Chapter 16: Big Fat Liar

Jeffrey fled Raymond's office. Returning to his own, in a foul mood, he saw Hilda still waiting and a sly idea formed. However, his furious expression terrified her.

He approached, asking, "Have you considered my proposal? If you agree to my request, we'll sign a deal with your company." He knew Sentiment Chemical Limited had already secured the deal, leveraging this knowledge.

Hilda pleaded, "Jeffrey, could you ask for something else?"

Scoffing, he replied, "Something else? Do you know how much this contract is worth? The commission alone would be enormous! You could buy a house! A night with me isn't unreasonable in exchange for such wealth, is it? If I had that kind of money, I'd be sleeping my way across the country!"

Hilda blushed crimson, biting her lip. Her distress only fueled his desire. Finally, she conceded, nodding. "Fine. I agree, but only after the contract is signed."

"Of course. We'll sign it first," he smirked cruelly. "I'll book a room for tonight. Wait for my call. Be ready."

Utterly disgusted, Hilda stormed from his office. She immediately ran into Jared descending nearby stairs.

"Jared."

She hadn't expected him at Cosmic Chemical so soon. Surprised, he asked, "Hilda, what are you doing here?"

(The following sentence, "I told her that she didn’t have to come. I can’t believe she sneaked out here alone!", is removed as it's out of character and disrupts the narrative flow. It's likely a note from the narrator.)

"I came to ask an ex-classmate for help. I thought it would be beneficial to your negotiation," she explained. Seeing the contract in Jared's hands, she stammered, "Jared, did you already sign the contract?"

"Yes, I did." (The sentence promoting a website is removed.)

He handed her the contract. She examined it with a frown. (The sentence, "I secured Jeffrey’s help mere seconds ago. How could Jared sign the contract before that?", is removed for the same reason as the previous removed sentence.)

Meanwhile, Raymond descended the stairs behind Jared, shocked to see Hilda. "Mr. Chance, who is this?" he asked. He knew about Jared and Josephine's relationship from Walter's banquet.

"She's like a younger sister," Jared smiled, introducing Hilda. Turning to her, he explained, "Hilda, this is Mr. Green, head of Cosmic Chemical. I signed the contract with him earlier."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Green. I'm Hilda Wallace," she replied, shaking his hand.

"Ms. Wallace, your ex-classmate works here?" Raymond asked.

Hilda nodded. "His name is Jeffrey Leigh. He's an office administrator."

Jared's eyebrows shot up. "Do you know him?"

"That Jeffrey was trying to prevent us from signing a deal just minutes ago!"

Hilda's anger exploded. Jeffrey had lied! She was furious.

As if on cue, Jeffrey exited his office. Seeing them, he knew he was in trouble and fled.

"Jeffrey, you bastard! How dare you lie to me!" Hilda screamed, giving chase and unleashing a torrent of furious invective.