Chapter 11
Joseph
Joseph’s face reddened at Aiden’s question. He didn’t have an answer; at least none he was willing to give. Anna was the one who walked out on him. Since she left, James has been uncomfortable. But Joseph couldn’t possibly put any of that into words.
It’s not like he could just come out and tell Aiden that Anna was actually his mate and she rejected him.
He didn’t realize how intently he was staring at Aiden until Aiden uncomfortably shifted from one leg to the other. He cleared his throat to cut the silence.
“You don’t need to answer,” Aiden said, reading his expression.
There was a small smile that appeared on Aiden’s lips as he turned away to head out the door.
“I’ll find out what I can and report back to you as soon as I can,” Aiden added.
“See that you do.” That was all Joseph managed to say.
(Mariana)
“As a company, we are in HUGE trouble!” Cher, a major shareholder, scolded.
“I know sir,” I said, trying to keep my voice was shaking. “I don’t know what happened…”
“What happened was YOU were the one in charge of this project. Now internal secrets, about this project, have been shared with the public. We’ve lost major customers. We could get shut down,” he hissed as he slammed her fists on the table.
The table was occupied by a few other major shareholders, and they all stared at me with the same disapproving gazes.
Emily was also in the room; I met eye contact with her from across the table and she gave me a sly grin that made my blood boil. But I couldn’t allow them to see my anger; I took in a deep breath; clenching and unclenching my fists until I felt my body calming down.
“Sir,” I said, pulling my eyes away from Emily to address Cher. “Allow me some time to fix everything. I will contact each customer myself if I must.”
Cher stood and his eyes narrowed on me; I kept my ground, and my eyes were locked on his. He always gave me an uneasy feeling, even before I became the manager of this branch. Emily was also staring at him, but there was more admiration in her eyes than anything.
“You should be on immediate dismissal,” Cher hissed through a clenched jaw.
I nodded my understanding, but I wasn’t going to give up that easily.
“Give me 3 days. That’s all I need. I’ll call each customer with my sincerest apologies. I’ll find out who leaked the information. Then I’ll call for another meeting and present my case,” I told them.
They all looked around at each other, uncertainty on their faces.
“And if you fail to prove your innocence?” One of the other shareholders asked.
“Then I will resign myself,” I told them.
They stared at me for a long while before light murmurs erupted through the meeting room.
“Alright,” that same shareholder said. “We will meet at the same time in 3 days. Don’t disappoint us.”
“I don’t intend to.”
I said that last part while meeting Emily’s gaze.
(Joseph)
“Sir, it seems Anna got into some trouble at the bank,” Aiden said, rushing into Joseph’s office.
Joseph looked up from his computer. It’s been over a day since he sent Aiden to investigate Anna.
1/2
“What kind of trouble?” He asked. James was growing tense at the mention of Anna, but he remained silent as he listened.
“I noticed some men in suits leaving the meeting room at the bank; Anna followed behind and went straight to her office. I asked one of the ladies what the meeting was all about and they mentioned that there were internal secrets and other personal information leaked to the public. A lot of customers are furious and have threatened to leave or have already left,” Aiden explained. “The company will face a major loss if it isn’t fixed soon.”
“They think Anna leaked this information?” Joseph asked, a flash of fury went through his eyes. He knew Anna couldn’t do something so stupid as that.
“It’s unclear,” Aiden admitted. “But it’s been implied.”
Even if it wasn’t Anna who leaked this information, she was still the bank manager and could get in huge trouble if this wasn’t resolved. Joseph thought about it for a moment before coming up with a plan.
“Was the information leaked off her computer?” Joseph asked.
“I’m not sure, sir,” Aiden answered. “If it was, do you think she was framed?”
