281 Trapped 2

Sofony had been in a bad mood for several days due to Wendy and Sofia's cases. Due to this, the whole Starlight was on edge since even though she was not raising her voice, she was making everyone do or repeat so many works. In short, everyone was having a hard time. Her usual leniency could not be found, as if it had been an illusion in the first place.

If before, she could tolerate a 3% error or deviation in the calculated results or report, now, she wouldn't. Caught neglecting any spot in the tallying or info-gathering, hah, redo from the top. Stop wasting time arguing or asking for mercy!

If before, when some complained a bit about tiredness or anything without truly meaning it, she would only turn a deaf ear or warn their superiors, now, she would directly suspend them for a month or two. Complaints? She was paying them and not even encouraging them to work overtime, how dare they complain!

The victims could only cry and blame their mouths since the punishment meant saying goodbye for a month or two of the high salary envied by many in the same industry.

To be honest, the tension in the workplace reached the point where not few wanted to hire private detectives to investigate whether her change was due to a lover's quarrel with the Albarez' heir. It was despite seeing the two always being okay with each other.

Who knows what goes behind the scenes? What if it was a lover's cold war, the hidden from public type, that caused their boss' mood to be bad and consequently made their working lives a lot difficult these days? In the brink of despair, thoughts could easily run wild.

In reality though, Sofony's employees, despite being efficient, were just spoiled compared to the employees of other companies. They only needed some time to adapt to the sudden hardcore-dungeon mode of work in Starlight.

"President we have already sent our apologies to the production team of the one Maila Asuncion is supposed to star in. However, they are demanding some compensation and a replacement for the actress from our side. Who should we send?"

Sofony didn't ask for opinions and directly dropped a name, "That Lina then. She's a top actress and she's free. Give the role to her."

"President. But the drama is not that promising. There is another one Lina is eyeing."

The woman laughed and stared at the person who just argued with her. The latter unconsciously shut up. His companion from under the same team leader cleared his throat and said, "Ahem. Mr. Liu must not be meaning to phrase it negatively. But, no worries, President. Leave it to us. We'll explain to Lina and then speak with the TV station to give their drama a better spot."

"Hmm. Good." She nodded then went back to flipping and stamping documents.

"How about Sofia's projects... We have canceled hers as you requested. But..."

He didn't know the reason why he received a glare, however, that made the team leader of the acting division closed his mouth in a panic.

Thankfully his companion, one of his prized managers, saved him by speaking to her when the silence was no longer bearable, "President, what about the Global Sports Event? I just remembered that is just right around the corner. Yet, Mr. Meyer has not been reporting to work for days. His manager also couldn't find him. What do we do if he doesn't turn up on that date?"

Watched by everyone in the large office, Sofony briefly lowered her head down, unconsciously tapping her fingers on the right armrest. She was reminded of that person's failure to do his part in the last operation so she got annoyed.

Why did he fell into a coma again? Alessa, that actor's girlfriend, said he was never at C Empire that day, to begin with. So who the heck was the person who came with them?

Arms crossed, she inwardly rolled her eyes at it. 'Hmph. Fine. The enemy is another higher-leveled system user. And I only have few guesses - Leo, the enemy from three years ago, or somebody from that Mao Leader's side.'

Good timing, she couldn't inquire about him from the system so she had to ask Chris personally... and beat him up while at it.

So with a huge smile plastered on her lovely face, she answered the manager, "I like your question, Mr. Sue. It's indeed a problem. After all, it will be hard to find a replacement at the same caliber which will not only satisfy a billion audiences, but also the organizers and sponsors. In other words, it has to be him. So how about you drag him here now so everyone's mind can be put at ease?"

'Drag who?' For a moment, the manager couldn't say anything for two reasons, he got distracted by the eerie but breathtaking smile of the woman before him... but also got speechless by her question.

Their top actor might be someone who won't make things hard for people in the industry who don't give him trouble, but when he was annoyed, not even team leaders would be able to subdue him. This woman was twenty years younger than him wanted him to seek death?

If that actor was not going to the company there must be reasons for it and if it turned out something important, and he ended up pissing that man off, being fired would be lenient. And this was no exaggeration, or due to his connection to the Silver heiress.

Chris Meyer no longer had anyone getting into his nerves on purpose due to one fact, all his enemies were driven out of the industry and were having hard times outside. The majority didn't know that the guy only did that to those annoying ones involved in something dirty.

They only saw the result which was a hundred percent tally and linked it to him. They just knew he was not someone to mess with.

"President. How about I first call his manager and ask him to visit Mr. Meyer?" As fast as lightning the tone of voice and smile on the man's face turned drastically awkward and forced. The fact that he was giving options only meant one thing - he was not up to the task.

Sofony paused her fingers in the air and placidly glanced at the middle-aged guy in a brownish suit. The voice that came out of her rosy lips was as icy as her stares.

"So my words are not clear enough? I said drag, so drag. If you can't, then find someone to do the job. And before you do, pass your office to that someone. Understand?"

The manager fearfully nodded.

After that, she turned to the others who came to report and dealt with them one by one. Her expression from beginning to end was as serene as a frozen lake in the northern region of the world. Even when she dropped an unreasonable command to the poor manager, her face and tone remained the same.

'We need to get out. Our own queen has become more or less like Amelia Morgan of the rivaling company, damn!' thought the employees as they excused themselves from the place which had the same airconditioning temperature as the rest of the building, yet still somehow felt several degrees lower.

Once outside, everyone showed a face full of misgivings. They all then swore in their hearts. Gaaah! Who the hell took away their benevolent to her people yet deadly to outsiders boss? Don't ever show their faces around Starlight or they would murder them!

...

Sofony found Chris brought to her office four hours later.

Actually the guy could have come earlier if not for being stubborn and first checking on the kid staying at the place of Alessa's bodyguards. He made things a bit difficult for the manager who came to him. But at least it was not to the point that the latter dreaded. In the first place, the people from the agency were just being excessively worried. As long as they don't cross the line, he wouldn't actually give a damn about them.

When the discussion happened between them, Sofony finally showed how bad her mood was. Her face was so dark, her secretaries who could see them from the nearby cluster of tables wondered how the hell Chris stayed calm and collected after angering her.

Without care for those secretly peering at them through the glass partition, Chris gave Sofony a disdainful glance before spatting out, "Sofony. Just to remind you. You have so many enemies now. So why did you do that? Do you know how stupid you look to me now? You revealed yourself in that broadcast. If those stronger than you inquired about the disguised woman, then you're simply doomed. Tch."

Chris clicked his tongue. The operation was simply a joke. Only the clone of the leader was the important person killed. But then it didn't mean much when the leader was still alive, together with a few of that person's core members. She even provoked the disaster from the west when not even the terrible unidentified enemy from three years ago had been dealt with. Leo Jones too was not someone they could confront even if they joined forces together. Tch.

Sofony coldly replied, "I had to do that for diversion, to distract them and concentrate their people on my end. If you haven't checked the news yet, which I doubt, the other countries won't have helped send the bomber jets to those bases without the broadcast showing those enslaved people."

'Makes sense... yet still sounds stupid.' He gave her a more disdainful glace which annoyed the woman further.

They talked more about the things that happened on both sides. Steffy was mentioned as the reason why Gio appeared at the mansion and saved them. Maila mysteriously vanished. They speculated that she was most likely taken away by Leo Jones who had swapped places with Chris that time. The Blood Countess mentioned their country had a king. But who knows who he was and why he was not showing up. Apparently, that time, the two forgot to link the mysterious doctor from three years ago to that noble term.

"Now, what are you going to do? Continue acting as if you're just a normal company leader and that all the issues here are your problems?" The man glanced at his wristwatch to check for the time. Amidst this, he added, "Don't forget that Sofia is gone and you angered that fool for not waking his girlfriend up. You can't count on Mr. Albarez all the time, he's just one man. You can't count on me too, I'm weak. In fact, I'm planning to abandon your ship, since my head is sane yet and I know that I'll be the first to die once all of them act simultaneously."

Chris said it all to her while sitting relaxedly on the sofa leaning against the wall to the right. His matter-of-fact tone annoyed Sofony. She stared at him for a fairly long time with seriousness written all over her face.

"Chris Meyer. You seem to be forgetting something too."

She had already finished the important ones needing her stamp and approval. With a mirthless smile, she pushed away the stacks of papers to the side then continued speaking,

"Even if you wash your hands clean off, in the end, those I can't easily deal with would have means to identify you as somebody related to me. Your memory seems weak these days, no? The enemies of people like us are the same as us, probably more brutal and insane."

The man indifferently replied, "A pity then, I would have to jump ship."

"Don't make me threaten you with my fiance." She snorted.

While she said this, actually the threat was already declared, rendering Chris' cold face turning colder. Her bad mood had already made the airconditioning of the room reached a freezing point, now the secretaries at the nearby glass room, who could feel the change in temperature beyond the glass wall were shivering.

Sofony noticed this and leaned her back. With eyes dark as ink, she irritatedly said, "Let's not talk in circles anymore, Chris. What the hell is your problem with me that you're purposely annoying me?"

...