17. Le modèle - The Model
"Where is he?" I asked Brice, quietly simmering with anger.
"Boss spent the night in his office, but I haven't checked on him since I entered here. The news broke out, and I had to rescue you first." He replied, and managed to make me angrier.
Because of André's reckless actions, I and Brice had to suffer, and we wouldn't be the last ones. Everyone was in uproar right now, and we didn't even know what that man was doing.
"I'm going to talk to him. Don't follow me, and make sure everyone stays out of that floor." I ordered him.
I was about to take a turn for the elevator, when a loud voice interrupted the silent gossip of the sixth floor.
"I asked, where is that bitch?" Someone shouted with their full might.
The voice was nasal and pierced my ears, and this woman sounded furious. It was so similar to how Jolene Beaumont sounded when she got loud, but this voice wasn't hers. Confused, I turned to Brice, who shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Miss Fontaine. You will have to handle another bratty woman. Surprisingly, our company has one too many of these women."
I liked how he was on the same page as me, but his words still didn't ring a bell in my head. Who was he referring to, this time?
Someone must have told the woman about me, and I heard the distinctive sound of heels clicking the floor. She was coming towards me, whoever she was. I braced myself for what was about to come, or rather who. And of course, when that woman stood in front of me, I realized I would need a lot more than just bracing myself.
The said woman was Madison Thomas, aka Maddy, aka the best supermodel in the whole of America, aka the Maddy Jolene wanted her son to marry. Although the last one was still a huge speculation on my part, I was ninety-eight percent sure that that Maddy was this Maddy.
I surveyed the woman I'd only ever seen on TV. She had her signature straight blonde hair thrown over her shoulders, almond shaped eyes the color of the sky, a slender nose and naturally high cheekbones, and full pink lips coated in dark red lipstick. Draped in a silk red dress that barely covered anything, and matching shoes, she strutted towards me as if she was on a runway.
There were only two things on my mind – how, and why did André refuse to marry a woman like her? And of course, how she overpowered me with just her presence.
Everyone's eyes were on us, my team members' jaws were slack, and the room went absolutely silent, ready to soak up all the drama that was about to unfold here. A searing headache formed in my mind, and I craved only one thing in that moment – coffee. That bitter coffee which tasted oh so sweet on days like this.
But, of course, I couldn't have what I wanted. Instead, I got a devil in six inch red heels towering over my naturally tall frame. Her icy eyes shot glaciers at me, moving up and down and all over my body. Her actions gave me goosebumps, and I cursed André once again for throwing me in this rut, while he was peacefully sleeping upstairs.
"Are you the girl everyone's been talking about?" She asked, thankfully in a lower voice this time.
Calmly, I answered. "Yes. That's me."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," She said, more like mumbled to herself.
But I wasn't exactly offended. If I was her, I'd be ashamed of being compared to myself too. I also knew why she was so angry. Madison Thomas was closely acquainted with André, and the both of them had often been painted as the best couple by the media. Among everyone's expectations of these two getting together, suddenly a third person dropped in. It would obviously take everyone by surprise.
Of course, it didn't mean I was going to stand there and let her say whatever she wanted to. I just meant I wasn't going to hold her accountable for the mess I'd created in their lives.
"Who even are you? Just a nobody with no name, no beauty, and definitely no personality. How dare you try to steal what's mine? Are you pretending to be stupid, or are you really that dense?" She sneered at me, thinking her words were somehow impactful.
When I stood there silently, and didn't say a word, she came closer to me. "I'm warning you, whoever you are. Stay out of my way, and don't even dream of something you can never have. You're going to get the hell out of this company, pack your stuff, and move out of this city, this instant. Do you understand?"
I scoffed. I'd just arrived here, and she wanted me to leave? Just like that? What a narcissistic girl. I looked her right in the eye, and took a step closer. "I'm sorry, but I can't really grant your request. If you have any other complaint, take it to André. Don't beat my head over it."
As soon as I said those words, her nostrils flared and her eyes lit up with ire. "You– don't you get what I'm saying?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying. I'm not moving an inch from my place, and you're probably going to see me in a lot of places, so be prepared. I hope we can continue this beautiful friendship."
I turned to Brice and gave him a silent order, and when he nodded, I turned around and walked past Madison. She was left shouting after me to come back, but I just didn't have the energy to deal with her. People like Madison could stay mad at me for as long as they wanted to; but their any act won't get my attention.
I entered the elevator and pushed the top button. If that man had even a drop of decency in him, he would feel guilty about the tumult he had caused oh so effortlessly. Fortunately, the top floor was fully empty, so I could talk to him freely. This worked a lot in my favor, but for not, not so much.
Pushing open the door to his office, I barged in, just to see him stirring in his sleep on the couch. I scoffed seeing his office, where the walls were stacked with books, a large laptop occupied the wooden desk, and papers were strewn all about. If someone didn't know André, they'd think he must be such an important figure in the company.
"How long do you think you can sleep away your worries? You better get up this instant." I spoke at his back turned towards me.
Dressed in the same clothes as last night, André slowly sat up. He clutched his head, and ruffled his silver hair that had now escaped the bun. It was the first time I had seen his hair open, and I sort of wished he would always tie it up. Although that cursed bun made him look extremely cold, it worked just fine for me.
It was much better viewing him as a cold person than a fluffy, soft man.
He squinted his eyes at me, and mumbled sleepily, "Why do I see you here as well? Can't you get away from me for a second? These days, wherever I go, I see you. It's so tiring and frustrating."
"Is that why you did what you did? Because you wanted me out of your sight?" I asked him, although I didn't have any hope that he'd remember.
And, I was right. He didn't remember a thing. "What are you talking about now? What the hell did I do?"
Sighing, I opened Sophie's chat on my phone, and clicked on the latest article she had sent me ten minutes ago. There, in bold letters, was the heading, "André Beaumont's Mystery Girl Revealed. And Guess What? It's Not Madison Thomas!"
I placed the phone on the coffee table in front of him. André picked it up, and with scrunched up eyebrows, scrolled through the entire article. Even though I hadn't read the entirety of it, I skimmed it through in the elevator, and found my name being mentioned a few times in there.
"Someone wrote this original article this morning, at 2 a.m. After that, many followup articles came through, and the recent one contained a photo of me leaving your house in my car. As soon as I reached here, these people cornered me, and I just didn't know what to do."
As I told him everything, André sat on the couch and listened to everything with a poker face on. He didn't show any reaction, whether it was of anger or shock. He just sat there nonchalantly.
I continued, "However, your secretary Brice told me that you were the one behind this. That's why I came here to ask you, did you start all of this?"
But, again, he spoke up so nonchalantly. "So what if I did? Isn't it the truth? You're the one who is so excited for this marriage. Why are you so shocked now?"
That's when I knew, that the number one cause of my sudden increase in stress was this man. And as long as I had to be in his proximity, I would never experience a good night's sleep.
♣︎ ♣︎ ♣︎
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top