Maxwell backhanded Thomas without so much as a glance.
The surprise on the reporters' faces made him shrug slightly as he said, "Yeah, it is a problem of his that we have been trying to keep private for a while now."
His gaze was keen as he looked at the reporter and his photographer. "If you are going to report any scoop, that is what you should report."
"With due respect, you don't..."
"Otherwise, tell Jeffery Arnold that if a piece of garbage you just got came out through his news house, he would be hearing from Maxwell Rohan."
The reporter wanted to talk, but the photographer nudged him.
"We would get out of your way, Mr. Rohan," the photographer said, and he practically pulled his colleague with him as they got into their van and left.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Thomas, who had been trying to stem his bleeding nose, spoke in a pain-filled voice that sounded more genuine than what he had used in the conference room.
"You think you can just threaten a reporter and go scot-free?"
Maxwell's rage boiled over at the sound of the bastard's voice.
He grabbed him from where he was bent over.
"You fucking asshole!" he said in a chilling tone as he gave him another punch in the face that had blood spewing out of his mouth.
Thomas went sprawling, but Maxwell was not done yet.
He stalked towards him. "Get up, you piece of sh*t."
He pulled his arm back to deal him another blow, but then he caught sight of the red-haired lady at the entrance.
She was looking at the scene as if she would like to get her hand on the bastard as well.
That was when Maxwell became aware of the security men around him.
They made no move to save Thomas from him, but they were watching.
He looked up to see Reyona's staff watching the scenario from the floor-to-ceiling glass panelling.
That was when his anger receded a bit.
He swore to himself as he let go of Thomas.
Fuck, he had messed up!
They just accused her of having a lover, and here he was pummeling her husband in front of the company.
He turned around as he saw a teenager who had been recording turns and runs.
Despite the urge to follow the kid and collect the recording, Maxwell knew that would only worsen the case.
He looked down at Thomas, who lay crumpled like a sack of potatoes, and he swore again.
The bastard was a gym instructor after all.
A couple of punches shouldn't have made him look as if he had been beaten half to death.
He leaned over him, and the glint of satisfaction on Thomas's face made Rohan swear inwardly again.
"You tricked me?" he asked unnecessarily.
"I must say this was a nice surprise," Thomas said as he peered up at him through blood-splattered eyelids. "I came prepared for anything, but not you. Have you been screwing her after all? Wait until I tell Susan. You pretend to help your sister, but you are actually panting after my leftover."
Maxwell simply stepped away from him.
Since the alternative would be giving in to his baser instinct to kill Thomas right there and then,.
He looked up at the ReyDexter, trying to gauge the exact location of Reyona's office.
As much as he wanted to, he knew it would be a great mistake to try to see her at that moment.
There must only be one reason why that kid recorded Maxwell beating Thomas up.
God damn it!
"You will regret this. Oh, you will regret this big time," he muttered to Thomas with a deadly glare that had the satisfied smirk dying on his face for a moment.
"I will see you and my fucking wife in hell first," Thomas tossed after him after seeing that he had entered the car.
His cackling laughter followed Maxwell down the lane.
He had not gone far at all before the shit hit the fan.
**************
ReyDexter Boss traded her husband for a richer lover!
The rich win again!
Masked man revealed!
Cuckolded husband beaten to a pulp by lover.
Pornstar CEO to divorce husband for her lover.
The husband got cheated on in his own bed.
These and more were the taglines trending over the following days.
Apart from the failed press conference, no one had seen Reyona in public since then, and that seemed to drive the public into a frenzy.
Reyona held a conference call with all their clients to explain how things are for them.
She made them realise that what happened was a vengeful tactic to bring her company down.
She also tried to assure them that the scandal would not affect their cooperation in any way.
Even at that, some of her clients cancelled their contracts with ReyDexter.
The most painful part of that for Reyona was the fact that two of those customers were people she had known back when she was still using a dingy office for her startup.
Most of them had been startups back then, and she had watched their portfolio grow.
Losing those businesses was just like ripping her heart out all over again.
Still, she kept functioning.
That was the term that could be used to describe what Reyona did in the horrible weeks following the scandal.
The man had called her back immediately after pictures of Rohan and Thomas surfaced online.
He had dealt with the first upload, but the new one was more damning.
Also, people were bringing up the fact that the sex video had been pulled down.
Many contemplated that it was Reyona and her lover's doings, and that only made things worse for her.
Reyona had dejectedly asked him what else could be done.
"I think you should just let it blow over. Internet users have a short memory. They would soon forget about this and move on to the next thing. Denying anything or deleting these clips now would only make them more interested."
That had been the longest statement that the man had said to her since he started handling things for her.