The chairman of the bidding committee called Andrew's office immediately after he got the news about the clip.
When Michelle informed him that Andrew was not in and he might not be coming in soon, the woman informed Michelle of the urgency of the call.
So, Michelle had to call Andrew's wife in order to get in touch with Andrew.
Within a few minutes, Andrews had spoken with the bidding chairman, who was afraid that they might have made a horrible mistake by giving their contract to such a horrid woman.
Having little tolerance for dramatics, Andrews told the woman to get on with what she wanted to say or get off the phone.
"Saying it wouldn't matter. You have to see it."
With that, she sent the video link to Andrew's email.
Andrew automatically clicked on the link, and Celia, who was standing right behind him, gasped.
She thumped him on the shoulder as she said, "Andrew Sean Jordan, how dare you? Is this your way of telling me that I am no longer attractive to you now that I look like a cow?"
"What?"
"By watching porn?"
"Just hold on a..."
Andrew disconnected the call and slammed his laptop shut as he turned towards her.
"What are you talking about? I had no idea..."
Celia already had a thoughtful look on her face as she looked at the closed laptop, though
In a low tone, she said, "Babe, play that again."
"What? No, I won't have you upsetting yourself over..."
"Play it," she repeated more urgently
"Oh, for God's sake," Andrew said as he opened the laptop again. "I don't want you upsetting yourself over..."
He played the video again and averted his face.
"That is Beatrice," Celia said in surprise.
"Who is Beat... You mean the woman you...?" Andrew looked back at the screen at that moment and was shocked. "Beatrice? She was the one you met the other day. Unless she has twins, that is Mrs. Lanoth. Last time I remembered, her name was Reyona."
Andrew slammed the laptop shut as a thought occurred to him.
He automatically led Celia to sit, even as everything came together for him.
Andrew couldn't believe he had been so wrong about her.
He thought she was a capable woman who deserved all the achievements she earned, but it turned out she was nothing but a manipulative bitch!
What did she intend to accomplish?
She diligently found out where he was staying and rented a place close to it.
She must have purposefully stayed outside that day when Celia was having her walk.
She made herself appealing to Celia to the extent that his wife was endeared to her.
She lied to Celia about her name.
To what extent?
Had she wanted to use Celia to get the bid in case it didn't favour her, or had she had a more sinister plan in place?
The fact that she dared to approach his wife was the most infuriating thing for Andrew.
She would regret ever crossing him.
If her leaked secret didn't destroy her, he would!
Celia was saying, "She didn't look like someone who would cheat on her husband. Why do you think she was staying at Sylby's place? Maybe she had a problem with her husband. I would like to go check on her."
That got Andrew's attention.
He wanted his wife and child to be as far away as possible from such an unscrupulous woman.
Still, he didn't want to upset her, so he said, "Babe, I don't want you stressing yourself over someone like that. She is not worth it. She is not the kind of person you should associate yourself with."
Celia's mouth puckered up in mutiny. "You will not tell me who I can be friends with or not. She is not a bad person. I can feel it."
"Really? A good person would do what you just saw right now?"
"There must be a reason for that. What if she is all alone and she needs someone to talk to? I have to go see her. Will you come with me?" She asked when she saw the stubborn glint in his eyes.
Andrew almost disagreed, but then he thought better of it.
He would go see her.
He would expose her as a fraud in the presence of Celia.
Maybe then his wife could keep her distance from the shameless woman, and then he could properly deal with her without hurting Celia's feelings.
"Okay then. I will come with you," he said.
Celia beamed at him and kissed his cheek as she said, "You are the best."
In no time, they were at Sylby's house.
They couldn't see any cars around, which indicated that she was not around.
Also, the day was already growing dark, but there was no light inside or around the house.
Still, his wife stubbornly went up to the door to knock.
"Maybe she just doesn't want anyone to see her right now. If something like that were to happen to me, I will probably live like a hermit for the rest of my life."
"Something like that can never happen to you. You are not like..."
"She is a good person," Celia said firmly as she knocked softly on the door.
"Beatrice? Beatrice, are you in there? It is me, Celia."
Beatrice, my foot. Andrew scoffed.
Everything about her had been fake.
He thought of telling Celia the main reason why the woman had approached her, but as he looked at the way the porch light beautifully created a halo around her concerned face, Andrew didn't want to make her feel bad for trusting the wrong person.
Celia had always believed in the best of people.
Andrew knew people take advantage of someone like her.
Lanoth must have taken a look at Celia and thought of her as gullible.
"Well, you are going to regret that," he vowed to himself.
He urged Celia that they should leave since the person she came for wasn't around.
"Probably covering her tracks," he muttered.
"Drew,"
"I know. I know." He said this as he smiled at her.
Inside, he was boiling with anger.
Only a fucked-up person would want to take advantage of a sweet person like Celia.
Well, he was going to screw her up properly.
Startig with what she had been so desperate about.
He had not spoken to Max since he told him to handle the contract.
He wondered if it had been done.
Not that it would matter anyway.
She would pay.
Andrew helped Celia into the car and kissed her forehead as she sat down and leaned her head against the headrest.
As he turned around the car to enter, he deliberately passed the back of the car instead of the front.
He shortened his stride as he quickly sent a message to Maxwell.
He didn't want to upset Celia by making a call about what he wanted done.
But he was sure that Maxwell would execute it just as swiftly.
"You crossed the wrong path, Lanoth," he thought as he drove away from the house.
The porch light went off behind them.