When they saw that she was serious, they stepped back and followed her as she drove to the front of the company.
Reyona could have simply driven to the car park to avoid them, but she stopped in front of the company, smiled at the anxious faces of Samantha, Phil, and Charlotte as they rushed out, and then turned towards the approaching reporters.
"Mrs. Lanoth, can you..."
She raised her index finger in such a commanding way that the reporters stopped their tumbling questions and listened to her.
Reyona waited till there was perfect silence. It was as if she had nothing to do and would be ready to wait them out.
Those who were still shuffling, murmuring, and trying to get her attention quickly followed suit with the others and waited for her to talk.
"Listen to me carefully, because this is the last time I will be saying anything about this issue. I am sure the good people of Kayooma have better things to do than read news about me. I am sure you already know of the one and only interview I granted on this matter. All that needed to be said had been said already. I have nothing else to do."
"But Mrs. Lanoth, there should..."
Reyona raised her voice, and the reporter who interrupted her stopped talking "I can assure you that I am going to get a restraining order if you keep hovering around my company like this. I have a company to run and this is bad for business. Now, please excuse me."
Reyona was about to turn around and leave when one reporter said, "I doubt you have any business to hinder anyway. It is a known fact that customers have been dropping you off like a jinx. What do you have to say about that, CEO Lanoth?"
A slight chuckle went through the reporters while some of them struggled to keep their expressions straight at the insinuations of the man's statement.
The way he emphasized the ho part didn't escape anyone's attention either.
"That son of a..."
Reyona's slight shift immediately sent a message to Samantha and she stopped her forward motion.
One could see the glare she pinned on the reporter, who only looked back at her with a fake innocent expression and a slight sneer on his face.
Reyona's head security put on a forboding expression as he said, "You need to leave."
He took a step towards the reporter but Reyona raised her finger to stop him.
In a smooth, calm tone that belied the anger she was feeling, Reyona looked at the name tag on the reporter's shirt.
"Steve, is it?"
The reporter nodded arrogantly as he said, "Would you like to answer my question, CEO?"
Oh, he did it again.
"Oh, yes," Reyona answered with a chilly smile that was enough to make anyone freeze. "My answer is that nothing is wrong with my business. It is normal in the corporate world for some customers to decide to leave a company based on their choice. My business is doing just fine and the fact that ReyDexter is still open and has new clients is a testament to that. But of course, I wouldn't expect you to know that."
"What new clients?" the man asked, a bit confrontational now. "Is this another lie of yours, CEO? Some say that lying is second nature to you. How can you prove that your statement now isn't a lie? Are you just doing that to save face? Just tell us the truth, and we will understand. After all, we all know how difficult it is for some to keep a company of this magnitude afloat for all these years without cutting corners."
Even the other reporters were surprised by the last question. Some of them turned to look at the reporter, as they all knew he had just broken the rules of their profession.
Do not be subjective!
Reyona didn't miss a beat before she responded. "By some people; do you mean a certain gender? Steve from Dynamic TV, are you trying to say a woman like me couldn't afford to run a company without sleeping her way around?"
The satisfied sneer on the reporter's face was nowhere to be found, as he finally seemed to realise that he had messed up.
"No, I did not mean..."
"No, it is fine. I understand that there are people like you who still believe that women have to sleep around to make anything work, even for something as simple as a promotion in a company. In your prejudiced sight, we all got it through fucking everyone who would accept us."
With each of her words striking like a whip, Reyona continued, her controlled voice fuelled by the naivety she felt at the idiot who tried to attack her baby. "Steve from Dyanmic TV, that is such an insult to all the powerful women out there today. Women like Oprah, women like Sehima Hasanova."
Getting desperate, the reporter stammered as he tried to get his words in around Reyona's rollercoaster statements. "No, no, no. i mean. I would never say that. That is…"
"Imagine that. He would probably write that I slept with the boss too," Samantha said with such a forlorn tone and a sigh of sadness while ensuring that he was facing the camera squarely.
Reyona almost laughed at the great conviction on her face.
The man tried to form a coherent speech as the other reporters started murmuring among themselves.
"By the way, I am gay. She did not sleep with me," Phil said.
His statement brought some chuckles among the reporters but then he continued seriously. "Shame on you, man. Shame on anyone who would ever believe that such a hardworking woman as the boss would ever sleep with a man for business or even cheat on her husband."
A chorus of "Yes!" made Reyona look back in surprise to see some of her other staff members standing staunchly behind her.
Phil was not done though, as he continued, "Imagine that! I mean, what is the world coming to?" he said in such a sorrowful tone that even Reyona almost believed that he was about to break down in tears.
He turned aside as if he were too emotional to continue and Samantha patted his shoulders gently in consolation as she shook her head at the reporter like a mother who was sorely disappointed in her kid.
"I mean…I did not. It is not like..."
Before any of her other staff would decide to add their own acting skills to the mix, Reyona wrapped up the situation.
She looked at the reporters in general as she said, "I meant what I said earlier. Stay away from my company. I have answered all there is to this matter. Good day to you."
Her glare grazed over sweaty Steve as she turned and entered the company, surrounded by her staff, like they were ready to guard her against vultures like Steve.
None of the reporters said a thing again or tried to stop her.
Most of them gave Steve a wide berth and quickly went away in their vans.
One thing was certain to everyone at that moment:.
Only God could save Steve now.