“The family she was accused of murdering is Sonia’s family. Do you think Sonia would be her best friend if it were true?” Benne asked, making Jade’s lips round in surprise.
“You mean the guy she was accused of murdering is Sonia’s brother?” Jade asked in surprise, and Harry raised a brow.
“Half-brother. Sonia testified in court too. Listen, the Celsie I know doesn’t deserve any of this, so if you know any way we can clear this up, let me know.”
Jade took in a deep breath as she bit her nail and then scowled as she dropped her hands to her side when she noticed the disapproval on Harry’s face as he watched her biting her nail.
She would have suggested that Sonia should make a public statement in defense of Celsie to clear the air but seeing her relationship with Bryan now, she wasn’t sure Sonia would be allowed to do so.
“Let’s start by finding the source. Although that is going to be difficult considering that it started on Twitter,” Jade said thoughtfully.
“I already asked someone to locate the source,” Harry informed them from the side.
“Good. Once we find the person who started this mess, we will make them clear it up by pressing charges,” Jade assured them.
“Good. Let’s start from there. Please hand Harry the phone,” Benne told Jade as his office door opened and Celsie walked in.
“Hey!” Harry said as he excused himself from where Jade was.
“What did you want to talk about?” Benne asked curiously.
“First, how is Celsie taking everything?” Harry asked in concern.
“She’s holding up,” Benne said as he sat on the edge of his desk and motioned Celsie to sit next to him. Once she moved closer to him he placed his hand around her shoulder.
“I’ve received series of phone calls from some major shareholders, they want us to fire her immediately. They don’t want something like this associated with the company,” Harry informed Benne with a sigh.
Benne stood up from where he was seated and dropped his hand from Celsie’s shoulder as he moved away from her, “And what did you tell them?”
“I told them we can’t fire her based on such rumors, especially as she has been a devoted staff. We will investigate on the issue and only fire her if the allegations are true,” Harry explained.
“That’s good enough. Thank you. And you don’t have to worry, the allegations are not true,” Benne assured Harry.
“I know. I may not exactly understand what is going on, but I trust your choice and decisions even if you’re an arse most of the time,” Harry added in a teasing tone to lighten the mood.
“Don’t worry. We will fix this so you can finally tell her the truth and get rid of those awful piercings,” Harry said making Benne smile.
“I already got rid of the piercings.. Thanks for your help,” Benne said, and then hung up the call before Harry could ask him any more questions.
After Benne’s phone call with Harry, he turned to look at Celsie who was watching him with a guarded expression, and he flashed her a reassuring smile to calm her.
“Don’t worry, we are already trying to find the person who started this mess. Everything will be okay,” he said as he returned to her side.
Celsie folded both hands in front of her as she watched him approach her, “Do you think Anita might have a hand in this? Or am I being paranoid?” Celsie asked as she looked up at him when he stopped in front of her.
She did not want it to appear like she was being overly suspicious of Anita simply because she was his ex-girlfriend.
“I won’t put it past her. Although I spoke to her earlier on,” Benne said, making Celsie’s brows furrow.
“You did? When? About what?” She asked with a frown.
Benne gave her the details of their conversation and Celsie sighed, “I see.”
Benne watched her for a moment and then reached out to take off her glasses so that he could look into her eyes, “You read it, didn’t you?” He asked knowingly.
“I had to. Have you read it?” She asked in return, and Benne shook his head as he took her hands.
“I haven’t had the time to. I was too concerned about finding you, after Harry called to inform me about it. And now I’m too busy trying to clear things up,” Benne said with a shrug, “What’s the point of reading it anyway? It’s not like it’s true.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What for?” Benne asked, gazing into her eyes earnestly.
Celsie shrugged, “This whole thing is going to rub off on your and the company,” she said, shifting her gaze away from him.
“None of this is your fault, so you have nothing to be sorry about. It’s not just insensitive, but also stupid of people to try to make you feel like a murderer without even checking the facts,” Benne said as he kissed the back of her hand.
“We will fix this, alright?” Benne said, but before she could respond his phone started ringing, “Excuse me for a moment,” he told her when he picked up his phone and saw that it was his mother calling. He could tell that she had seen the news.
“Sure,” Celsie said with a nod, and then he moved away from her as he received the call.
“What is this I’m seeing all over the internet? Celsie is your assistant? And she is a murderer?” Evelyn asked in disbelief.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.