Rina thought Zayn had been long gone, but his sudden appearance in the conference room brought her fears back, that like Finn, she was going to depend on someone who had no plans of staying with her for long. And then, after a while, he would be gone, along with everything he brought along with him, leaving her to maneuver the world she had been dumped into. But the rational part of Rina knew that wasn’t true, that Zayn wasn’t that type of person. Even though he was certainly going to leave once the duration of their contract was over, it wouldn’t be on bad terms.
Shoving her fears to the back of her mind, Rina focused her attention on Anthony who was fidgeting, looking like he was about to wet his pants. He turned to Rina and mumbled an incoherent apology, but Zayn didn’t think that was enough.
“We heard your insults loud and clear, Anthony,” he said. “I wonder why we can’t hear your apology?”
“I am profusely sorry, Ms. Powers, for all the spiteful words I said, as well as calling you by your first name. I shouldn’t have done that, knowing you are the face of Pages of Claire for the next year, and whatever I say to you will be projected outwards. I promise that going forward, I will refrain from talking to you in that manner and we will have the most cordial relationship ever.”
“That is if you remain on the board,” Zayn cut in. “You know I have the power to buy out your shares whether you put them up for sale or not. No matter how loud you cry wolf, they will be gone from your hands and there will be nothing you can do about it. So take this as your first and last warning. Despite what you think. Rina is not someone you can walk on the way you please. You can continue with your meeting. Thank you, Claire, for allowing me speak.”
Zayn nodded and then walked out of the conference room, but nothing remained the same minutes after he left. For starters, Rina kept wondering why she had never thought about the possibility of Zayn having an influence on her job with Claire. They sure seemed close enough to be long-time friends, and Rina remembered telling Zayn repeatedly that she wanted to do this on her own, reach the top without getting any assistance from him. Now, she didn’t know what to think about this. Why hadn’t he said anything all this while?
“Ms. Powers,” Claire called softly. It all made sense now to Rina why Claire was being so friendly to her. “Do you have anything to say?”
Rina cleared her throat. “I want to thank you all for putting your trust in me to be the face of your brand. I know you have gone through my portfolio so you are well aware that I am good at my job and there was never any complaint about me until…Well, I am bringing the same professionalism and hard work to Pages of Claire, and a lot of people out there will not like the fact that I am returning back to the point I was pushed off from. There will be a lot more scandals and threats, but I ask that you be patient and understanding, and from my end, I will try to tackle them before they become bigger.”
Everyone nodded in understanding, but Rina couldn’t tell if it was because of Zayn’s threats or the fact that they actually believed in her. She had never been one to doubt her abilities as confidence was an important skill needed to maneuver her world. Still, she couldn’t help the errant thoughts that came to her mind.
The rest of the shoot continued like nothing had happened. The only tell was Adam and how far he stayed away from her. It was humorous to Rina, that Zayn’s threat managed to put everyone in their place something that would have taken her a lot more to achieve.
The rumors had reached their peak before the end of the day, and as Rina stepped out to meet Michael at the lobby, her phone rang, with George’s name on the caller ID.
“Oh my God!” he murmured. “I have been trying to reach you all day. I thought your anti-fans had finally gotten to you.”
“It would take a lot more than an unfounded rumor to get me into their hands, George,” Rina responded, catching Michael’s eyes. “I was in the studio all day, so I didn’t have access to my phone until now. Is there anything new happening back home? Something I don’t know about.”
“You sound calmer than I imagined.”
“When have I never sounded calm?”
George stopped to think about it for a minute. “Never. That explains it. You mentioned you didn’t want anyone finding out about you and Zayn, so I got worried about how this might affect you, but I see you are doing okay. And you are not bothered about how he is doing anymore, obviously.”
Rina was happy George wasn’t around to see the blush on her face. She fell in step behind Michael as he led her outside to the car. “Anything new?” she repeated.
“Regina called. She said Kayla hasn’t made any move since you left, and she seemed surprised by the published article about you and Zayn. Back in her office, when she thought no one was looking, she threw her computer off the table in anger. Currently, she’s wishing it’s just some big fat conspiracy.”
“And how did Regina find that out?”
“She put a listening device on Kayla. Who would have thought she had it in her?”
“There’s little anyone wouldn’t do when their career is on the line. Regina, of all people, understands that. Keep me updated, will you?”
“There’s one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“Regina heard the Scottsdale Entertainment is about rescinding your blacklist. It is not set in stone yet as they are waiting for something in cement about the article that has just been published about you and Zayn. But my wildest guess is that they are doing this because they don’t want to get on Zayn’s bad side. We all know he is their major sponsor.”