Chapter 29
ROBERT’S POV
“Scarlett! Scarlett!! What are you doing?” I couldn’t believe the sight before me as I rushed in to intervene. The client was thrashing under Scarlett’s grip around her neck. Her eyes had become bulgy and her face red as she was gasping for breath.
I managed to free her from Scarlett. I moved Scarlett away from her to the corner of the room. The client cradled her neck, coughing violently and trying to catch her breath.
“You tried to kill me…” she said through laboured breath, her face only reddening more with fear and utter disbelief. “You all in this company are crazy!” Grabbing her handbag, she scurried out of the room.
Returning my attention to Scarlett who was glowering in the direction the client left as if she wanted to chase after her, I scolded her harshly. “What has gotten into you? You almost killed our client…what if she presses charges?”
“I couldn’t just sit back and watch her bad mouth the company like that,” she said, looking away defiantly.
“She wouldn’t have acted that way and said all that if you arrived early and done what you were supposed to do.”
She looked at me, making a puppy face and cupping my cheeks. “Honey, I told you I’m sorry. Please forgive me. It wasn’t my fault.”
Gently, I took her hands down from my face and looked away with a sigh of frustration. “We just lost another client. Sorry, won’t bring her back. That’s like the sixth client we’re losing this month and we haven’t even gone halfway. If this continues, it will be detrimental to the company.”
“Honey,” she called with a gentle reassuring tone, taking back my face in her hands and leaning in closer. “We will always bounce back. The company is ranking third in the whole of the United States and we get like a million clients every week. Losing that old hag or those other clients won’t even make a dent, trust me.”
She kissed me lightly on the cheeks and lips. Her jasmine scent filled my nose and her light feathery voice and doting gestures calmed me, soothing my worries. I won’t deny she was looking very beautiful today. I loved her new look. She was the love of my life. The mother of my child. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t stay mad at her. My heart won’t let me.
“Alright,” I exhaled deeply.
“Great!” She beamed and hugged me tightly before peppering my face with more kisses.
“But you have to promise to stop arriving late to work.”
“Yes…yes…. yes… Anything for you, my love.”
Returning to the table, she reached for her handbag and took out a compact mirror. Looking into it, she fixed her hair and make-up.
“I can’t believe I almost ruined my look all because of that old bitch,” she mumbled spitefully, huffing out an angry breath.
“How do I look?” She asked me, making a 360-degree turn with her hands on her hips.
“You look lovely,” I replied with a smile.
“Alright, I’ll have to be on my way,” she said, grabbing her bags and heading for the door.
“What?…” My eyes widened in shock as I stammered. “But…but you just got here?”
“I know, hon, but I really have somewhere else important to be at the moment,” she explained, her face softening with a hint of sadness. “One of the supermoms from Jake’s school is throwing a birthday bash, and she invited all the moms. It’s going to be a blast! I wouldn’t want to miss it for the world. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to network-who knows, I might even find potential business clients there for the company.” She smiled mischievously as she glided her shoulders playfully.
“We have an appointment with another client in the next two hours. How then do we handle that?” I asked with desperation in my tone as I approached her. “Honey, I understand it’s important you attend that party but we can’t afford to lose another client today?”
“I know,” she replied, a smug smile playing on her lips. “That’s why I have everything under control. I prepared all the documents in advance and gave them to Carrey to modify. I have explained everything to her. She will be stepping in on my behalf and I trust she will do an excellent job.”
I didn’t know what else to say. I let out a deep sigh and briefly closed my eyes, hoping everything would go fine and it wouldn’t turn out to be a disaster like this one.
Carrey was Scarlett’s assistant. Another marketing representative I employed when Scarlett was pregnant with our son, Jake as she couldn’t make it to work at that time. She was to fill in for Scarlett in special circumstances like maternity or sick leave and other emergencies. So far, her performance has been satisfactory, and there has been no negative feedback about her. I just hoped she could handle this one well.
“Don’t worry, my love,” Scarlett reassured me. “Everything will be fine. We won’t lose any more clients, okay?”
I nodded reluctantly.
“Good, now give me some sugar,” she puckered her lips forward, a playful invitation for me to give her a kiss which I did before she left.
I headed back to my office and called for Carrey. I reviewed the document Scarlett gave her and also helped her prep for the client’s appointment. She complained the documents seemed rushed and Scarlett’s ideas for the advert campaigns weren’t so well thought out, forcing her to make a lot of adjustments.
I couldn’t help but think perhaps I had made a mistake employing Scarlett, replacing her with Lily. Lily always did a great job and she needed no supervision whatsoever because she always knew what to do and how to go about it. The only time she messed up was at the conference presentation about nine years back which cost the company a fortune.
She had a way with the clients. They all loved her marketing ideas and warm personality. Most of the clients she brought to the company and worked with won’t stop asking about her. Some even threatened to stop working with us if I didn’t bring her back to handle their campaigns and projects.
But I can’t afford to bring her back. To hell with that. Not after everything she had done. She was a traitor and murderer. If not for anything, I still want her dead for killing my innocent grandpa, causing my family unimaginable pain and grief. Too bad we couldn’t get the judge to impose a death sentence or life imprisonment on her despite all the effort we put in. I wanted her to suffer severely for what she did. I believe her jail term was seven years or so. If I was correct, then she must have been released by now. I couldn’t care less for wherever she was or how she was faring. Since I took everything from her, she should be wallowing in poverty, struggling to survive. The feeling of not having enough money to feed or take care of one’s needs was a fate far worse than death and I was glad she was suffering it.
Scarlett is the mother of my child and the woman I love. Not only that. She also helped to expose Lily’s evil acts. If not for her, I wouldn’t have known Lily was the enemy lurking in the shadows. Kicking Scarlett out of the company won’t be good for either of us. She will get better. I know she will. All she needed was a hand to brush her up and guide her in the right direction. And I will gladly do that.
A few minutes after I dismissed Carrey, Frank, our tech guy came in.
“Can I help you with anything?” I asked because it was rather unusual for him to come to my office unannounced.
I noticed he seemed somewhat nervous, glancing around as if he had done something wrong.
“Mr. Robert…” He called out hesitantly, struggling to remain coherent. “I have been holding onto this for the past nine years. I just can’t anymore. I have a confession to make.”