She seemed to have recovered from the drama at the company earlier.

She went on in her speech, talking about her agency’s desire to help as many girls as they could in their pageantry and fashion careers.

Suddenly, the screen behind her began to crackle, and the video came on.

Everyone gasped as the video clearly showed Ophelia yelling at models in a dressing room, then she turned to one and began hitting her.

The crowd became rowdy.

This was one of the biggest events among the country's elites this year.

Mõshon was not the only big company here, there were representatives from over thirty different others.

All of them, who had been eager to sponsor Ophelia's modeling agency for next year’s global pageantry, and impress her father, the National leader, now stood frozen in horror at what their eyes saw.

By the time this video was over, no one would want to be associated with that agency.

I watched Ophelia lose her bananas on the stage, yelling at the engineers to stop the video.

They must have told her they had been hacked, and were unable to stop it, because she looked back at the crowd widely.

Her eyes found mine.

I smiled, and gently raised my glass in a silent toast.

She literally combusted.

I set my glass down on the table. “Let’s go, honey.” I said to Kan.

He squeezed my hand, and we began to walk out quietly. We were close to our car when Ophelia appeared.

“It was you. Make the video stop. You cannot let them see her face.”

“The face of the girl you drove into committing suicide?” I feigned an innocent look.

“Stop it, Ariel.” Ophelia shouted.

“With that tone, why should I?”

“Please,” She said in panic.

As panicked as I was when my mother began to walk to the parking lot that day.

The crowd inside were sounding more animated now.

I knew the video only got worse as you watched, and in a few minutes the girl’s face would show.

The girl Ophelia had been hitting in the last three minutes. The girl who had committed suicide a few weeks later.

Her case had been popular a few years ago, no one knew what drove her to suicide when she was seemingly happy with a peaking career.

They will tonight though.

“Please,” Ophelia repeated in agitation.

“Kneel.” I said.

“What?”

“Kneel and beg, and I will make the video stop.”

Ophelia hurriedly got on her knees.

I smiled.

“I’ve changed my mind.” I shrugged. “I think the minister and his poor wife deserve to know what drove their daughter to suicide.”

I turned away to join Kan, who was waiting beside the car.

“You b***h!” Ophelia screamed as one of Kan’s assistants closed the car door.

“Her father would be so mad,” Kan said.

“I would be disappointed if he wasn’t,” I responded.

***

I was still in bed the next morning when a maid came to call me downstairs.

Ophelia was waiting in the living room when I came down.

I gasped as I got closer to her.

One of her eyes was badly bruised.

“Don’t look so surprised. This is what my father did to me because of the mess you caused last night,” Ophelia said bitterly.

“What are you doing here?" I heard Kan behind me as he joined us.

“Your wife will undo what she did. I don’t care how. She will clear my name or her father dies.”

I stepped back.

I had only ever seen my real father a few times in my life. Not very many people knew him even.

“What are you talking about?” My voice came out, annoyingly, in a whisper.

“Well, checkmate,” Ophelia said and shoved her phone in my hand.

I saw my father all tied up in a dark room.

The image transported me to how I had practically watched my mother die, unable to save her.

“You cannot drag another innocent person into this,” I said angrily.

“I can,” Ophelia said, yanking her phone back.“And I have. You have four hours.”

And then, she strutted away.

I watched her, frozen in shock.

She definitely could not be gaining the upper hand again, so early?

“I’m sorry.” Kan said.

I looked up at him in surprise. What did he have to be sorry for?

“Your father wanted to surprise you, and finally meet Oliver. I could not tell you, and I did not know he would come to the country so soon, and without telling me in advance.”

I was angry, but shook my head.

Now was not the time to apportion blame.

I knew how dangerous Ophelia was. I did not doubt for one minute that she would kill my father if I did not act fast.

“We could tell her about Oliver and hold that over her head. She would not want the Tuckers to find out, so she will do anything we say.” Kan suggested.

I looked at him angrily.

“I traded one of my son’s lives for my mother in the past. I will not do that again.”

He went quiet.

I thought quietly for a while.

“If I cannot find a way out of this in two hours, I guess I will have to come up with a plan to clear her name.” I said, smoothening the sleeve of my satin robe thoughtfully.

Ophelia pressed the satin handkerchief to her face as she cried.

She hoped her threat had worked on that witch.

She could not stand this attack from the public much longer.

The minister was now out for her head and no one knew what Blaine was up to.

Her phone rang and she hurriedly picked it up.

“Have you found a way to clear my name?” She asked, putting on a brave voice.

“Step outside.” Ariel said over the phone.

Ophelia frowned but hurried out.

She drove quickly to the gate far out, where she met Ariel waiting.

“Let my father go now.” Ariel said as soon as Ophelia stepped out of the car.

“No. I call the shots now, remember?” Ophelia responded.

“Do you?” Ariel giggled.

Then she gently pulled a tablet out of her purse and handed it to her.

Ophelia hesitated, but took it and stared into the screen.

She went numb.

Her father would kill her. He would send her through a meat grinder for bringing this trouble.

“How can you drag my mother into this? Where did you take her to? She is in a damned coma!”

“How did you say it this morning?” Ariel said, tilting her head at her. “CHECK. MATE.”