Chapter 15
"Who the hell did this?" Bruce snapped, pounding the table.
His secretary, standing aside, turned deathly pale. "We must have been hacked! I'll check the IP address immediately!"
Bruce's face was livid. Whoever planned this low-level prank wouldn't be spared. As the leading enterprise in Greyport, Everett Corp possessed state-of-the-art facilities. How could it be so easily breached? "Damn it," Bruce thought, "it proves my technical staff is useless!"
The IP address was soon traced to the Hilbert Hotel.
Bruce frowned at the address. Then, he remembered something.
Wasn't Joanna Haynes staying at the Hilbert Hotel? She must be involved!
"That bitch," he muttered, "She can't beat me in the real world, so she resorts to this?" Bruce gritted his teeth, his face darkening further. "Andy, do you have the papers? The agreement on the bet."
Andy, his face serious, quickly handed over the papers. "All done, Mr. Everett."
Bruce glanced at them. The terms were extremely harsh for Joanna. He smiled with satisfaction.
"Perfect. I want to watch that bitch squirm."
It was 9:00 a.m.
Escorted by Jaydon, Joanna arrived at Haynes Tower. The parking lot was swarming with reporters and Ingrid's hired protesters.
"There she is!" one shouted.
"Get out of Greyport, you cheeky whore! You're a disgrace!"
"Shame on you!"
The reporters swarmed her. "Joanna, will you remove your father from the board? Will you monopolize the Haynes family fortune?" "Make way!" "Please, Joanna, say something!" "When did you and Mr. Grimm get together? Does Mr. Everett know about your relationship?"
Jaydon shielded Joanna as they approached the building, flanked by a dozen bodyguards.
"Throw something at her! Show her what happens when she sleeps with other men's partners!"
A barrage of rotten fruit, lunchboxes, water bottles, and other debris rained down on Joanna.
"Hey! Stop that!" Joanna's bodyguards shouted. "We'll call the police!"
Finally, with Jaydon's protection, Joanna reached the elevator. They hurried inside.
Pale and trembling slightly, Joanna stared blankly ahead.
Jaydon put an arm around her shoulder, whispering softly, "It's okay, Joanna. Don't be afraid. Ignore them. They're just hired thugs."
"I'm fine, Jay," Joanna replied, her lips pale.
The elevator doors were about to close when someone held them open. Bruce stepped in, his face livid. He, too, had apparently been harassed by the reporters.
Only then did he notice Joanna and Jaydon. Jaydon's arm was around Joanna's shoulder; they looked like a loving couple.
The sight made Bruce's face grim, his expression brutal.
"Joanna Haynes! What do you think you're doing? Think your little prank will solve everything?"
Joanna frowned, puzzled. "What are you talking about?"
Bruce sneered. "Oh, you don't know? Nice try! I could charge you with stealing information from Everett Corp. That's eight to ten years in prison!"
Joanna's face fell. "I don't understand. Charge me for what?"
Bruce grabbed her jaw. "For trespassing! For hacking into my property! For stealing my business information!"
Jaydon pushed Bruce away. "I'm warning you, Bruce Everett. Don't touch Joanna! I don't want to fight you here."
Bruce shook off Jaydon's hand. "How dare you interfere?"
Joanna stepped between them. "Jay, don't. Bruce has a bad temper, and he's a trained boxer."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Joanna said.
"Are you serious? Look at this IP address!" Bruce showed Joanna his phone.
Joanna looked, still confused. "What is this? What are you saying?"
The elevator reached the conference room floor. Bruce snorted, then walked out without looking back.
"I'll be here, waiting for you," Jaydon said.
"No, Jay, I can handle it. You have work to do."
"Okay. I'll pick you up later."
"Bye!"
Joanna entered the conference room, her expression resolute.
Bruce was lounging in the main chair, smoking a cigarette. He tossed a stack of papers on the desk. "Here's everything. Sign it."
Joanna coughed, choking on the smoke. "Smoking isn't allowed. Go to the rooftop."
Bruce sneered, taking a long drag and blowing the smoke in Joanna's face.
(The final promotional line should be removed as it's out of place in the cleaned-up text.)