208 Revealing the Culpri

30 minutes later.

A row of upturned glasses was in front of Liz, and she was slumped forward on the table, her hand rolling one of the glasses to and fro while she stared at it.

The man in front of her had a very uncomfortable expression on his face, as if he wanted to leave, but couldn't.

Just like he had tried 10 minutes ago, he slowly raised himself up in the hopes that the crazy woman in front of him wouldn't notice.

However, her sharp voice made him immediately sit his ass down and chug another glass of the whiskey in front of him.

"Alphonso left me, now even you want to leave? This isn't fair! I feel like shouting that you've been very unfair to me! I don't care if the police hear, either! You don't even think I'm someone worthy to drink with!"

Yes, this was exactly what the woman had said before, too, albeit with different phrasing.

The man knew just how much public image mattered to someone in his position, and his image was already quite bad because of his history of drinking that he had tried to hide unsuccessfully.

So, when he heard her say stuff like this, he promptly sat down.

After all, a woman saying statements like these, taken without context, would definitely make the headlines.

He couldn't risk that.

Of course, Liz knew this, so when she saw him drink again, she smiled secretly.

Everything was going perfectly.

"Waiterrr! Another bottle of whiskey for him, and vodka for me!"

She was not someone who drank frequently, but she had a surprisingly strong appetite when it came to alcohol. Thankfully, that was not the case with the man opposite her.

Her whole plan had been to stage this in such a way that she was just a poor, hurt woman who had been stood up by her 'boyfriend'.

This continued for another 20 minutes, and by then, the man had gotten completely tipsy.

His words were slurring, and his inhibitions had been placed to the side.

"Lady, y-you're verrrry pretty…why don't you be with me?"

That was the sign she was waiting for. Although she was quite drunk too, she had taken care to drink much less than him, which allowed her to keep a sane head.

Acting very drunk, Liz said, "Why not! But first, I wanna know more about you! Tell me…I'm free for the night anyway…|Hiccup|."

She sniggered toward the end of her sentence, which made the man laugh, too, before he launched into his tale with gusto.

Almost all of it was comprised of things she knew, but she still listened with rapt attention.

Yet, 10 minutes later, she interrupted him and said, "Slowly, I-I'm starting to think you're just sssome blue-collar worker…haven't you done anything exciting? I want someone like James Bond…there must be something you did that will make me choose you over Alphonso, that bastard…"

Everything was in place. The bait was out, and all that remained to be seen was whether he would take it.

And of course, Liz's meticulous plan succeeded.

The man was just drunk enough to retain conscious thought, but his lips had completely loosened.

So, he took it hook, line and sinker.

"Who said I didn't do an-anything like that? I was just in a secret stink operation against one of the employees in my company! Shhhhhhh!"

As he childishly put one finger to his lips and shushed her, Liz bent forward with excitement, knowing that she was finally going to get what she needed.

"Really? T-tell me more! More! More!"

"If I tell you, I might have to kill you…but I'll tell you, darling. A seeeecret high-level stakeholder of the company contacted me and a bunch of others to leak information which made that bitch's life hell…heh, she thought she could rise in the company to our level! Preposshhteroush!"

He chugged another glass, and his last word made it clear that he was slowly reaching the stage where he might faint.

So, Liz started to panic, as she still hadn't accomplished her objective.

Her eyes widening with fake interest and excitement, she cooed, "Wooooow! Who was that stakeholder?"

"She kept her identity a secret…"

What?

So this whole thing was a waste?

Disappointment started to flood through Liz, as she had wasted so much of the limited time she had with no results.

Not just that, she would also have a hangover tomorrow to deal with.

Cursing inwardly, she was just about to give up, but she remembered the confidence that Will had shown in her.

No. She couldn't break it.

So, thinking hard, Liz got an idea.

"Psshht! Some James Bond you are! If you don't even know her identity, then you're just a p-puppet!"

In most cases, there was nothing more effective than hurting a man's ego in order to spur him into action.

With this statement of hers, this man would definitely try to find out the culprit's identity, so she could try later to find it from him.

This was what she thought, but after a look of indignation came on his face, she got a pleasant surprise.

"Who said I d-don't know? She tried to keep it a shecret, but I found out because I'm smart!"

Her heart started to beat faster, while she blessed Will inwardly for his memory which had led her to decide not to give up.

If she had at that point, she would really have regretted it later if she found out that he knew all along.

Liz thought she was ready to hear the answer, but when she finally did, she blinked hard while reeling from shock.

Her head snapped up, and she bent closer to the man in order to confirm, hoping that she had heard wrong.

However, his reply made her sit back and look as if she had been hit by a thunderbolt.

"You heard me! It was the CEO's own m-mother! The CEO is even that employee's boyfriend! HAHAHAHA, it's so funny! That bitch will never know what hit her!"