Chapter 13: Trust me

"To the gazebo?" I asked nonchalantly, trying to keep my voice as airy as the breeze drifting through the corridor, masking the tangle of nerves building in my chest. "OK!" Jenny led me to the door of another office, her heels tapping briskly against the marble floor. Her voice is bright, but there' was an edge of urgency beneath it.

"But I think you should say hello to the staff in each department first!"

"I couldn't agree more!" I smiled at every employee Jenny introduced me to, careful to keep my expression warm and open. Inside, however, I was sifting through a flood of unfamiliar faces. Some smiled too politely, others with faint curiosity, and a few with veiled wariness. The people I used to know, those whose loyalty had once meant something were gone. Vanished without trace. Some had been reassigned, others likely discarded. The air of the office was sleek, professional, but tinged with something colder than I remembered. Distance. Silence. Change.

I did not immediately press the reason for the departure of the former staff. After all, today would not be the right time. There was something sacred about a return too fragile to tarnish with confrontation.

Some of the core staff I saw were outwardly friendly to me, their faces arranged in expressions of practiced respect. Except one a new intern in the administration department. She had a look of surprise on her face when she learned that I was Mrs. Hartford, but the girl quickly hid the disbelief in her eyes with a smile. A rehearsed one, too sharp at the corners.

The girl had been on the job less than a year, but she was wearing a Prada suit and Bulgari earrings in her earlobes, and I saw her Cartier watch when I shook her hand. Her fingers were dainty, but adorned with confidence. Her outfit is clearly out of place in her present position too expensive.

The girl's nails got into my flesh when she shook my hand. A little deeper than necessary. I knew she did it on purpose. Not a mistake. Not some eager accident. No this was a quiet, practiced act of aggression. Naive girls will look for opportunities to make life difficult for their rivals or for people they are jealous of.

Her name is Emma, and she is one of the women my fiancée has slept with, if I'm not mistaken. The scent of her perfume subtle jasmine layered over musk was too intimate for a workplace.

This is the advantage and convenience that money brings to men. As soon as they move their fingers, women will crawl over them like dogs. If a man gives them a bone or a piece of meat, they will listen to their master.

They're tame dogs. Men like to see them obedient!

"Brinna!" Jenny whispered, her tone low and urgent. "How about we take the elevator up to the gazebo now?"

Jenny's voice pulled me out of my reverie, and I returned to my normal self and replied, "Yes!"

The sun hid in the white clouds, and the sunshine was not too bright. The afternoon light bathed the terrace in a soft, hazy glow, diffused like a watercolor painting. On the broad terrace stood two men who were smoking. They were wearing black suits, tailored and crisp. When they saw us coming, they immediately took the last puff of smoke into their lungs, then one of the men said hello to Jenny and left. The smoke lingered behind them like a ghost of secrets unspoken.

Now that it was just me and Jenny. Jenny reached into her pocket for a cigarette and a lighter, and she handed me the cigarette case first. The gold edge of the case gleamed faintly in the muted sunlight. I shook my head at her and she lit a cigarette in her mouth, the flame catching for a second before she drew in deeply.

"Did Liam ever talk to you about the Hartford family's financial problems," said Jenny, as a cloud of white smoke billowed from her nose and mouth. Her words were casual, but her eyes half-lidded and watching.

"Really?" I know I shouldn't ask in a gloating tone, but Jenny is staring at the building across the way, and she doesn't even notice my expression. Her gaze is locked on the gleaming windows, as if she’s calculating just how close everything is to falling apart.

"Liam has invested blindly in a lot of projects over the years, but not many have turned a profit," Jenny said, "Your best friend gave him a lot of advice on how to invest. It looked like the company was expanding, but the reality was that the money chain couldn't keep up with it! The company is in debt. The merger case is currently the only way to solve the debt! But we don't have much in our accounts! If our competitors raise their stakes, our capital chain will most likely break down!"

"That's a big question. Have you told Liam about this?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. Liam stubborn, proud rarely listened to caution.

"I've told him before, but he's determined to keep this merger going," Jenny says, her eyes tired as she puffs a smoke ring. "He thinks the Green family will give him the money, and he told me that in private!"

"So it was Tessa who assured him that my father's company would help fund the merger, right?" I think that was one of the reasons Tessa was able to influence Liam. She wanted him to see her value, to better take my place in the future.

"I don't know, Brinna!" Jenny put out her cigarette and threw it into the nearby trash can, the embers hissing faintly against the metal. "At least now I don't see any new money coming in! I know I shouldn't say anything, but I have to warn you. Your best friend seems to have overstepped her bounds! She laid off a lot of people after you left the company. And some of those people went to work for the Logan family. If the Logan family wants to win this merger, I don't think it will be difficult, as long as they have enough money!"

"So not only do we have to win the merger, but we also have to have enough money, right?" I said, the weight of the situation settling in like frost on my spine. "If we lose, will the company face bankruptcy?"

"Most likely," Jenny said sternly, "And I'm sure Liam knows the consequences!"

"So, what do you want me to do about it?" I don’t think Jenny is simply telling me about the crisis the company is facing. She must have a purpose.

"Brinna, be honest!" Said Jenny, her voice quiet now, almost pleading. "I want you to advise Liam to pull his money out of unprofitable projects. His blind investments have led to bad results. It's not too late to pull out now. But..."

"But what?" I wondered as I looked at Jenny's tortured expression, the lines of fatigue around her mouth, the way her shoulders curled inward like she was carrying the weight of too many secrets. "Doesn't he want your advice?"

"Perhaps he would have preferred Tessa's advice!" Jenny smiled wryly. "Brinna, you know I'm not a gossip, but your best friend, she seems to have overstepped her authority!"

"What else did she do?" I asked. "You can tell me. We're friends, right?"

Jenny thought for a moment and finally shook her head.

"I don't want to get involved in your family business. I'm just telling you what I know from the company's point of view. Anyway, I'm glad you're back!"

"Jenny, can you send me a copy of the company's operating and financial reports for the past few years so that I can get a clear picture of the company?" I whispered to her, lowering my voice just in case walls had ears. "Off the record, don't tell Liam or Tessa!"

"It's against the rules!" Jenny grew nervous, shifting from foot to foot, her voice lowering. "Can't you get Liam to send it to you? You're Mrs. Hartford, but I can't send you confidential documents in private, and you can't make me do dangerous things!"

"If I don't have a clear picture of what's going on at the company, then I won't be able to convince Liam to reverse those decisions," I coaxed her. "This is between you and me. You can trust me!"

Jenny hesitated. I could see the struggle in her heart. Her fingers tightened around the cigarette case still in her hand.

She sighed heavily and said, "Well, I'll send it to you after work!"

"Thank you, Jenny!" I hugged her, grateful and determined. There were pieces falling apart, and I would be damned if I didn’t try to pick them up.

When I returned to the office, there was a woman in my room, who was sitting on a chair with her back to me.

She turned and I saw Tessa with red hair.

Her again!

"Hello, my best friend!" She put her feet up on the table, like a queen surveying her stolen throne.

I looked at Tessa's domineering face and thought that this fight had to go on.