Mr. Billionaire, I'm Back!

Chapter 20: The Table's Are Turned

Molly began to panic. She thought that Joanna must have found the incriminating document and hid it somewhere else in the office. She turned to Mike and interrupted what Joanna was saying. "Mr. Devine," she said. "I took the wrong document. That doesn't mean she's innocent. Let me keep looking." Without waiting for an answer, Molly began to pull open the next drawer frantically.

Mike had a somber expression on his face, and no one could tell what was on his mind.

Molly looked all over Joanna's office, and she couldn't find a trace of the document. Mike had calmed down by now, but Kris was still a little flustered.

Kris had put the documents in that drawer that morning, and then she had gone and brought Joanna to the general manager's office. Joanna had only been in her office for a moment, so it seemed unlikely that she could have discovered the document in such a short time. The fact that the document appeared to have gone missing bothered her because, if Joanna had it, there was no way of knowing what she would do with it.

Mike looked at Joanna. She remained calm, relaxed, and collected, and her composure made him angry. The pride he had felt only moments ago was gone. As he watched Molly scramble through the desk drawers, he decided that even if the document didn't turn up, he would still fire Joanna.

Mike turned to glare at Joanna. "Joanna!" he roared. "Where the f**k did you put that document?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted having said them. After Molly's mistake, he knew what the rest of his employees were thinking: That he had set up Joanna. After his outburst, they would be more suspicious than ever. It was just that he'd gotten so angry that he had lost control for a moment. Get it together, Mike! – he told himself. You aren't going to let this b***h get the better of you, are you?

Joanna sneered. "Mr. Devine, are you accusing me of destroying evidence?"

Mike clenched his fists. His eyes were full of hate. "It could be done," he said confidently. "You could have done it. Am I wrong?"

Joanna: "Of course, anything's possible, which is why you might want to consider other suspects..."

Mike: Other suspects? What do you mean?"

Kris had been just about to leave, but Joanna's words stopped her dead in her tracks: "Well, since you still suspect me, let's ask Kris something, shall we?"

Everyone turned to look at Kris, and her face turned red. "What can I do for you?" she asked nervously.

"You don't need to do anything for me, but the general manager may want to talk to you." After Joanna said this, she turned to Mike and said, "Mr. Devine, since you don't trust me, why don't you ask my assistant, Kris, if I reviewed the documents and gave them to her to give to you."

Mike glanced at Joanna suspiciously. He didn't know what she was up to, but whatever it was, he didn't like it. He sighed as he turned to Kris. "Did Ms. Devine give you the documents?" he asked.

Kris shook her head and said, "No, I didn't see such a file. Joanna is lying."

"Are you sure?" Mike narrowed his eyes.

Kris: "Quite sure. If she had, I would have given them to you."

Mike felt relieved by Kris's answer, and he said to Joanna, "Do you have anything else to say in your defense? If not, you'll have to bear the consequences of the mistake you made. By that, I mean that you are fired!"

Joanna remained calm. She looked at Kris and suddenly smiled. "Mr. Devine," she said, "Are you going to fire me because I didn't give you that document?"

Mike: "Of course. The company lost 30 million dollars because of your negligence. What choice do I have?"

Joanna: "I understand. If I can prove that I am innocent, though, you won't fire me, will you?"

Mike was shocked when he heard her words. Could it be that she has a backup plan? – he wondered. "Of course, if you were innocent, I wouldn't fire you. But how would you prove it?" Mike scoffed. He didn't believe that she could prove her innocence.

Joanna: "Mr. Devine, at first, I found it a bit weird that you didn't receive the document I asked Kris to give you. I quickly realized, though, that Kris must have made a mistake and forgot to give you the document. Because she doesn't want to lose her job, she is trying to put the blame on me! Either that or she is scheming to get me fired."

Upon hearing this, Kris began to panic. Her hands began to shake visibly, and people began to look at her suspiciously. Things were definitely not going according to plan. Her mind began to race, and it suddenly occurred to her that she knew where the documents were. They are on my desk! – she realized – Oh. My. God. I'm f****d!

The contract had been among the documents that Joanna had given her that morning to send out to the various departments. Kris had put them on her desk to deal with them once Joanna was fired. Not once had she suspected that Joanna had discovered the trap she'd set and turned the tables on her.

Joanna smiled and said, "If she is innocent, let's check her office, the same way my office was checked."

Kris's face turned white. She felt so stupid. She turned to Mike and said, "Mr. Divine, am I a suspect now?"

Mike frowned and said, "It seems that you are."

Kris crossed her arms defiantly below her breasts and said, "Fine. If Ms. Devine wants to search my desk, then I won't stand in her way. I didn't do anything wrong, so I have nothing to hide."

Joanna smiled and nodded, and then she strode out of her office. She went straight to Kris's desk, and everyone followed her to see if anything would be found.

There were many documents on Kris's desk. Of course, Joanna knew where the document was, but she had to do as Molly had done, and pretend to be searching. Unlike Molly, though, she read each document carefully before setting it aside. Everyone watched her nervously, and after about ten minutes, she finally found the papers that Kris had planted in her drawer.

Joanna looked at the people around her, with a face void of emotion. She calmly selected the document. She laid it out for her coworkers to see, and they were shocked, as were Mike and Molly. Kris was the only person who appeared unsurprised.