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“Well you saved it on the Coyote cloud account, and once we read it, we deemed it ready for publication.”
“But... but you fired me. I don’t work for you anymore and this article is my property.”
“So, you're admitting that the article is yours?”
“No!”
“Well, Miss Tucker, at the time you were assigned to this job, you were an employee of Coyote magazine and since you saved it on our company cloud account, which only employees have access to, we have the rights to publish it if we deem the writing to be acceptable.”
I’m stumped. Max has cornered me and won once again. There’s nothing I can do about it. Maybe Shauna can do something.
“Shauna’s going to have your hide about this,” I growl.
“Shauna? Who cares? I’ll blame it all on you and then tell her that I fired you for misrepresenting the facts.”
Max has his ass covered.
“Besides what will she do? Sue me? I don’t think so. No one sues the Griswolds in this country. Their legal team is bigger than the number of employees Shauna has in her office!”
Just when I think it can’t get worse, it has. Max tied my hands, chained me to a heavy rock and has thrown me in the sea. There’s no way I can ever recover from this. More than, I’m worried for David. This will certainly ruin his reputation beyond repair. By the time Shauna issues a counter statement, this’ll be all over the gossip news websites and TV shows. Coach Miller won’t be happy about this and whatever little chance David has of playing in the final has just disappeared.
Besides, now that Max has implicated me in this, David and Shauna will never believe I’m innocent. Shauna’s always had a suspicious eye for me and this will confirm all of her fears. Even if none of this is my doing, Max is playing his game with perfect precision.
“So enjoy all the free time that you've got now and ... as for my parting words? Fuck you, Carrie,” Max says, and hangs up.
The phone slips from my hands and I sit down on the floor with a thump. Max is cunning, vicious and in one swift motion, has destroyed everything I’ve worked hard to achieve. David and his entourage will think that it was my intention all along to write such an awful piece. Not hard to believe considering I’m the one that wrote the first unflattering article featuring Ana the model.
Max will blame everything on me, if they complain. David will probably hate me. Not that it matters, because there’s nothing left between us. Yet at the same time, something is dying in me at the thought.
A few days ago I had it all and all of a sudden, there’s nothing left. No job, my ex-boss is hell bent on destroying my life and the man I love probably hates me with all his heart.
How did things change so fast?
Chapter 98
“There is gotta be something we can do!” Scott punches his palm in frustration. “Can’t we just sue them?”
“Scot
t, he’s not just Max Jefferson anymore — he is going to be one of the Griswolds. Do you really want to go up against the Griswold legal machinery? They’ll just destroy us,” Shauna replies.
“This guy has published not one, but two slanderous pieces against David and you're telling me there’s nothing we can do?”
“They have more money than they care to throw away. Max knows he is untouchable now, and that’s why he laughed at me when I called to tear him a new one.”
“You should’ve known this was coming. It's your job to keep this kinda shit under control.”
“Scott.” Shauna’s voice is stern. “Don’t tell me how to do my job. That girl was supposed to do just that. I'm still not sure what happened there… she seemed okay to me,” She grimaces.
“I knew something was off with her. First she interviewed that damn model and then all of a sudden she is coming to parties, going to practices. She invaded our inner circle, won our trust and then stabbed us all in the back.” He throws his phone on the sofa.
These people are just falling apart, I think as I sit there glumly, staring at the text message from Carrie on my phone. ‘I'm sorry for everything. Goodbye!’ is all it says. For the last hour, as Shauna and Scott try to do damage control, I’ve been trying to decipher what it means.
Sorry for what? For writing this piece? For betraying me? Shauna and Scott are making solid arguments. Scott, especially, is certain that Carrie’s a double agent, a plant by Max to get a juicy story for his failing magazine. I’m even tempted to believe them for a moment but deep inside my heart I find it very difficult to believe that Carrie would do this to me.
She doesn't seem like that kind of girl and if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s identifying an opportunist from a mile away. When we made love the other night, it was special. There’s a strong connection between us. She’s not just another girl who wants to sleep with someone famous.
“The Knights’ PR team aren’t happy,” Scott stares at their message on his phone. “We gotta fix this. Now!”
