Chapter 4
Charles said, "No wonder Mr. Logan never showed up. I've been trying to reach him all day, and it turns out you were the one stirring up trouble."
He was shaking with rage. He snapped, "My phone went missing yesterday, and I had everyone looking for it. And you? You just stashed it away for yourself. Have you lost it or something?"
"I was just messing around, it wasn't on purpose," Emily said. She pouted, her face scrunched up like she was about to cry.
She whimpered, "Charles, you're so mean. You totally scared me."
Charles just stood there, looking like he was about to blow a fuse.
He stared at Emily like he was looking at a complete moron.
I just stood there, stunned and speechless.
I never imagined Emily would turn out to be such a piece of work.
She wasn't even worth calling a "rival." Just looking at her was lowering my standards.
I shook my head and waved over a few coworkers, telling them to hurry up and clean up the mess.
If we waited any longer, all the hard work Charles had put in over the years would be for nothing.
After all that chaos, we managed to patch things up pretty well.
Since Charles had always been great to work with, most of the clients were understanding and forgave him.
As for Avery, I personally went over and explained everything to him.
My family also had business ties with Avery, so out of respect for me, he finally cooled off.
Still, it ended up eating up quite a bit of everyone's time.
By then, a lot of the staff looked totally wiped out, so Charles waved them off to get some rest.
Once things finally settled down, Emily couldn't help but start acting up again.
She cooed, "Charles, come on, it was nothing. Everything's fixed now, so quit being mad, okay?
"I still don't know how to swim. Will you teach me?"
Her sugary voice was so grating that it felt like it was drilling straight into my skull.
I couldn't believe she was flirting with my guy right in front of me, treating me like a piece of furniture, my blood boiling.
I crossed my arms and gave Charles a pointed look.
My message was crystal clear: "You made this mess, you clean it up."
Charles looked completely done with it. He let out a cold, mocking laugh. He shot back, "Nice try.
"Emily, did you really think I'd just let you off the hook that easily?"
Right then, the door swung open from the outside.
Uniformed police officers filed in, looking all serious. One of them asked, "Who called the cops?"
Charles replied, "I did!"
He pointed at Emily, who looked like a deer in headlights, and said, "She stole my phone and refused to give it back. She also used my personal information to sabotage the company.
"I have reason to believe she's a corporate spy. Go ahead and take her in."
Emily was left gaping, totally blindsided.
Emily was taken away by the police for questioning.
Before she left, she cried out resentfully, "Charles, how could you do this to me?
"Officer, please, don't take me. We all know each other; we're friends.
"Charles, how could you do this to me? What would your mom think?"
She was crying like a damsel in distress, acting as if Charles was some kind of heartless bastard.
Charles was seriously disgusted by her fake tears and dramatic performance.
He rubbed his arms with obvious impatience and sneered, "Friends? You call yourself a friend after nearly wrecking my company and pushing me to the edge of bankruptcy? Get lost. Don't sully the word 'friend.'
"And don't even try to use my mom to guilt-trip me. If she found out, she'd probably tear you a new one. What a joke.
"We're not close, so stop calling me Charles. It's gross."