Jaime stormed into his office in annoyance, his heart pounding at the thought of the strange looks he had just received all the way to the office.
That box had been sent to the office yesterday afternoon, but he was out at the time, and he feared that many people had already seen the shiny logo on that box some time ago.
His face darkened and his first thought was that it was Peter playing with him and deliberately tarnishing his image.
After all, the two were in competition and now that the situation was in Pedro’s favor, he might want to take advantage of the situation and tarnish his image with bad rumors.
A manager of a group that had no way of leaving offspring was already considered big news in the eyes of the old men.
Jaime was so angry that he paced around the office. It was noon, and the staff had gone out to lunch, so he prepared to leave while there were fewer people, when he saw several employees with a little bottle at their workstations.
The word “Viagre” in large letters almost burned his eyes.
Jaime, furious, ran straight to the reception desk, saw that people were still there and questioned sternly:
-Didn’t I tell you to throw it away? Why is it on everyone’s desk?
The receptionist was trembling with fear and said aggrieved:
-I, I wanted to throw it away, but Mr. Pedro said it was a benefit you gave to your staff and told me to send it. I, I couldn’t help it…..
-Pedro! Jaime shouted, red-eyed at the corners.
What had been a few points of suspicion had now become ten.
“It really was that brute Pedro who had planned it all – what a wicked mind!”
Jaime was in the middle of a storm and ready to leave when the receptionist called out to him in a trembling voice:
-Mr. Jaime, there is one more thing?
-What is it?
Jaime didn’t give her a single glance, and was furious and impatient.
-Say something!
The receptionist then said:
-Mr. Pedro was interviewed by a media outlet this morning while you were in the office and these things were filmed.
Jaime froze for a moment, his mind blank.
-Did he say anything? -he heard himself sounding entranced.
-The journalist asked about this and Mr. Pedro said that you had personally used it and recommended it…..
The receptionist finished speaking with a flushed face and her eyes, for some reason, slid unconsciously to Jaime’s leg.
Jaime felt he had reached a breaking point and was frantic to get it off his chest.
Pedro was really wicked. Initially, it was only known within the company, but now, if it became known through the press, he feared that everyone would know, and he would be questioned wherever he went.
Jaime’s face turned pale and he hurried to contact the morning reporters.
“It hasn’t been long and the report shouldn’t have been published yet, so as long as you pull out in time, it shouldn’t be too late.”
He contacted the journalist, but that media outlet was owned by the Leoz family, i. e. Pedro.
They will only listen to Pedro, and as long as he does not give the word, it was impossible for this story not to be published.
And they have been kind enough to inform Jaime that the manuscript is already in its final stage and that it will be ready to be posted on social networks once he has confirmed.
Jaime was instantly worried and called Pedro. When he didn’t get through, he rushed to the reception desk and asked where Pedro had gone.
The receptionist was startled by his horrible appearance and said with a sob:
-I only saw Mr. Pedro leave with his companions from his apartment, I think he went to the dining room.
Jaime’s eyes clouded over.
“It’s surprising that Pedro is trying to show concern to his coworkers, but I have to say it’s a tactic that can really work, as Alfredo taught me.”
Without a word, he headed straight for the mess hall.
The staff canteen at Grupo Seco was very good and most employees opted to eat here.
From a distance, Jaime saw Pedro sitting in a group of people eating and laughing.
Those next to him were holding him, not knowing what was being said, and those around him were smiling in a very lewd and strange way.
Whether it was Jaime’s sensitivity or not was not known, but he had the feeling that what Peter was saying had to do with him, and the more he looked at their smiles, the more they got in the way.
In the past, he rarely went to the staff dining room and was not interested in eating with them. In his opinion, a leader had to be above the others, and the hierarchy was divided so that some would stay out of his personal business and have no say in the matter.
So this time he approached and attracted the attention of many diners.
Jaime felt the stares from the employees and forced himself not to make a big deal of it, and walked straight to Pedro’s table.
The man next to him noticed Jaime’s arrival and tugged on Pedro’s shirt.
Pedro stopped joking and looked up to meet Jaime’s somber face. He knew what Jaime was coming for, but he wasn’t a bit startled, instead, he even smiled and said:
-Hey, cousin, I didn’t expect you to come to our staff canteen too. This is so weird, what would you like to eat? The pork ribs in sauce today are good, try them?
-Pedro, stop this nonsense! -Jaime interrupted impatiently, “Don’t give me that nonsense, you know why I came to see you. You bought that box and had it delivered to the office on purpose with my name on it, and you handed it out as a benefit to the staff and had a journalist take pictures of it on purpose. Wow, you have a lot of tricks up your sleeve.
Peter paused for a moment and looked at him with a smirk.
-I don’t like you saying that. I did the last two things, but I didn’t buy the material. Why would I buy something like that if I had nothing to do with it? Besides, the last two things were done with the best intentions on my part. When I said you gave benefits to your staff, I was trying to get them to appreciate you and give you a boost. As for the reporters, I was also giving you a good name and reputation for caring about your staff, so why are you still mad? What an insensitive person.
-Do you deserve to say that?! -Jaime scoffed, “Don’t think I don’t know why you do this to yourself. I’ll tell you again, I didn’t buy that thing.
-You didn’t buy it, so who did? -Pedro looked puzzled, then gloated and looked at Jaime, “Jaime, you have many enemies.
Jaime didn’t take his eyes off Pedro’s expression for a moment, and his mind followed the suspicion…..
“If not him, who else could it be?”
Then he thought of Umberto and the others, but the idea was dismissed as soon as it occurred to him. Umberto would not use such superficial means.
“Yesterday afternoon…”
He frowned, there was only one other person.
“Angelina!”
He had just finished an unpleasant conversation yesterday at noon. The only one who could be Angelina!
This tactic seemed like a girl’s revenge and was very crude and direct.
Jaime told Pedro that he didn’t buy the package, but the last two incidents are even more egregious in the plot.
He lowered Pedro’s smug look, remembered that Alfredo and his secretary were privately looking for the real grandson of the Seco family, and suddenly grimaced.
-What are you laughing at?
Pedro sensed that his smile was not the right one, as if he had acquired an insight into the inner workings of the world that he did not know, and it sent a shiver down his spine.
-Pedro, do you really think you can win me the succession of Grupo Seco just because Alfredo has given you an important project?
Jaime’s smile was significant.
-I know more than you know, Alfredo is not supporting you?
Rather, he paved the way for his own grandson, of whom both were pawns.
This last he did not say.
Pedro didn’t look too good, and scratched his head trying to figure out what was going on.
Alfredo’s thoughts were simply out of his reach, and he got a little sidetracked after being handed increasingly important projects.
So he brazenly confronted Jaime, and when he saw that Alfredo didn’t stop him, he escalated.
He thought Alfredo was supporting him, but now that he thought better of it.
“With Jaime’s inscrutable expression, something doesn’t add up to me.”
He stood up abruptly and motioned for those around him to leave first.
The people around saw that the situation was not very good and quickly left.
As the people left, Pedro approached Jaime and whispered:
-What the hell do you know?
Jaime gave him a look.
-Get your family’s media not to publish that interview and I’ll tell you.
Without saying a word, Pedro pulled out his phone.
That story could do a lot of damage to Jaime’s reputation, but it was just a small fight, and trading it for a secret wouldn’t be a loss for him.
But after making the call, Pedro was dumbfounded.
The story was published a few minutes ago, because the reporter thought Pedro took it seriously enough and published it first.
He didn’t expect things to turn out that way.
-So what are you standing there for? Get out of here before someone sees you,” Pedro hastened to say.
The editor-in-chief on the other side wanted to cry.
-We can’t do anything, young master. Even if we take it off, it won’t do any good.
They had already talked to Stephanie Seco and knew that Pedro and Jaime were in stiff competition. Not only were they the first to send out the news, but they promoted it heavily.
As a result, in just a few minutes, many people read the report, in which the “Viagre” spotlight was taken over by cybernauts and now there was no way to clean it up.