Chapter 26: Mike VS Joanna
1089 Words
When the clock struck noon, Joanna called Olivia and said, "Olivia, how's everything going?"
"It's all good," Olivia replied. "I got everything we need."
Joanna: "Good. You can go to the police station now and report the crime."
***
At two o'clock that afternoon, the news went viral: Eric Holland, from Blan Real Estate, had been detained by police on charges rape. Furthermore, he was being questioned about the whereabouts of his victim. The word "Homicide" was being thrown around. And all of the businesses connected to Blan Real Estate began to panic.
***
Joanna browsed the news on the Internet and smiled. She had deleted the video that she'd shown Mr. Holland, but it wasn't the only evidence she had. Even without the video, she had enough evidence to put him into jail for a long time.
Joanna was closing her internet browser when Mike rushed into her office. He gave her a suspicious look and asked, "Did you have something to do with this?"
Joanna looked up innocently and said, "Did what?"
"Did what!" Mike scoffed. "Don't play dumb with me. Yesterday, you met with Mr. Holland, and today he is being charged with rape. Are you trying to tell me that the two events aren't connected?"
"They aren't," Joanna calmly replied. "And if Mr. Holland is a rapist, shouldn't he be in jail?"
Mike's face turned red with rage, and he clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides. There was no way that he could argue with what Joanna had said and still claim the moral high ground, but it seemed like she had known how this scandal might affect them. And her self-righteous attitude made him want to tear his hair out. "Don't you realize that if our partnership agreement with Blan Real Estate goes viral, we could be in real trouble?"
Joanna frowned and said, "This is bogus. Why are you angry with me? I didn't know about Mr. Holland's crimes until you told me about them. Yesterday, you were the one that sent me to meet him, so if you need to blame someone, blame yourself!"
Mike seemed not to hear what she'd said. "Mr. Holland was arrested!" he roared. "And our company stands to lose tens of millions of dollars because of our partnership with him. It was you who signed the contract with him, so it is you that will take the blame!"
Joanna sighed and said, "You are making more of this than you need to. You are making a mountain out of a molehill. So far, no connections have been made between him and us, and we haven't lost a dime. Think about that, and then if there are repercussions, be a man and take responsibility for the role you played. You sent me to Blan Real Estate yesterday. You did that!"
Mike hadn't expected that Joanna would stand up for herself, and it made him angrier than ever. "All that matters is whose signature is on the contract," he argued. "The blame is yours!"
"Whatever." Joanna shrugged. "Now what?"
Mike laughed. He said, "It should be obvious; now you pack up and get out!"
Mike's outburst amused joanna, and she began to laugh. "It was the president who hired me," she said. "If you want to dismiss me, you have to go through him."
"Do you think the president will save you?" Mike scoffed. "Today, the president didn't come into work because of bad health, but do you really think you can put off the inevitable? If h were here, he would see things as clearly as I do!"
In truth, Joanna had no idea whose side Robin would take. More than likely, he would take Mike's side, but she didn't want to walk away from her job without being given the opportunity to argue her case. "If you are going to fire me," she said, "you should make sure you follow the proper procedures. You know how popular I am here. If the other employees think you've mistreated me, what do you think that will do to your reputation?"
Mike was struck dumb for a moment. His reputation did mean the world to him. He took a deep breath and asked, "Why are you provoking me?"
Joanna shook her head and said, "I am not deliberately provoking you, but I am standing up for myself."
Mike: "Don't you realize that I hold your fate in my hands?"
Joanna: "Of course. You can do whatever you want, but are you sure that you want to be the one who dismisses me?"
Mike frowned and asked, "What do you want?"
"The senior statesmen of the company seem to be available today," Joanna said. The implications of her words were clear, and she didn't need to say anything more. Mike understood what she meant. Devine's senior statesmen were among the few people, other than the president, that had more authority than he did. And now that Joanna was more popular than he was, he had good reason to be worried.
"Are you sure about this?" Mike asked. Even as he asked the question, he began to panic. If things went wrong when they faced the senior statesmen, he could be in a heap load of trouble.
Joanna nodded and said, "I'm sure. Let's do it. If the senior statesmen of the company want to blame me, then so be it."
Mike frowned when he saw how calm Joanna was.
***
In the conference room - Joanna and Mike sat across from the senior statesmen, and Molly sat next to Joanna. They all knew why they were there. Once everyone was settled, Molly stood up and faced the statesmen to lay out the facts for them. She said, "Yesterday afternoon, the vice general manager, at the request of the general manager, signed an agreement with Eric Holland from Blan Real Estate. Today Eric Holland arrested on rape charges. The concern is that Devine's will get sucked into the scandal and lose millions. In response to this situation, the general manager has proposed that the vice general manager's employment be terminated."
Joanna couldn't help but roll her eyes. In her opinion, this trial was a farce.
After Molly finished speaking, the senior statesmen began to discuss the matter between them. Some of them agreed with Mike. Some didn't. Overall, though, most did.
Joanna could see what was going on. She was being railroaded, but she remained calm, and this seemed to bother Mike. What is she up to? – he wondered.
- Writer
