Miss Josefina: Nobody's Princess

Before Josefina even set foot back at the office, Kale's call buzzed through her phone. "Ms. Josefina, you need to check social media, Ruby's really done it now. Talk about shooting herself in the foot. She's such a blockhead."

Josefina ended the call with a frown and quickly pulled up her social media feed. There it was, in bold, scandalous letters: "Antonio Corporation Scam."

With a tap, the whole sorry tale unfolded before her.

Ruby had pulled a fast one, passing off machine-made damask as the handwoven kind, and had the nerve to charge the high-end price that came with artisanal goods.

Customers, realizing they'd been duped once their orders arrived and after a quick expert consultation, were up in arms at being swindled by Antonio Corporation.

The backlash was swift and fierce. Angry comments flooded the company's social media page, and disgruntled customers even blockaded the corporation's headquarters, all chanting for their money back. And Ruby? She was pacing like a cat on a hot tin roof.

The woman sitting next to her was livid, her face the color of storm clouds as she spat out, "Ruby, I warned you not to mistake your own foolishness for other people's naivety. In this day and age, you still got the nerve to use such shameless tactics to cheat customers and tarnish our brand? Unbelievable."

How could Ruby, with her harebrained schemes, ever hope to outdo Josefina? The woman's gaze was venomous, filled with rage as she glared at Ruby.

Ruby, feeling chastised and on edge, wanted to retaliate but the woman's glare had her feeling guilty as sin. "Erica, I thought no one would catch on, that's why I did it. It's all my fault, what do we do now?" Erica couldn't even bear to look at Ruby, fearing she might just explode and crack open Ruby's skull to see if there was anything inside but mush. Erica thought, which brain cell had Ruby used to concoct this fiasco?

Erica's anger was palpable as she paced the room, her high heels clicking ominously with every step, sending shivers down Ruby's spine.

Ruby could sense the gravity of the mess she was in, yet she wanted to dodge the bullet, desperate for a scapegoat. She blocked Erica's path, a desperate plea in her eyes. "Erica, let's find someone to pin this on. I can't let people find out it was me. If this gets out, how can I compete?"

Erica shot back, "You realize now that you shouldn't have done it? If you had thought this through, would we be in this mess?"

Ruby was silent, clueless on how to fix the situation, and frankly, terrified. "Erica, please help me," she begged, gripping Erica's arm with puppy-dog eyes.

Erica mulled over their options, then pulled out her phone and started messaging, ignoring Ruby's plea.

Ruby stood aside, knowing better than to speak.

That's when Billy stormed in, his anger thundering through the slammed door, startling both Ruby and Erica.

"Ruby, Erica, what the hell happened here? How did our signature handwoven damask turn into machine-made fabric?"

Ruby hung her head, too scared to utter a word. Billy's fury was a fearsome thing.

Erica finished her messaging, turned around with commanding presence, and said, "Mr. Antonio, we need a thorough investigation to pinpoint where things went wrong."

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Erica didn't point fingers at her, everything could be smoothed over. Clearly, Erica was on her side.

Playing along, Ruby added, "Dad, it must be a factory error. Let's not jump to conclusions. Erica and I will go check it out."

Erica nodded in agreement, "I'll take Ruby with me. We'll get to the bottom of this and ensure the company gets justice."