Chapter 9: A Good Life

Meanwhile, in Feldstein Associates' office building, Talia leaned back on the chair, rubbing her forehead. All the files have been returned with no work left to them, and she knew for sure Aberration would never mess with this firm again. But must she leave here? Will she bring bad luck wherever she goes? Should she just disappear or plainly... give up? With various thoughts clouding her brain, she felt extremely weak. It is hard for her to concentrate for long because of her medications, and pushing through this made her feel fatigued. "How did you do it, Talia?" Joe entered, checking his phone, as Rebecca checked the system one more time to see all the files recovered properly. Tali, who didn’t even realise Rebecca’s presence, frowned. It is not good to be this vulnerable and absent. "I told you Tallie is better at hacking than I. It’s just she doesn’t like to do it..." Rebecca, the ever-proud friend she is, started singing praises of Talia. "I know, I know, sweetheart. Your friend is the best," Joe, with a chuckle, shook his head. These two, who were roommates in University, are thick as thieves, and his wife is always a mother bear when it comes to her friend Talia. "What I meant was the issues with Peter Campbell. I was waiting for a call from my father reprimanding me. Ly asked me to represent him well, but... I’m... " "I sent this to your father. He will never reprimand you, but you might receive appreciation." Talia picked up her phone and scrolled through the files while continuing. "Your father wanted his choice of a candidate to run for Congress in this district, but the party heads preferred Campbell, possibly because of his connection with the Cray family, who are big donors. Your father had to agree. And in the end, your father got what he wanted. I expect his protégé, Trevor Svenso, will be announced as a candidate soon. " Talia spo, kept fixing her messy hair, and picked up her purse to leave. "I thought my father was friends with the Campbells..." Joe's mum, bled and all, Talia cold, so was smiled mockingly. He is a politician. What good are friendships for a politician? She has seen all kinds of people growing up, and politicians are the most disingenuous ones of all. Joe watched the video Talia sent that was the security footage from the pub that clearly showed how Peter approached the two of them and by his demeanour it seemed like he was already drunk and he groped Stacy’s chest, saying something and that’s when Talia stepped in and said something but Peter raised his hand to punch her while a man in blue suit interfered and Peter threw a punch at that man’s face which the man dodged skillfully and was joined by that blue suit wearing man’s friends and it soon turned... Not so well for Peter till the bouncers appeared and soon, the ambulance. " I acquired the video and immediately sent it to your father, knowing Senator Campbell will first contact him. And as I expected, Senator Campbell didn’t even file a report, fearing his son’s future would be spoiled with this evidence. I bet he’d soon approach Stacy and me for compensation and signing NDAs... " " Well, that’s unfortunate... "Joe smiled slyly. He never liked Peter anyway, and he never wanted to have him as a client. He has been in trouble as long as he can remember. And no one can hurt his employees. But he was a little sad that he lost good money too. But he can survive. " Wait... Will it hurt our firm?" he asked. Peter was there to sign a contract, and his employees were the ones who were supposed to handle him. he had hurt his credibility, if he ever had one. And their firm needed connections the most and couldn’t have enemies or displeased parties. In this video, it seemed like Talia escalated the tensions. Even though that scum touched Stacy inappropriately, she should have dealt with it differently by calling the police. It is not going to be a good PR for a PR firm. "Here... A blog by the political blogger MistyFlower that was deleted by her just minutes after posting." Talia sent an archived file. Nothing gets deleted on the Internet. Joe read that and his lips curved up. That was a piece with a pretty long title, SENATOR CAMPBELL’S SON CAUGHT SHOUTING RACIAL SLURS AT A WOMAN AND S*XUALLY ASSAULTING HER IN A PUB!!! GUESS THEY ARE NOT THE PARTY THAT RESPECTS WOMEN!!! There were a couple of videos shot from other angles by camera phones and three eyewitnesses who heard what he said, and the dramatic and eloquent description of the incident by that blogger. She also added that the woman in question was too shocked to answer her questions and left crying without saying anything.g and she went on about the various assault cases perpetrated by those who are rich and powerful, where the pitiful women are too scared to speak, fearing retribution. Rebec, CA, who peeked ed her husband's phone, laughed hard. "Deleted? Isn’t MistyFlower usually writing in favor of the other party? Why did she delete such a juicy scoop?" Talia looked at her friend and shrugged. What else? Money - most likely. Threats and coercion - also likely. If this news gets out, not only would it smear Senator Campbell but also his entire party. Sexual harassment allegations destroy politicians entirely, and combined with racial attacks... They are doomed and would not recover. And so those who are in power will sweep this under the rug. And who knows how many people were silenced like MistyFlower was silenced in this one issue alone? There were many people with cameras, and that pub is a known gathering place for journalists. And poor Peter Campbel, who was beaten to a pulp, can never retaliate. Who is he without his father? And who is his father without the backing of his party? Nothing! And then Talia’s thoughts wandered. If those politicians are scum, what does that make her? She cringed. But it pays well, and she could live a good life with the money. She who was raised as a princess has grown used to certain luxuries, and they are not easy to give up... She is born to live a certain way! "Well, then... I’ll... Wait, Joe! Where is my promotion?" Talia raised her eyebrows and asked, holding out her hand. Of course, she’ll get some shush money from the Campbell’s and if she negotiated, she could get a bit more, especially for Stacy, who comes from a middle-class family, and it would help her with her student loans, but she wanted some more money from Joe, too. Of course, Talia, who had vowed to care for no one, obviously cared for her friends and her assistant, but if asked, she’d never agree to it and would find some absurd excuse for her acting the way she acted to save the firm and her friend. "Promotion?"Joe slapped her back." You've already teased the COO! I’m the CEO for namesake because of my investments in this firm, and you take care of the administrative tasks! You sit on the CEO chair more than I do, and now you want promotion? Should I change our firm’s structure like one of those with Co-CEOs? " he smiled mockingly. Talia just rolled her eyes while Rebecca silently chuckled. Her friend earned money. " Well, good that you remember that I’m the COO and not a manager to sign contracts with clients... You saw how my first attempt at signing went and let it be the last. I really am not suitable to deal with people... Leave me with those documents and data. That’s the deal with us: you deal with people, and I with those "boring" administration procedures. Since you broke your side of the deal, give me a raise, " Talia poked his chest with her purse, and he slapped her hand off. " No raise. You lost a potential client. I should be... " " Firing me? "Talia grinned, and her eyes looked malicious, making Joe tremble. " Please don’t quit, Talia dear! You were the one who helped get this firm to what it is now. It won’t function without you... " " Ah, drama queen! "Rebecca slapped her husband’s shoulder, and he frowned. " Don’t disturb me for two more days! " Talia said in a firm tone and left the office. Joe might say she is responsible for this firm’s success, but he has an qual part. Their firm’s clients were mostly the higher echelons of society and Joe... He is a charmer to say the least. His smile and his mannerisms exude a charm that would bind men and women alike, and his father’s name is also a bonus. The firm almost hit bottom with him ending up a drug addict after he was in an accident that killed his sister. He was drunk driving, and he ended up blaming himself and destroying himself with drugs. But at the right time, he met Rebecca, who helped him climb out of that abyss. Both of them joined the company at the same time, and while Talia cared for improving the company, Rebecca helped the boss. He is not a bad person to have as a boss. And the firm is a good place to work. Their firm mostly contained females in higher positions since they were the ones who didn’t leave the company when it was in trouble, and J is paying them well. Talia, for now, had no intention to leave this company as she was content. Seeing her leave, Rebecca’s smile faded. "She should be off her medications. Why is she still taking them?" she mumbled. She knew those antidepressants had addictive tendencies. "Becky... Father wants us for dinner. He seems happy," Joe said, wrapping his arms around Rebecca’s shoulder and kissing her hair. "Yeah, good," she said absent-mindedly. "Talia... How did she predict everything so perfectly?" he asked, amused. "She always knows where the cameras and the exits are. She is surprisingly observant. Maybe she knew there were journalists, and that's why she escalatedSheee was smart to get the surveillance video just in case. And your father... He is a politician. It is imperative he only cares for himself," Rebecca said, hugging his waist. " Hmm... But did you see these men... Don’t they seem more well-trained to be besuit-wearing office workers? See how they dodge and punch. They are trained," he said as he watched the surveillance footage. " Maybe they ARE her bodyguards, and those stories were taken down because they didn’t want her face on the Internet. Maybe she is some Princess or a pampered daughter of an international criminal... Who knows..?" Rebecca pecked Joe on the lips, and he deepened the kiss. The air filled with ambiguity. At that time, a knock was heard and Rebecca frowned. She knew who it was. It should be that Rachel is trying to garner Joe’s sympathy, seeing that no one helped her boyfriend. B*tch! "I’m sorry," Joe ruffled Rebecca’s hair. Fixing her clothes, she left the room, glaring at Rachel on the way.