Chapter 216 - Mole (1)
Preston and Fort Group, the following day.
When Zaria arrived, she was met with a baffling sight. There were unfamiliar men in the lobby and although they had employee badges on their chests, they didn't look like any of the recently hired employees.
She looked around and tried to keep her calm before she entered the elevator. If her eyes were not playing tricks, one of the unfamiliar employees was a man she had seen before, when she was still a journalist. Something wasn't right.
When the elevator doors opened, she caught sight of Liam heading for Desmond's office.
"Hey, Liam!" She waved a hand and called after him, hurrying to catch up.
"Hey." He turned to smile at her but turned around after a second, which baffled her. Why was he acting strange?
"Did the company hire new employees?" She asked.
He was about to answer her when another elevator dinged, so he made something up. "They are already employees of Preston and Fort Group, and have been transferred in from the British branch.
"Okay." She knew he was bullshitting but didn't call him out on it. "I'll let Desmond brief me."
She walked past him and stopped when she caught the look on his face from the corner of her eye.
"What happened to your face?" She asked, finally understanding why he was hiding it.
"Nothing. I bumped into the wall." He cursed inwardly.
She turned, looking him up and down skeptically. "That's so brutal of her. I mean, the wall. You didn't try to do anything inappropriate to her, did you?" She was merely teasing him, but the thought of something inappropriate suddenly reminded her of his conflict with Ximena.
Bloodlust filled her eyes. "It was Ximena, wasn't it?"
He once again cursed the fact that she was so smart. Actually, it didn't require brains to guess that Ximena was behind such a violent act. Everyone knew that she was a devil. And since Zaria had already figured it out, there was no use hiding it, especially since he knew that she would tell her about it even if he bluffed.
Instead, he grabbed the chance to seek some ideas from the woman who understood Ximena best.
"This is not the best place to discuss it." He glanced at the elevators.
"Not the best time either, I have a meeting in half an hour." She glanced at her wrist even though she didn't own a watch.
"Then I'll give you the short version. I can't handle waiting until evening." He moved closer and dipped his head to briefly explain his encounter with Ximena, leaving out the explicit parts.
He thought she would tell him what to do but when she glared daggers at him, he froze.
"I didn't do anything wrong, I swear. She is the one who kicked me out after slapping me." He vowed.
She was not having any of it.
"Liam Preston, I warned you. Do you remember what I said would happen to your balls if you made her sad?"
"I didn't make her sad. At least not deliberately… I'm trying to figure it out too, so I know what to do. Jeez! Can you not bring up my balls in this conversation?" He had goosebumps from how fast she had morphed into a devil.
Luckily, Zeus came to his rescue by leaving Desmond's office.
"Hey there, Mr. Preston." He greeted, with the most sarcastic tone.
It was a mystery what Zeus had against him but he would always act like he owed him a billion bucks. Nonetheless, Liam wouldn't say no to being saved even if it was by a hateful employee.
"Good morning, princess." He greeted Zaria, when he realized that Liam had no intention of returning his greeting.
"Good morning." Zaria offered a smile and walked away, but Liam was going in the same direction as her.
"He is too friendly to you. Are you sure he doesn't have feelings for you? He also calls you princess at every turn." He threw Zeus under the bus just to keep Zaria from thinking back to the topic regarding Ximena.
She turned with a slight chuckle. "Of course he loves me. He is my brother."
Liam was speechless. To think he would forget such a thing.
…
Desmond gave the same explanation that Liam did, so the other employees would not get nervous.
He explained the situation to Zaria in his office.
"Does mother know?" She asked when he told her the details.
"She doesn't yet. I was thinking of not telling…"
"She is the COO of Preston and Fort Group. She deserves to know what's happening in her company." She cut him off.
"I know. But she is still a suspect." He leaned back in his chair. "I don't have any reason to suspect her, if that's what you think I mean. I just want to keep this information between the three of us. It's safer that way. Everyone is a suspect until the culprit is caught."
She assessed his and Liam's words and sighed. "Everyone's a suspect, and that should include Liam and I. It should also include you, because who knows? It's not impossible for you to use the information from the company you own with your friend to create your own empire. Oh, and I could potentially still have desire for vengeance. Yet, you told Liam and me. You suspect my mother, don't you?"
He took a deep breath. "Not her, but the Su family which she is part of."
She narrowed her eyes but shrugged it off. "I had no idea that there was a mole but I know that there is a suspicious employee in the company. I've been monitoring him."
"Him? Wait. You didn't tell me?" He probed.
She nodded. "The walls have ears, Mr. Fort. Now if you'll excuse me, my boss needs me." She stood.
He grabbed her before she could realize that he had left his seat.
"What now?" She asked, almost snapping.
"You have been distant. Did I do something wrong?" He circled his arms around her.
"No." She pulled away and left.
She couldn't say it was his fault. Lucy had given the Fort family every reason not to trust her in the past. In the present, she was the leader of a syndicate and the daughter of an insane family who would do anything to get what they wanted. It was normal that she would be a prime suspect, but that didn't mean it didn't make her sad.
She considered telling Lucy about the mole but chose not to. They were going to inspect The Regal Hotel, so she picked up her files from her office and joined Lucy in her car.
"Honey, are you alright?" Lucy asked, touching the latter's forehead to check for a fever.
"I'm fine." She forced a smile.
"That's not true. I spoke for a while and you didn't hear a word of what I said." Lucy tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "If this is about the mole, don't worry. I have a lead."
She didn't even need to ask how Lucy knew about the mole situation. If she wanted to find something out, it would be a walk in the park—which was exactly why she ruled her out as a suspect.
"I'm certain that it's the Su family." She spoke.
Lucy didn't look shocked but she was curious. "How did you come to that conclusion?"
"Have you forgotten what they did before? They would endanger the life of an innocent woman and a four year old just to get dad in trouble. Oh, and mine too.
If making Preston and Fort Group crumble will devastate me, I wouldn't put it past them to do such a thing."
Lucy couldn't deny any of it and she was ashamed. She took her daughter's hand. "I promise, I will not let Nathaniel or any of his underlings hurt you."
"That's your father." She laughed.
"And your grandfather, but you call him Mr. Su." She huffed, and they both cringed. Being related to him felt like a jinx.
By the time they arrived, Zaria was feeling slightly better, and she realized that she had snapped at her boyfriend for merely breathing. She should apologize to him. What was wrong with her lately? She was more irritable than usual and would go off at the slightest provocation.
"Come on, let's go.." Lucy exited the car first and waved her over.
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