Maxwell disconnected the call and reached for his system.
He had just opened the tracking section when the visuals on the TV changed and a chirpy reporter announced that there was an impromptu press conference from ReyDexter LLC.
The name was what caught Maxwell's attention, and he turned swiftly to face the TV.
The distance did nothing to reduce the reaction she always caused in his body.
There she stood, all poised and professional.
Anyone looking at her would never believe that she was the woman whose sex tape had just been released for all of Tom, Dick, and Harry to watch.
It was gallant of her to even dare to show her face to the world at the moment, as most people in her situation would have simply given a press release or said nothing at all.
She looked calm and collected, with only a red-haired younger lady standing a few paces behind her.
Maxwell knew who that lady was, but at the moment, all he had eyes for was Reyona.
He stood up from behind the table where he was seated in his home office.
He walked towards the TV set as a thought popped into his mind.
What must be going through your mind right now?
He desperately wished he could have a peek into her mind at that moment.
What would it be like to be the one she turned to in a situation like this?
Maxwell knew the sort of passive look on her face very well.
It was one he had used many times himself.
It was a mask.
When she started talking, her voice rang clear and strong.
"Good evening, everyone. First, I apologise to everyone connected to ReyDexter for the inconvenience this unfortunate situation might cause them."
There was barely a pause before she continued, "Yes, the woman in the video was me, but the narrative is wrong. I am not a cheater. That man in the video is my husband, Thomas Lanoth."
What?
That revelation shocked Maxwell.
The man in the video had a mask on, so nobody knew his true identity.
It was one of the reasons why the video had spread like wildfire within minutes.
The tag #chronicle of a cheater was the main damning part of the clip.
Then, because it was Reyona, a well-respected woman in the whole of Kayooma and its environs, it gained much attention.
What had caused most speculation was the masked man in the video, with different people adding their quotas.
Some said it might be her employee.
Some said it might be her driver.
Some suggested it must be her ex.
Even though news outlets had not published anything about it yet, many blog and vlog creators had picked up that narrative and run with it.
A lot of damage had already been done, and it would be nothing short of a miracle if her company withstood the storm.
But if the man in the video had been Lanoth, then how did...
Maxwell's eyes sharpened as the person he had in mind entered the frame.
Cameras turned towards the entrance as Thomas Lanoth entered the conference room.
Some security men were trying to stop him as he made his way in.
When the cameras turned to them, Reyona nodded at her chief security, and they let him go.
One of the eight reporters at the conference turned towards Thomas and asked, "Mr. Lanoth, are you here to show support to CEO Lanoth? We understand that the video was an intimate moment between you and your wife, which someone maliciously released to cause slander. What do you...?"
As if he couldn't see the reporter, Thomas walked towards Reyona with a pained look on his face.
His voice was obnoxiously loud as he said, "Reyona, how could you? I showed you nothing but love, and this is what you do to me?"
Shocked whispers swept through the reporters and the staff around them.
"That piece of sh*t," Maxwell muttered as he stalked towards the table and swept his keys off it.
Yet he couldn't help but hear the killing blow that Thomas Lanoth gave to his wife in a live conference that was being watched by all of Kayooma and beyond.
"You have been cheating on me? Is this why you wanted to divorce me? So that you can leave me for your lover?!"
Divorce?
What is this talk about divorce?
CEO Lanoth is leaving her husband for her lover.
Is she that kind of person?
As loud whispers and murmurs resounded clearly to everyone watching, the young lady behind Reyona launched herself towards Thomas.
"You asshole! How dare you talk to my sister like..."
Maxwell was already out of the door by the time the live conference got disconnected.
He wished he could lay his hands on Lanoth at that moment.
Thoughts mingled with shock rippled through him as he drove as fast as he could towards ReyDexter.
Reporters vans were pulling out when he got there.
He was less concerned about them at the moment.
He saw one of them stay behind and wait as Thomas got thrown out of the company.
"Can you see that?" Thomas was screeching at the top of his lungs.
When he saw the reporter approaching him, he quickly rearranged himself and looked squarely into the camera.
Even before the reporter could ask any questions, Thomas said, "I am a man who believes in helping his wife and protecting her in any way that I can. Even if that included keeping her dirty secrets from the public, I was willing to do that! But this is too much! She shamed me in public! She even…euf!"
Thomas's tirade ended with a groan as Maxwell came up behind him and gave him a jab in the side.
"What the…"
"I think we have heard enough from you, Tom," Maxwell said simply as he jerked Thomas up and sent him a warning glare.
Maxwell looked at the logo on the reporter's mike and nodded as he said, "Raymedia, yeah? Did you happen to record on that little device of yours that Lanoth here is a psychiatric patient?"
"Hey, I am no..."