Chapter 48: Chapter Forty-eight

It was you who taught me that whatever I do, I can’t please everybody. That no matter how hard I try to be good to them, not all of them genuinely do the same. I never got why you were so negative about it back then…but now I know. You were right, but it’s another matter if I do the same.

“Someone’s out to get me, Chad.”

His handsome face frowned further in displeasure, obviously not liking what was occurring. I called him directly after tearing every single goddamn picture, seething with rage as I demanded for him to come.

“Whoever it is, we should deal with that person immediately. We can’t let this grow worse.”

I eyed the pictures that were overflowing in the trash bin. The urge to grab a lighter and burn them all to crisps was very strong. The door to my office was locked, Arianne was waiting outside for further orders.

“What do you suggest we do, Chad?”

He became silent, thinking deeply. Heaving a sigh, I took the garbage bin and threw it aside in rage. What did I do to deserve this?! My screeching was hurting his ears, so Chad grabbed me by the shoulders and buried my face in the crook of his neck. My tears stained his suit as I panted heavily, throat hurting.

“Just cry it all out…”

“I-I don’t understand!” I croaked out. “How could this happen? If I were careful enough, that bastard wouldn’t have taken a single picture of us… I’m so stupid.”

“I admit that it’s my fault he took it,” Chad whispered softly, fingers running through my hair. “If I hadn’t been so hasty, we could’ve avoided this. I practically endangered our reputation. So, please, don’t cry… The blame is all on me.”

“What are we going to do, Chad?” Because we were running out of time. If we waited any longer, deciding our next move, the harasser could be putting his or her next move into action. One thing was for sure: it would be in the eyes of the public this time. We can’t let that happen, or our reputation—our family’s name—will suffer because of our actions.

“Let’s see what the surveillance cameras have recorded,” Chad mumbled in reply. “If we can get a glimpse of who did it—and is dumb enough not to notice the cameras—then I’m sure we’ll apprehend this moron as soon as possible.”

Oh yeah… How could I forget that?

Leading the way, I gestured for Arianne to step aside when she came running towards us the moment we stepped out of the office. “Just stay where you are, Howard. We’ll be back in a minute.” I didn’t want to believe what I was seeing—maybe my eyes were just playing tricks on me, but she looked nervous. Could it be her? If she is guilty, what would she get from doing so? Money? Or is she being blackmailed?

“Miss Maxwell.”

I nodded in greeting as the head of security, who opened the door for us to enter. “I want to see what the cameras recorded outside my office.” Without hesitation, he pointed out orders to his subordinates. Not losing another minute, the man played the video, the door to my office on the screen. Chad and I leaned forward, watching carefully.

The only people who had entered my office that day were just me, Chad, Arianne and the janitor. Today, it was Arianne and me. But what shocked us was when Arianne was taking a peek, holding her phone. I felt my body go stiff and the temperature in the room dropped tremendously. I can’t believe I’m seeing this… It can’t be her…

Just as the video stopped, Chad clicked his tongue and was about to leave the room when I grabbed his arm. “Chad, where are you going?”

“Isn’t it clear yet, Rachel?” he demanded furiously, eyes blazing. “It’s your fucking assistant who did this to you! She’s the only one who enters your office, and if that part where she peeked into the room isn’t evidence enough for you—”

“I-I don’t know why she would do this!” I fisted my knuckles in anger. “I can’t believe it… It’s Arianne…why would she do this?!”

“You!” Chad pointed at the head of security, a dark cloud hovering above his head. “Go and get Arianne Howard. Send her here immediately, and if she tries to escape, don’t hesitate to tackle her down.” Chad’s words were very surprising, something I never imagined I’d hear come out of his mouth. Even the men were in doubt as to whether to follow or not, but once Chad glared at them, they scurried out of the room.

“Chad, you don’t have to… We can still talk to her in a civil manner and—”

“Not everything works out that way, dear.” He sighed and pulled me closer by the shoulder. I snuggled further into his embrace, relishing how safe I felt in his arms. But as he tightened his hold around me, I couldn’t help but wonder whether this was right. “Sometimes, you have to do things in a barbaric way to get answers. Not everybody will follow the rules and do anything to survive. This is how you deal with people like Arianne.”

“But we don’t know if it’s her for sure, or if she was paid to do it.”

“Then that is why we should ask her personally.”

The door burst open and the men pushed Arianne into the room. Judging by how wild her eyes were and how breathless she was, she had indeed tried to escape. “I did nothing wrong! Let me go!” she screamed until she was forced to sit down by one of the men. When she caught my eyes, tears started to roll down her cheeks.

“Miss Maxwell! What am I doing here? I’ve done nothing wrong; there must be some sort of misunderstanding!”

“Quit defending yourself, woman,” Chad harshly spat. “We know you’re the one who took the picture and plastered it around Rachel’s office. You’re also the one who threatened her with it, am I correct?”

Arianne shook her head. “N-no! I would never do that—”

Her words were cut short when Chad grabbed the collar of her blouse, which made Arianne cry harder, alerting the men around us. My eyes went wide at the scene before me. Never had I seen Chad do this to a woman, let alone act like this…

“Tell the truth, bitch,” he sneered lowly at her, an evil aura surrounding him. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll start spitting it out.”

“Chad, that’s enough—”

“Start talking!” he roared at the petite woman, whose mascara was smudging her face. Knowing that this was going too far, I grabbed a hold of Chad’s arm to pull him away, when Arianne accepted defeat and nodded. Her conceding stopped me in my tracks. I just watched as she nodded helplessly.

“Yes! I did it all!” she confessed. “I took the picture and aimed to scatter it around the media! I wanted the whole world to know that Miss Maxwell is not a goody-two-shoes but a dirty whore!”

My hand had a mind of its own and slapped her silly. When I realized that I’d slapped her, Arianne was sobbing loudly. I was pulled away by Chad as security dealt with the crying woman.

“What should we do with her?”

“We can’t put her in jail, Chad,” I whispered loud enough for him to hear. “If we file a case against her, they would require certain evidence. Not only that, the picture would have to be shown to the jury and all. It would still risk our reputation and…”

“And eventually, the whole world will find out,” he finished softly, “including your parents.”

I heaved a sigh and shut my eyes. I can’t believe this is my life! I can’t believe that I have to deal with these kinds of people…

“What should we do, then?” My patience was growing thin as the seconds passed, Arianne’s sobbing just playing in the background. It was irritating, but I would prefer it over silence. “Got any good ideas, Chad? Should we just let this woman get away?”

“Now, that’s just being stupid,” he chastised. “I suggest we let her pay us back, like community service. You decide what she should do and see to it that she does. If she doesn’t…” Chad’s eyes were covered by his hair, emotion hidden. “I’ll see to it that she follows.”

“You’re right…” I muttered under my breath, considering his idea. But what do I want her to do? Lips in a thin line, I began racking my head. Should I let her pay? No, that would be so easy for her to do… Maybe, let her disappear? Resign and delete the photo…yes, that’s what I should do!

Summing everything up, I found myself frowning in frustration. Why can’t they just leave us alone? How do they find joy in making someone suffer? Are they bored, or just plain sadistic? Body weakening, I slightly swayed to the side and was about to hit the wall when Chad caught me right on time. I think I’ll get a lot of gray hairs after this…

“Rachel! Are you okay?”

I nodded, brushing off his worry, and patted his shoulder. “I’m fine, Chad. I think I need to rest my head or something after.” Keep it together, girl. Stay strong. Showing weakness in front of the security and Arianne was not what I wanted to happen, so I redeemed myself by standing straight and putting a solemn face on.

“Arianne, I—we, decided not to file a case against you.” The way Arianne seemed so calm was strange—like she predicted this to happe—but I continued, despite my discomfort. “I want you to disappear. You can pack your bags and leave this town or go back to school. Wherever you go, I don’t care. Just don’t show up here ever again. Delete all the pictures or whatnot and just go. Am I clear?”

Without any qualms, she agreed. “Yes, I’ll do that, Ma’am.” And that was all she had to say before I gestured for the security to let her go. It was shocking that she didn’t try to weasel her way out of this problem like I expected her to do. In fact, I was imagining how violent her reactions would be. Instead, she proved me wrong and handled it properly—at least for now.

“Good. I’m glad we understood each other.” I then knew what I had to say next for this to be officially finished. “Arianne Howard, you’re fired.” The moment I said those words, she visibly looked dejected. Looking away, I cleared my throat and motioned for Chad to follow me. “I expect you to show me your phone later and leave this building after lunch.”

It was such a depressing thought, that a young intern such as her would do this. She was supposed to be my assistant while Patty was away, filling in the empty spot and probably landing a permanent position in the company if she did well. But no! She had to blackmail me with the picture and harass us. What possessed her to do such a thing?

“You all right?” Chad asked as soon as we got to my office. “Do you want a drink? Coffee? Juice?” I declined and sat down on the couch, head feeling like it could explode any minute. Noticing my behavior, Chad took my hand and began massaging my palm. “Tell me what you need, baby. I’ll try and make things better.”

“Chad, do you think I did the right thing?” It was a silly question, especially since it was his idea that we do it. “Do you think that it was enough?”

Chad laughed, shoulders shaking. It was honestly an adorable sight, but due to how serious the conversation was, I didn’t tag along. Nothing was funny, and for him to laugh at such a thing was slightly alarming. But when he noticed this, he wiped an imaginary tear under his eye and nodded.

“Of course you did the right thing!” he responded. “That bitch deserved to be fired! I mean, who the hell does that, huh? If our reputation wasn’t at stake because of that picture, I would’ve filed a case in a heartbeat!”

“Weren’t you considering what would happen to her if you did?” I wondered. “She’s still young, probably has a family to support or bills to pay. We’re all human here, Chad. We make mistakes…” I heaved a sigh. “It’s just…unbelievable. I wasn’t expecting that it was her.”

“Huh?” Chad frowned, “Why would you even worry for her? She’s not young enough to be supervised in everything she does! Why she did what she did was because she was obviously jealous of you.” I made a face at his choice of words. Jealous? Jealous of me? Is he fucking serious? Who would want to have this life of mine?

“Really funny, Chad.” Slipping my feet out of my heels, I rested them on top of the coffee table. “Who would be jealous of me? And I’m a hundred percent sure that they would run for the hills once they truly realize how a Maxwell lives.”

“Money, Rachel…” he mumbled. “They want to have the same status as you. Your family never has to worry about getting it, you know that very well.” Placing an arm around me, he pulled me close, and soon, I was resting my head on his shoulder. “She probably got jealous because you have it all while she has to earn it.”

“I-I have it all?”

“Yes.” He smiled. “You have money, a grand home, a fancy lifestyle and a famous family. Not to mention…” Chad then pointed to himself, a smug smirk on his lips. “You have me.” He was right about the first ones, but when it came to the part of me having him as a boyfriend…I couldn’t help but giggle and tease.

“Really? Why should I feel lucky to have you?” I placed a hand under my chin and glanced up the ceiling. “Are you some lucky charm now? The one that dangles on your phone, that type?” I couldn’t decide what was funnier—when Chad unconsciously nodded his head, or when he realized what I just said and gasped aloud.

“It was just a joke, Chad!” I laughed at how similar he looked to a kicked puppy. I had to admit, it was adorable. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, darling.” He then stuck out his tongue, acting all childlike and making me giggle.

“That’s it…” I glanced at him to see a soft smile on his lips. “You shouldn’t cry, Rachel. It hurts me every time…”

As soon as I heard those words, I felt my heart melt at how warming it was. His words alone wrapped themselves like his arms around me, squeezing me gently as I inhaled his comforting scent. Just being in his arms made tears well in my eyes again, I was so happy to have him here.

“Thank you, Chad.”

We stayed like that for a few minutes, just enjoying each other’s company, until a knock resonated from the door and Arianne walked in. In her hands was her bag, a box of her personal belongings, and her phone. Wiping the tears away, I stood up and faced her. She didn’t utter a single word. She showed me her phone and everything was erased, not a single scandalous photo left.

“I did what you want me to do,” she mumbled quietly.

Satisfied, I handed it back to her and gestured for her to go. Giving me one last final bow, I watched her leave. There were no parting words exchanged, no apology or arguments. Just silence and stares. As she disappeared from sight, I couldn’t help but wonder if what I did was right. She’s so young! Just an intern and this happens? Are there interns like this too?

“Wanna go eat lunch?” Chad asked from the couch after Arianne left, for good. “We can go to this new restaurant I passed by.”

Forcing the bad thoughts away, I put on a cheeky smile. “Is it a Japanese restaurant?”

Chad emitted a groan and shook his head. “No, you know I can’t eat seafood! Remember, I only ordered that sushi platter because you wanted it. Let’s try something else, and besides…” He lowered his voice. “I’m afraid your little redhead friend will be there.”

“Francine?” I chuckled at how scared he looked. “She doesn’t eat Japanese food that often. Fine, but she’s not a horrible person once you get to know her.”

The ride to the restaurant was spent with me filling Chad in with all the details about Francine and Patton. He was very interested in Francine and Patton, giving out comments after every little detail and how they were similar to some of his friends. Once we arrived at the restaurant, Chad took a hold of my hand and grinned at me.

“I think you’re going to like it here.”

Admiring how adorable he was, I gently squeezed his hand as we entered the place. The smell of pizza and spices lingered in the air and I couldn’t help but hum contentedly. Even Chad was already excited. Not losing another precious second, we seated ourselves and ordered once the waiter arrived.

“I want the supreme cheese pizza and fries, please.” I smiled and Chad ordered the same, with a bottle of Cola. The food was served faster than I thought and I was in the middle of slicing when Chad held up his cold glass of Cola. I didn’t know if my eyes were deceiving me, but I noticed the glint in Chad’s eyes as he smiled innocently at me.

“Here’s to dealing with no-good interns.”