C6 The Ultimatum

The assistant had been assigned to call Gery to come to Mrs. Daphne’s room after Eve had waited for a while with her heart beating, the door finally opened and the cold CEO’s footsteps came in the direction where Eve was sitting and looked down deeply.

“You?” Gery screamed out to see the girl who had angered him so much in his grandmother’s room.

“What is this girl here for, grandma?” Gery asked Mrs. Daphne.

Mrs. Daphne casually swallowed her drink and made an expressionless face.

“Is that how you welcome guests, Gery? Although she is your subordinate, in this room she is my guest. You shouldn’t behave like that in front of a guest.” Mrs. Daphne rebuked her grandson.

This spontaneously made Eve a little shaken. Dave was right that Gery’s grandmother didn’t seem to favor Gery even though he was her grandson. Instantly, her confidence rose again and she dared to raise her chin with a little challenge towards Gery.

Meanwhile, Gery himself stared at Eve with a piercing gaze. He was furious and did not think Eve would dare to complain to her grandmother in her private room. I don’t know if any of the other staff have ever been so reckless! Eve is different, she thought irritably. Moreover, he found that his grandmother’s attitude seemed to make him like guilty. That made him even more annoyed.

“How dare you come here, huh? Who told you to come here? Get out!” chased Gery, who did not want to hear the complaint of Mrs. Daphne. He became even more rude to Eve.

“Gary!” Mrs. Daphne spoke again. This time in a slightly higher tone.

“Oma, she’s a bad attitude new employee whom I’ve even given a dismissal letter to--”

“What gives you the right to fire innocent staff, Gery? Is that your policy in leading the company, hm?” asked Mrs. Daphne then. Her face looked serious now. The idealist type like her would not accept such injustice happening in front of her own eyes. Even if it was done by her lovely grandson.

“But, Grandma, she--”

“What? You both just had a small problem elsewhere and it had nothing to do with work. So I hope you don’t need to make a big deal out of it and fire her unilaterally like that, Gery.” Mrs. Daphne interrupted her grandson.

Gery now looked sharply at Eve, as if blaming her for bringing the matter to his grandmother’s attention. How brave she was!

“Grandma, her behavior doesn’t reflect the typical behavior of a good employee. I am sure that one day she will go back to being the person she was when I saw it, that annoying girl who likes to bother passers-by. How can my staff have such a bad attitude? No way!” Gerry protested against Mrs. Daphne's defense of the one-sided story Eve had told the point that makes her sympathize and seem to be defending the girl.

Eve, who had been silent, immediately replied angrily. She did not care even if it was considered very rude to interrupt the conversation between two superiors.

“I’m sorry, Ma’am. Please, consider whether it is right for me to be called a rude, unemployed woman in a place where I was on vacation with my friends. I wasn’t even an employee at Vinestra at that time. How did I know he was the CEO here?”

“I understand, Miss Eve. Take it easy. Gery has a little business with me. Stay here, Gery. I have something to say to you about your attitude as a boss!" said Mrs. Daphne to which Gery responded with a flabbergasted look as he felt humiliated by her grandmother in front of her arch-rival, Eve.

Mrs. Daphne then went on to say, "And as for Miss Eve, please return to the room. Don't worry, no one will fire you for that little thing. I'll make sure of that."

Eve let out a long breath, full of gratitude.

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Daphne. You are very wise. Unlike your grandson," Eve responded with a snarky smile, deliberately challenging Gery.

The two young men and women exchanged glares as if they would be ready to kill each other if they were brought together just the two of them. Yes, they would be eternally hostile after that morning's incident.

Eve excused herself and returned to her office again with a great sense of relief. Along the way, she smiled to herself for defeating a Gery even though it had to be with the help of Mrs. Daphne.

Meanwhile, in Mrs. Daohne's room, Gery was scowling at his grandmother for defending the new employee rather than her grandson.

"What the hell was that? Why are you embarrassing me in front of a lowly employee, Grandma?" He protested fiercely. The temperamental young man girded his loins and put on a disappointed face.

"You're at fault for this, Gery. I am not defending him but standing up for what is right. That's all." Mrs. Daphne casually replied.

"What's right? You just don't know the girl yet. You don't see her behavior out there, Grandma! I am sure that if you find out, you will regret having defended her like that!" Gery said while still having an emotional tone.

"I am a very old person. I do meet so many different kinds of people in my life, Gery. You can even tell how someone's personality is with just a short conversation. So you don't teach me what is good and what is bad." Mrs. Daphne sat back and sipped her drink again.

Gery made a sound as if he was snorting and belittling his grandmother's words. He was convinced that Eve was not as good a girl as his grandmother made her out to be. His grandmother was just consumed by the image that the girl had managed to build up in one way or another at the beginning of their meeting.

"What a sneaky girl she is!" grumbled Gery as he fondly recalled the look on the face of the girl he was becoming increasingly hostile to. He was still determined to make her life miserable while working here even though his grandmother had guaranteed that she would not be fired.

"There are many ways to get you out of here, silly girl. You'll see!" He cursed to himself as he drummed his fingers in annoyance.

"I warned you not to bother her again, Gery." Mrs. Daphne seemed to hear his grandson's inner voice.

"Oh, for goodness sake, Grandma. I won't do anything. But I'm just sure she'll reveal her true colors later. And you will regret keeping her!" Gery replied in a confident tone.

She then excused herself because there were many things to do regarding the post-meeting. After Gery left, Mrs. Daphne said to her assistant, "Find out more about the girl, Sofia."

The woman named Sofia nodded politely. She was Mrs. Daphne's mainstay. She could carry out any task given to her without question and with perfect results. Yes, Sofia will find out if Eve is the right girl she looking for many years later.

***