Charlotte heaved a sigh and said wearily, "I'm actually not too sure. I'm still waiting for the company to commence the investigation."
"Ah! But now there are heated discussions all over the internet, postulating you to be a commercial spy sent by Emerson Corp. There are even people claiming that you are Mr. Emerson's lover! Anyway, there are heaps of different rumors," Anne said in one breath. "Wait a minute, do you not surf the internet?"
"All over the internet?" Charlotte finally caught on. How did this matter end up online? "Anne, I’ll talk to you later."
Once she hung up the call, Charlotte promptly switched on her computer. Unsurprisingly, the main headline of the financial section was relating to the bid.
The title read derogatorily, 'According to insiders, Charlotte Emerson of NC Corporation paid a visit to Chairman of Emerson Corporation in the dead of night. What could she possibly be hiding...'
Attached was a picture of her at the hospital that night.
The contents of the article were no less vilifying. To her disbelief, it even stated without evidence that she was the one who had disclosed their design plans to Emerson Corp.
In another similar article, she was narrated as a woman who would go to the ends of the earth for money. It even mentioned her promotion, claiming that she seduced a higher-up but ended up stabbing NC in the back for money.
The picture attached in this article was of Charlotte getting into Christopher's car.
In the comments section below, a torrent of abusive comments clamoured for her to get the f*ck out of the design industry.
As if adding fuel to the fire, the two articles had each garnered over a million reshares.
Seeing this astonishing figure, Charlotte smiled a bitter smile and said self-deprecatingly, "This really has become the talk of the town, huh. If this persists, there's no denying that I will soon be the talk of the whole country!"
'Knock, knock!'
A brief rapping on Charlotte's door pulled her out of her whirlpool of thoughts.
She looked up to find Zoe Watson standing by her door. Zoe was a member of Shane's secretarial team.
Zoe was not like the other secretaries, who would dress up extravagantly. On the contrary, she was always clad in the plainest business suits. Her words were always professional and a solemn expression was always hung on her face.
The coldness in her eyes mirrored Shane's.
Then, as if reading from a script, Zoe said, "Ms. Emerson, the president wishes to see you." With that, she turned to leave.
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