Chapter 241 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“I expect better than this from you, mom,” Benne muttered under his breath, not wanting Celsie to hear the details of their conversation.

“And I also expect better from you than getting involved with your employee. End things with her at once! Things are going to get messy with your shareholders if news gets out that you’re dating her,” Evelyn instructed.

He couldn’t exactly blame his mother since she had always been the type of person who would choose her sentiments and moral beliefs over logic. In the same manner she had jumped to conclusion that Celsie was a prostitute simply because of how she was told Celsie had been dressed the first night.

Seeing the way Benne was murmuring under his breath, Celsie could tell that the phone call was probably about her and he didn’t want her to hear what was being discussed, so she stood up and whispered to him that she was returning to her office and they could talk later.

Once she left and shut the door behind her, Benne drew in a deep breath, “Who I choose to date or not date has nothing to do with the company…”

“It has EVERYTHING to do with the company. Most people marry for connections to strengthen their companies, and secure their fortune. If you’re not going to marry for that, then you should at least get married to someone who wouldn’t bring such negative publicity to you.”

“Have you stopped to ask yourself whether or not she is guilty of all these accusations?” Benne asked, knowing that his mother was being sentimental about the issue.

“Have you seen the old news articles on it? Did you see the videos the parents of the boy she murdered made before they died? I’m sure there is an element of truth in all that was published!” Evelyn fired back.

“Mom, I love you, but you’re being too sentimental right now, and I can’t stand it. Let’s talk when you’re ready to be logical,” Benne said and hung up the call before his mother could say another word.

For the first time in a very long time, he felt like screaming out in frustration, and he could only imagine how Celsie was feeling if he felt this way when he wasn’t even the one being gossiped about.

Without wasting any more time, Benne walked into his mini bedroom and put on his disguise costumes. Once he made sure that everything was in place he walked out to Celsie’s office, “How many minutes do I have before the meeting?”

Celsie glanced at the wall clock, “Roughly twenty-five minutes.”

“Push all the other meetings forward as well. I want to get it all done so we can leave,” Benne said and then turned to return to his office.

He paused by the doorway when he remembered something, “Text me your secretary’s office line. I want to speak with her,” Benne instructed before returning to his office.

Just as he sat down on his office chair, his phone beeped with a text notification and he picked it up to see Celsie’s text. It was the number he had requested for.

He dialed it on his office line and almost immediately Amy received the call when she recognized the number which was calling.

“Hello, sir!” Amy greeted as she quickly stood up, as though he could see her.

“You are Director Miller’s secretary, am I right?” Benne asked, making Amy’s heart skip a beat.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. I want to see everyone in Miss Miller’s team in my office. You have less than five minutes to get here,” he instructed, and then hung up the call.

Although Amy had defended Celsie the little way she could, he couldn’t punish the others and leave her out else it would make them suspicious.

Less than four minutes later Celsie’s office door opened and all her team members walked in, startling her. These were some of the people who had made her their topic of discussion that morning, Celsie thought as she looked at them. She could point out who had said what.

“Good morning, Director Miller,” few of them who had bad-mouthed her earlier greeted, and Celsie just stared at them without saying a word.

“Good morning, ma’am. The CEO asked to see us,” Amy informed Celsie politely, making her break her gaze away from the others to look at Amy

“Give me a minute,” Celsie said as she stood up and walked over to Benne’s office. She rapped on the door gently before walking in.

“Why are they here?” She asked after shutting the door behind her.

“If by they, you mean your teammates, then let them in. You’ll find out soon,” Benne instructed as he raised his head to look at her, “Trust me,” Benne added, and Celsie sighed before walking away to usher them in.

While some of them were excited to see the CEO who they had never set eyes on before, some others felt very anxious about it, as they suspected that whatever had made the CEO invite them to his office wasn’t something good.

“I have a meeting soon, so I’ll be quick. I’ve heard the rumors going around the company concerning Miss Miller, who happens to be your team leader. I do not exactly know the details, but I’ll have to fire her if indeed what was written about her is true,” Benne said, making Celsie glance at him in surprise, while some of her teammates looked pleased with the news.

Wasn’t he supposed to be on her side? Why was he saying something like that?

“However, seeing as you’re all a team, she won’t be the only one that will be fired. So I’m assigning all of you in her team the task of proving her innocence. If you’re unable to do so before Monday, you can all submit your resignation letters. Work overtime if need be, but I need results by Monday so you can present it to the shareholders and board of directors,” Benne said, making every one of them look at him in disbelief.

This did not make any sense. What did they have to do with Celsie’s crime? They were not there when she murdered the family, so why did they have to share in her punishment? “But sir, how can we prove that she is innocent when she is…”

“What? Guilty?” Benne asked before the young man could finish, and he snapped his mouth shut.

Seeing the displeasure on their faces, Celsie decided to speak, “Sir…”

Benne cut her off before she could say anything, “I can see that most of you here have already concluded that she is guilty even without hearing her side of the story. If that is the case I do not want to hear what you have to say either. Feel free to submit your resignation letters before the close of work today. I don’t want a group of staff that lacks team spirit. If anyone is caught making snide remarks or gossiping about this until there is proof that she did as she has been accused, that person will suffer the consequences,” Benne said, and then jerked his head to the door in a way that told them that the meeting was over and they should leave.

As the others trooped out, Celsie remained in her position with her head bowed. She waited until the last person had left the office and shut the door before looking at Benne, “What was that about?”

“That’s the least punishment I can give them for running their mouths over something they know nothing about. Don’t worry, I’m sure they will all want to keep their jobs. Hence, they will look past what is on social media and try to find out the truth,” Benne assured her.

“Now they will become suspicious of my relationship with you,” Celsie complained.

“They won’t. I told them I was going to fire you, so there’s nothing to be suspicious about. Stop worrying and get back to work,” Benne urged her since he knew that getting busy would distract her.

Now all he needed to do was try and focus on work while he waited to hear back from Harry.. He hoped for Anita’s sake that she wasn’t involved in this mess.

---