Chapter 3 Coming In For You
As much as Viola didn't want to come back here, she had no other choice. She looked around the room quietly, and saw her reporter ID on the massive bed. Viola heaved a sigh of relief.
God knew how panicked she felt when she realized it was missing. There was only one place where she could have left it that day, and it was a miracle that it was still there. After grabbing her ID, she turned to leave as quickly as possible.
She had just taken two steps when an alarm suddenly rang loudly. It was so loud that Viola jumped from fright.
Over a dozen bodyguards, all in black suits, swarmed inside the suite.
With nowhere else to go, Viola had her back to the window.
"Wait! Don't come any closer!" she shouted.
Just then, Maynard appeared. The bodyguards respectfully stood up straight and made way for him.
"I advise you to give up right now. There's nowhere to run," Maynard said indifferently.
With her teeth clenched, Viola realized that she had been like a careless fish who took the bait Maynard had thrown.
Her face turned red from anger. "You bastard!" she shouted, and quickly turned to climb out the window.
"Arrest her!" Maynard ordered with a wave of his hand.
The room was on the second floor, and each floor was more than three meters tall. Although the two floors together were not exceptionally high, it was enough for a person jumping from the second floor to get injured. Because of this, Maynard was confident that Viola wouldn't have the guts to jump down.
Viola hesitated for a second on the window ledge. Her legs trembled as she looked down at the ground below.
However, she thought about what would happen if they managed to catch her, and how that would be so much worse. Gritting her teeth and shutting her eyes tight, she jumped out.
Viola fell heavily on the green lawn, rolling over a couple of times before feeling the sharp pain on her left foot.
With great effort, she limped towards the road. Luckily, a couple nearby had just gotten off a taxi.
Viola's eyes lit up, and without a moment's hesitation, hopped inside the car. After telling the address of the magazine office, the taxi was soon driving down the road. When the bodyguards finally arrived at the scene, she was already too far away.
They could now only see the clouds of smoke the taxi belched out.
As soon as Viola got back to the office, a colleague of hers approached her. "The chief wants to see you." With a grunt, she limped into the chief editor's office.
Stephanie Zhang leaned over the glass table, staring down at Viola. She had a pair of black framed glasses, and a thick layer of makeup painted on her face.
"What the hell are you doing, Viola? You didn't get an interview with Maynard and you even had the audacity to leave work!" The editor in chief pounded her fist on the table with a loud bang. "Chief, please listen to me first. I had some troubles..." Viola said as she laughed nervously.
"And what exactly were those troubles?" Stephanie gave a loud sigh. "Did you get any information about Maynard? Anything at all?" she continued, massaging her temples with her hands. "I have specifically given you this task so that you could prove your skills. But what have you done? You've let me down, Viola!"
Viola lowered her head and pretended to be distraught.
In truth, she just rolled her eyes in secret.
Maynard was the CEO of the Chu Group, the leading group in Y Country, whose industries were all over the world. They practically owned the economy in this country.
All that aside, Maynard Chu was not only rich, but also incredibly handsome.
Maynard was also the prince of X Country, making him the first in line to the throne. This added a whole different layer to his already interesting profile.
It was understandable that many girls sought him out. However, he was cold and indifferent to others. He was infamous for not giving face to anyone and rejected every single interview he was offered. The task given to Viola was definitely a hard bone to chew on. 'Was Stephanie really confident that I could pull this off?'
"Chief editor, I was wrong. Please forgive me this time," Viola still said, although she already had doubts about Stephanie's intentions.
"I expected nothing more from you. I'll have to lower your salary," Stephanie Zhang said flatly as she pushed up her glasses.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, chief," Viola said, laughing bitterly. "I'm sure I'll be able to repay your kindness."
"Viola, I'm not being cruel just for the fun of it. Until you have some juicy information, there's nothing I can do but deduct your salary. I'm trying to push you! You have a great potential in this magazine." The editor in chief sat down and stretched out her hand, admiring her newly manicured nails.
Upon hearing what Stephanie said, Viola swallowed her anger and obediently nodded her head. "I know. You have a lot of other things to deal with every day, and I've caused nothing but trouble. It's all my fault. But, please give me a chance to make amends for my previous mistakes," Viola said with a forced smile.
Give her a chance to make her pay back!
Just when Stephanie was about to brush off her request, the landline phone on her table rang. Stephanie suddenly had a sweet smile on her lips.
Viola clenched her teeth and decided to shut her mouth for the time being. Her hands were balled up to fists at her side.
"Hello, this is Star Magazine. This is Stephanie Zhang speaking. Who is on the line?"
As Stephanie Zhang busily talked on the phone, Viola saw how she smiled and laughed. 'Tch! Just a moment ago she looked like a brutal witch!' After hanging up, Stephanie Zhang's laugh trailed off.
Her eyes surveyed Viola from head to toe. Viola started to feel her palms getting sweaty.
"So... why didn't you tell me you got an interview with President Maynard Chu?" Stephanie Zhang asked, her eyes filled with admiration and jealousy.
"Pardon?" Viola was totally confused.
"You usually look quiet. I didn't expect you to be so capable. Just now, President Chu called and said that you did a good job at the interview. He permitted you to go on with your work and do a follow-up interview," Stephanie Zhang said, her tone much warmer than it was a few moments ago.
'W...what?!
Did I really just hear that correctly?' At that moment, Viola felt like the room was spinning around her.