Chapter 44: Sugar Daddy

"Then you’ve probably been deceived by your own daughter," Jude replied. "I don’t recall interacting with anyone named Vanessa Sterling from my time studying in Cambridge."

Jude actually remembered the girl, but their relationship could hardly be called close in any sense of the word...

However, he hadn’t known that Vanessa Sterling would actually blatantly lie to Chairman Sterling just to elevate her own status.

"Now, shall we discuss exactly why Chairman Sterling brought so many senior executives here to this specific alcove? What did you realistically hope to accomplish?"

Jude glanced coldly over Chairman Sterling and the large group of executives standing nervously behind him.

Though Jude wore a faint smile, it sent an immediate chill down the spine of every man present.

"A misunderstanding, Mr. Lawson! It’s all a massive misunderstanding! We just came over... to say a polite hello to Ms. Harper," Chairman Sterling stammered.

"We just heard from Cassandra that Ms. Harper is your primary executive, Mr. Lawson, so we came over to familiarize ourselves with her. We wanted to formally avoid any accidental offenses in the future... wouldn’t want to step on our own industry partners, after all!" another CEO chimed in, trying to save face.

"So you came over here to say hello to me?" Harper asked from her chair, swirling her champagne. "Is forcing someone to publicly apologize to a mistress your standard way of greeting people in the media sector? How... unique."

"Yes! An apology!" Chairman Sterling latched onto the word like a lifeline. "Cassandra! Get over here and apologize to Ms. Harper right this instant!"

Harper sat on the sofa, watching Cassandra with a sharp smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

"Ms. Cassandra, you don’t look very well at all. Are you unhappy with this arrangement?" Harper asked.

"Not at all! Ms. Harper, my apologies," Cassandra muttered, looking down at the carpet.

"What was that? Your voice is far too quiet, I can’t hear you over the music."

"My apologies, Ms. Harper!"

Cassandra raised her voice, but her made-up expression was still full of burning resentment.

"I just had Ghost call Mrs. Sterling," Harper said, taking a sip of her champagne. "Ms. Cassandra, what do you think of this little present?"

Harper’s statement made Chairman Sterling immediately break out in a sweat.

"Ms. Harper, you..."

Chairman Sterling wanted to accuse Harper of fighting dirty, but he had just started to speak when a warning look from Jude Lawson stopped him dead in his tracks.

"If there’s nothing else to discuss, you may all leave my alcove," Jude ordered.

No matter how deeply resentful Chairman Sterling and Cassandra were in that moment, they had no choice but to drop it and retreat.

Although the other executives were incredibly eager to see what would happen next, Jude Lawson had explicitly spoken, so they couldn’t very well keep lingering around the VIP area.

One by one, they quickly made their nervous excuses and scattered back into the ballroom...

Once everyone was finally gone, Harper set her champagne down and looked up at Jude and the advisors. "So, what were your results in the VIP lounge?"

Jude shook his head slightly, unbuttoning his suit jacket and sitting down. "It’s not decided yet. We might have to wait another two days."

"I thought with all four of you going in to negotiate, one of you would have been able to confidently land it," Harper said, slightly surprised.

"Talented founders always have more options on the table," Jude replied calmly.

...

Twenty minutes after receiving a brief phone call and a series of photos from Ghost proving her husband’s blatant infidelity, Chairman Sterling’s wife stormed into the grand ballroom.

When Chairman Sterling and Cassandra saw Mrs. Sterling marching past the ice sculptures, the very look of panic in their eyes betrayed their deeply guilty consciences.

Meanwhile, Harper was gleefully watching the spectacular show from the sidelines of the alcove.

"Harper, you did significantly more than just have Ghost make a phone call, didn’t you?" Director Vance noted, chuckling softly.

"Hmm... I think there were probably... some surveillance photos attached, too? I’m very thorough with my corporate communications, after all," Harper smiled innocently.

Director Vance stealthily gave Harper a thumbs-up from his chair.

"This year’s media conference is certainly incredibly lively," another advisor noted.

The advisor picked up a piece of expensive melon from the catering table and took a bite with great, highly amused relish.

Director Vance toyed with the expensive watch on his wrist, his expression also full of deep meaning.

Jude Lawson peeled a seedless grape and handed it to Harper.

"Sterling! How dare you cheat on me behind my back?!"

Mrs. Sterling, holding a stack of glossy photos she’d had rush-printed at the hotel’s business center, threw them right at Chairman Sterling’s chest, sending them scattering all across the ballroom floor.

"Whoa! It looks like there’s more than one woman in these photos!"

A nosy media executive glanced down at the glossy photos on the floor, and sure enough, someone had instantly discovered the real, devastating gist of the leak.

"And you! You shameless, pathetic hussy!" Mrs. Sterling screamed, turning her wrath on Cassandra. "Of all the wealthy people to blindly seduce, you specifically go after a married man! Are you that desperate for a sugar daddy that you’ll even eat someone else’s leftovers?!"

*PFFT!*

Mrs. Sterling’s scathing words were quite funny to the corporate crowd, and many prominent executives couldn’t hold in their sudden bursts of laughter.

Cassandra’s face was a sickly color.

She didn’t verbally refute a single one of Mrs. Sterling’s screaming accusations; she just stood there paralyzed with her head lowered.

Anyone who didn’t know the absolute truth might have thought Mrs. Sterling was the one unfairly bullying her.

"Honey, please, this is a misunderstanding! Let’s talk about it at home," Chairman Sterling begged, sweating profusely. "Do you really want everyone here in the industry to laugh at our family’s expense?"

Chairman Sterling was drowning in crushing regret.

He never should have brought Cassandra tonight...

If he hadn’t arrogantly brought her, he wouldn’t have offended Harper.

If he hadn’t offended Harper, none of this digital surveillance would have ever come to light!

"A misunderstanding?! With all these crystal-clear photos right here on the floor, you’re actually telling me it’s a misunderstanding?!" Mrs. Sterling roared.

"A misunderstanding that you had your hands around those junior employees’ waists?! A misunderstanding that you were kissing them in the elevators?! Or a misunderstanding that you were embracing in public?!"

"Sterling! Everything you have right now, you have because my family’s trust fund supported you! Believe it or not, the exact same way I made you a corporate success, I can grind you right back into the dirt!"

*Wow. I never would have guessed there was this kind of juicy gossip between Chairman Sterling and his wife,* Harper thought.

Harper sat in her seat, listening with great, interest as the Sterling Media empire began to publicly implode.

"Aren’t you going to do something about her?"

Director Vance leaned over and looked at Jude Lawson.