Chapter 15
The following day, Eleanor headed to the office, rubbing her sore waist. She seriously felt like Sebastian was an even bigger capitalist than she would ever be. He’d given her two slices of cake in exchange for a night of pleasure. No, she couldn’t let him have his way with her again that night. If they were to do it again, she would break.
She poured herself a glass of water after entering her office. Just as she’d taken a couple of sips, her secretary, Eliza Hopkins, came to give her a heads-up. “Ms. Eleanor, Mr. Sandberg is back from his business trip!”
Eleanor had expected Philip to hide for half a month. She put down her glass and said, “I’ll go see him, then.”
Eliza said, “Good luck, Ms. Eleanor!”
Eleanor gave her a flying kiss. She would return triumphant!
She headed upstairs to the CEO’s office and knocked on the door, only entering when she heard Philip’s voice, “Come in.”
She made a beeline for his desk. “Back from your trip, Uncle Philip? I hope it wasn’t too tiring. I’m here to get my appointment letter.”
Philip looked at her sternly. “I would’ve gone to you if you hadn’t come, Elle. How could you have done something like this?”
Eleanor was baffled. “What have I done?”
“You know the answer to that! I always thought you were upstanding—you’ve always been competitive and ambitious, but at least you were principled and ethical. You shouldn’t have done something like this for a contract and a deputy CEO position!” he snapped.
He continued, “If you’re appointed as deputy CEO, everyone will think Sandberg Group has only gotten to where it is now because of these dirty tricks!”
Eleanor frowned, not understanding a word of what he’d said. All she knew was that he didn’t want to appoint her as deputy CEO. Her expression turned frosty. “Are you going to go back on your word, Uncle Philip? It was agreed that whoever scored the A22 contract would be the deputy CEO. Everyone knows that now.”
Philip asked, “How exactly did you get the contract, then?”
“Didn’t Mr. Jones and Ms. Granger make themselves clear enough during lunch the other day? I used my proposal to win Ransom Finance over—that’s why they awarded me the contract,” she said.
He narrowed his eyes. “Is that all? As far as I know, Ransom Finance’s scion is the one who personally approved this project. Do you know him?”
Eleanor paused. She didn’t know him or who he was, whether it was in this lifetime or the past. All she knew was that Ransom Finance was one of the country’s biggest finance giants and had hundreds of subsidiaries and businesses all over the world. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a large business empire. At its helm was a mysterious person whose name no one knew—they didn’t even have a surname. Some people had done all they could to dig up information, but all they’d found out was that members of the Lawson, Court, and Jones families were part of Ransom Finance’s inner circle. David was a member of the Jones family.
Eleanor said, “I don’t know any scion.”
“Why would he give the contract to you, then?” Philip challenged.
She could tell what he was insinuating and put on a grim expression. “I used my proposal to win them over—do you not understand those words, Uncle Philip? As for which part of my proposal sealed the deal, that’s something you’ll have to go all the way to Wavenport City to find out, if you’re so curious to know.”
Philip stood up. “You don’t have to be so sarcastic. I only have one question—why have you spent the past two nights at Starbright Hotel? It’s not like you don’t have a place to stay. Why go to a hotel?”
Eleanor laughed. “I have plenty of money, so I can do what I want. What’s wrong with that? I’m here for my appointment letter, Uncle Philip. You’ve delayed this by asking so many questions. Are you going to go on for much longer?”
“Starbright Hotel’s penthouse suite isn’t open to just about anyone! Money itself isn’t going to get you there! That room is reserved for Ransom Finance’s scion!” Philip snapped. “Someone caught you spending two consecutive nights in that suite. Do you dare guarantee you didn’t score this contract by sleeping with the scion?”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Philip?” Eleanor had only addressed him as her uncle because she didn’t want to be too rude. Did he really think he had any standing in her eyes?
He sneered. “I’m not the only one saying these things. It’s all over Twitter’s trending topics. See it for yourself!”
What?
Eleanor whipped out her phone and checked Twitter. Sure enough, her name was in the top three trending topics: #EleanorSandbergCheats, #EleanorSandbergSleepsAround, #EleanorSandbergRansomFinanceScion.
She furrowed her brows and checked the topics to see videos and photos everywhere. There were clips of her iceberry pink sports car driving into Starbright Hotel’s parking lot as well as photos of Sebastian carrying her into the elevator. The photos had only captured his back. Eleanor had no idea they’d been secretly photographed. She checked the comments. She was relatively well-known online, and the idea of her sleeping around to secure business deals was… tacky.
Many netizens had joined the discussion. At first glance, all the comments were insulting her.
“I found her weird as soon as she started marketing herself as ‘Weston Crabapple’ or whatever she’s called. Which proper heiress would establish an image like that? She’s not a celebrity or influencer. Turns out I was right—she was marketing herself so she could fetch a better price!”
“She’s not hard up for cash, is she? Isn’t she Sandberg Group’s heiress? I can’t understand why she’d do something like this. Is there a misunderstanding somewhere?”
“Look at all the photos. What misunderstanding could there be?”
“I work for Sandberg Group; I know what’s going on! Ms. Eleanor and Ms. Brenda have been competing for the position of deputy CEO lately—whoever scores the contract with Ransom Finance will get the promotion. Ms. Eleanor must’ve slept with this guy after being backed into a dead end!”
“So that’s what the truth is…”
“I can tell from her face that she’s a bad apple. She’s just an upscale hooker!”
Eleanor scuffed.
Meanwhile, Philip went back to looking triumphant and confident. He put on airs and pulled the elder card, “You saw the things they’re saying online, Elle. Everyone is talking about you now, so appointing you as deputy CEO would only make things worse. That will negatively affect Sandberg Group’s image. Your appointment letter will have to wait until another time.”
Eleanor put her phone away and fixed her gaze on him, noticing that he looked like he’d already won. “My conscience is clear regarding how I signed the A32 contract, and the deputy CEO position is supposed to be mine.”
“You can delay it for now, but everyone in the company—including the board of directors—knows you’re not sweeping this under the rug. I don’t mind reminding everyone that you’re just temporarily managing the company on my behalf.”
Only demanding the deputy CEO position was already a compromise on her end. In reality, even the CEO position was supposed to be hers! Philip had been in the business world for several decades. He wasn’t a complete fool if he’d managed to keep the company going for so many years. Naturally, he wasn’t so easily scared by her words.
“Sandberg Group has maintained a sterling reputation for decades, Elle, yet look at the mess you’ve now gotten us into. You should already thank your parents for blessing you if the board of directors doesn’t ask you to bear the consequences of this scandal. As for whether I’m temporarily managing the company on your behalf or rightfully holding this position, that’s something we can discuss once you’ve dealt with the problem you’re now facing,” he said.
“You should leave now. Stay away from the company for a few days so that the paparazzi don’t swarm the place and bother the employees.”
Eleanor looked at him coolly for a while before leaving the office.
Once she was outside, she called Sebastian. Sleeping with someone to secure the contract was just ridiculous—she had plenty of ways to clarify that. What she wanted to know now was why Sebastian had access to the penthouse suite reserved for Ransom Finance’s scion.