Reyona was surprised when Charlotte hesitantly came forward with her hand raised.
"You?" she asked in shock. "Why would you..."
"I am so sorry, ma," Charlotte said hurriedly. "I just feel that if they could use things like this to cause you so much damage, there is nothing bad in giving them a taste of their medicine. I am so sorry, ma. I am sorry. I will delete it right away," she apologised profusely.
"You can't deny that it was very effective, though," Samantha said beneath her breath.
Reyona heard her, though, and she turned to give her a look.
Samantha quickly turned to Charlotte and said, "I mean, you should have asked for permission. Yes, you did a good thing but you should have asked first. That was... such an unruly thing to do. Yes, very bad" she said with exaggeration.
Reyona couldn't keep a straight face for long. She smiled and shook her head.
Everyone who had held their breath in anticipation of what she would say relaxed a bit when they saw her smiling, including Charlotte.
"You can stop acting now," she said to Samantha and the latter grinned.
"God, I had no idea I was surrounded by such clowns," she said as she tossed her hands upwards.
Everyone smiled.
"So, should she delete it?" Samantha asked. "This is not such bad PR, boss. We need it," Samantha said.
"I am amazed that you could think of doing something like that," she said to Charlotte. She saw the way the young lady's face fell, so she continued briskly "You should not do things like that without informing the right authority first."
"Yes, ma. I am so sorry, ma. I would never…"
"But just as Miss Obvious here said,. It really turned out well for the company so I am going to thank you instead."
Charlotte's face brightened as she smiled.
"Next time, though..."
"I would inform you first, ma. I would never do something like that again. Not without telling you first."
"I can see you are being influenced by someone," Reyona said with a deliberate look at Samnatha.
The latter smiled and raised her hands in surrender. "I am innocent. Erm, about the video."
"Leave it," Reyona said.
"Yes!" Samantha exclaimed with glee as she pumped her fist into the air.
Reyona looked at her suspiciously and the latter quickly curbed her excitement. "No, I mean. Yes, that is okay. If that is what you want,. That is fine, ma," she said in a serious tone that didn't fool Reyona.
It was as if she had a personal vendetta with the man. Reyona thought.
She thanked everyone again and dismissed them.
As she was left with Phil, Samantha, and Charlotte, her smile faded when she saw a face she had not been expecting.
He seemed to have been standing there for a while.
When he saw her catch his gaze, he started walking toward her.
Reyona's staff quickly took their leave when they saw her expression change, and they saw the man approaching them.
Reyona had no idea why he always managed to raise her hackles even before he opened his mouth.
Dressed in an all-white ensemble, he still looked as much of a rogue to her as the man who had had an official meeting with her in shorts.
She was tempted to just turn around and leave while calling the security men to send him out with a permanent notice of ban but then she dismissed that thought.
She had always had one reaction towards him and he knew it.
In fact, he seemed to delight in riling her.
Reyona decided to change her game this time.
She had just one-upped an arrogant fool that morning; what is one more man for her to handle?
"Mrs. Lanoth," he started as he stopped in front of her. "That was just so exceptional. I wish I could have that much devotion from people," he said with a smile that accentuated his face.
Not that she noticed, anyway.
Before she could stop herself, she retorted, "Since you have been eavesdropping, I am sure you heard them. I treat them right. A concept I am sure you have no idea of"
His smile widened as he said automatically, "You can teach me. I will be happy to learn from the master."
Reyona's eyes narrowed when his gaze dropped to her lips when he said, Learn.
Is he flirting with her?
Believing that she must be mistaken, she remembered her intention and reined in her anger. She smiled sweetly as she stretched her hand forward for a handshake and said, "You are welcome, sir."
Another mistake.
She realised as he only looked surprised for a second before he grabbed her hand in a firm handshake, then he held it as she gritted her teeth against the sensation coursing through her body from the way his warm hand enveloped hers and said tightly, "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
He looked her straight in the eyes as she wiggled her hand slightly in his and said straight-faced, "I am here for business purposes. And to apologise."
"Whatever do you have to apologise for?" she asked mildly.
Reyona was aware that her oh-so-busy receptionist and the staff around had their third eyes on them, so as much as she would have loved to snatch her hand from him and maybe mistakenly hit his nose in the process, she merely said, "You can let go of my hand now, Mr. Rohan."
"Oh, yes. I should do that," he said, as if he just realised that he was still holding her hand.
Reyona didn't believe his innocent look for a second but then she smiled and said, "Come with me."
"Thank you," he said politely and he followed her.
Once they were in the elevator, he said, "I expected to be tossed out on my ears."
"Yet you dared to come," she replied automatically "Hmm, what a brave man," she added with sarcasm. "Believe me, I entertained the thought."
"The thought of tossing me out? Oh, I know. The question is, why am I on my way to your office instead? Are you going soft on me, CEO Lanoth?"He asked in the most deceptively polite voice Reyona had ever heard anyone use.
"You can count it your lucky day," Reyona said as the elevator came to a halt.
She walked out while saying, "You can press the down button in case you have changed your mind."
He was right behind her.
"Oh, I am coming," he said in a way that made a shiver run down Reyona's spine.
What the heck?