The Sanders family tried to mediate the ongoing fight. At the very least, they tried to keep the verbal dispute from becoming physical. It would be extremely embarrassing if that happened.
Jonas snorted rudely. He jerked his suit violently and then turned to Alan, who approached him. A single, well-received shake of the head made him fume.
“You deliberately screwed up my presentation, Reas. You really-”
“What’s the problem?”
Emerging from the commotion, Vlora spoke up. In a flat tone that implied calm, she stepped forward right next to Andreas.
Jonas stared at Vlora with a mocking expression, while Vlora waited for an answer that seemed elusive. So, she turned to Alex and then to Alan.
“All the data is gone. Even Mr. Jonas’ laptop, which was fine before, is suddenly inaccessible. I’m sure it’s because I was the one helping Mr. Jonas get ready.”
Jonas put his hands on his hips. “Did you hear what Alan said? Everything was fine before your husband got into trouble.”
“Oh, my goodness, Jon. You better watch every word you say. I will sue you for this.”
Vlora held Andreas’ hand. “I’ll take a look at it.”
“Look into it?” Jonas asked when he saw Vlora grab her work bag. Quickly he blocked Vlora’s way. “Do you want to make things worse?”
Not only did he block, but Jonas unconsciously held Vlora’s hand. The block elicited a displeased grunt from Vlora, but she didn’t have to do anything. In fact, Jonas’ hand was released a moment later.
“Watch what you touch, Jon.”
Andreas stepped between Jonas and Vlora. Fortunately, Vlora acted immediately before Andreas could be provoked.
“Maybe I can fix it.”
Without taking his eyes off Andreas, Jonas repeated Vlora’s words in a mocking tone.
“Fix it?”
“I work in the IT company. There might be one or two things I can check.”
Jonas blinked. He turned to Vlora.
“You’re just a secretary. You…”
“We can look at it later,” Vlora interrupted quickly. Calmly, she seemed completely unintimidated. “How about it? Do you want to take the opportunity to clear things up, or do you really want everything to be as dark as it is now?”
Andreas grinned as he squeezed Jonas’ chest with both hands. He created the opening Vlora needed and then said to Alan.
“Let Vlora have a look.”
Alan did not allow Vlora to touch the laptop right away and looked at Jonas. But what could he do? He couldn’t stop it if even a casual remark sided with Vlora.
“There’s no harm in letting Vlora have a look.”
Vlora was given the opportunity. She sat down and examined Jonas’ laptop with a controlled expression, then took out her tablet and the connection cable.
“Before I shut down the laptop in the preparation room, everything was fine,” Alan explained, accompanying Vlora. “There was no problem at all.”
Vlora listened to Alan’s explanation without taking her eyes off the laptop screen for a moment. She concentrated and spoke at the same time.
“Basically, there are different types of computer viruses. There are multipart viruses, which usually attack RAM and hard drives. Their operation is fast, but that doesn’t mean it happens suddenly when the computer is turned on. Something like this…”
Vlora’s fingers moved across the tablet’s screen. She scrolled and typed into a folder.
“… usually the work of a memory resident virus. Though obviously its attack won’t be as severe as this. Even a regular antivirus can deal with it.”
“What do you mean?”
“This is a modification of a new virus that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.”
The folder opened. Inside was an application that Vlora was targeting.
The tablet and laptop were connected by a cable. Vlora activated the application and opened its access on the laptop.
Everyone watched in silence, wondering what Andreas’ beautiful wife could do. And Andreas himself? He remained calm, glancing at Jonas from time to time.
The distinctive sound of a computer window opening was heard a moment after Vlora pressed the return key. The laptop switched on as usual.
“There may be some hidden files, but I don’t think it will be difficult to recover them,” Vlora said, finishing everything. She unplugged the cable and put her things back into her bag. “How about this?”
Jonas, the subject of Vlora’s question, remained silent. He didn’t say anything, his eyes fixed on Vlora. His expression showed no sign of relief, as if the problem had been solved.
“Actually, this is an application that Greatech is developing with UltraConnect Inc. It will be released shortly after the third phase of testing,” Vlora explained.
Vlora rose from her seat and looked at Andreas. “Or maybe the third test is no longer necessary.”
Andreas smiled meaningfully.
*
Jonas wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief. He stepped down from the podium with a flushed face. His jaw clenched and he didn’t say a word during the short break.
Perfect timing. Jonas needed a break to catch his breath and calm himself from the various waves of dissatisfaction that had bombarded him throughout the presentation.
Jonas walked briskly. He wanted to leave the meeting room as soon as possible. However, his gaze collided with the most inconvenient person.
Separated by a large distance, Andreas seized the opportunity of a few seconds. He grinned with a slightly raised hand.
Andreas waved briefly, just a glance. Then Jonas left the meeting room immediately.
“I really didn’t expect it to turn out like this, sir.”
In the preparation room, it wasn’t surprising that Alex apologized again and again. It was also not surprising when Jonas unleashed all his anger on Alex.
“You screwed everything up, Lex!” Jonas scolded harshly. “I told you not to mess with this! Now everything is for nothing! I wanted to trap Andreas, but I ended up trapping myself!”
Alex swallowed hard. “C-calm down, sir. Despite the anger of the shareholders, at least you still have a chance.”
“A chance?”
Jonas snorted as he loosened his tie roughly. Breathing heavily, his face, now even redder with sweat, resembled a burning log, and he really didn’t want to turn to ash on this important day.
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s just say it’s all Mr. Andreas’ plan,” Alex replied, brainstorming quickly. He knew that his life was at stake. “Mr. Andreas tried to sabotage with the intention to appear as a hero. I’m sure it won’t be difficult to convince them all, considering the history of competition between you and him.”
Jonas remained silent. Clenching his jaw, he took a deep breath and considered Alex’s idea.
“Do you think this will work?”
A glimmer of hope made Alex smile. He nodded repeatedly. “Of course, sir. This will definitely work, and now you’d better calm down. Don’t let Mr. Andreas feel triumphant.”
The grin and the wave from Andreas earlier echoed in Jonas’ mind. The mockery echoed in his chest. But just like Alex’s words, he wouldn’t let Andreas embarrass him that easily.
Thirty minutes passed. Jonas had managed to calm down and returned to the meeting room with Alex.
The first thing Jonas noticed was that Andreas and Vlora’s seats were empty. The couple had left before the meeting was over.
Jonas sat down. Without preamble, he inquired about Andreas’ whereabouts, and the answer he received was exactly what he had suspected.
“They’re gone.”
Jonas grunted, with a plan ready to be executed. “After sabotaging my laptop and acting like a hero, he just ran away?”
Jonas’ accusation went unanswered. There were no comments or reactions from those in the meeting. Instead, they exchanged glances and shook their heads.
What? What’s going on?
Jonas looked at Bryan, the only person who could explain the situation. But his father closed his eyes, as if he did not want to face reality.
“Seriously, Jon? Do you know what you’re saying?”
A comment from one of the meeting’s participants froze Jonas’ body. He stood still as accusing looks were directed at him.
“How can you accuse your own brother like that?”
It was too late. Jonas realized the situation when it was already too late. He should have known that Andreas wouldn’t leave without causing chaos.
Damn you, Reas!
*