?Chapter 985:
Since the previous afternoon, gossip about Maia had swept across the inte like a storm. Headlines screamed, “An affair with udius despite being married,” “Scandalous behavior,” and even “Plotting the explosion,” each one climbing the trending charts on social media.
Every usation cut deep, like sharp des shing at Maia’s reputation. Some went further, insisting that Maia had driven Vince to his desperate act by dumping him for udius, leaving him cornered with nowhere to turn.
The more Pattie dwelled on it, the hotter her anger burned. She could still hear the flood of phone calls from suppliers and department store executives ringing in her head from the night before.
“Ms. Miller, is the gossip online true? Did Maia actually cheat on her husband?”
“Will Maia’s private mess affect MCN’s new productunch?”
“Are you nning to release a public response? If you don’t, we may need to reconsider working together.”
Those questions, though wrapped in courtesy, felt like knives carving into Pattie’s chest.
She was certain the storm of rumors could never have erupted so quickly without the deliberate scheming of the Cooper Group. Even so, Maia had been out of reach since the afternoon before.
“A press conference today? To exin? To face the public?” Pattie scoffed, her gaze turning cold. “This is nothing but a trap to smear Maia. They’re making a mountain out of a molehill.”
The thought made her p her own forehead, furious that she hadn’t thought to keep Chris’s number. With Maia refusing to pick up, Pattie guessed she had copsed under the weight of it all and chosen silence as her only escape.
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But silence had no ce now. Maia had to face udius head-on. “Maia, you’re driving me out of my mind!” Pattie ground out, her thoughts spiraling in a frenzy.
Without hesitation, she pressed Rnd’s number on her phone.
The second the call went through, Pattie wasted no time. “Rnd, the inte’s exploding with scandals about Maia. What’s your take? You’re Zenith Legal’s star attorney. You must defend her. We both know who Maia really is. This reeks of the Cooper Group and udius spreading poison.”
A short silence followed on the line.
Then, a steady baritone replied. “I’m already at the press conference.”
Pattie froze in surprise. Rnd was there already?
His voice flowed again, calm and resolute. “Leave it to me.”
That single promise washed over her like a wave, dousing the fire in her chest. “Good for you, Rnd!” Pattie gave a quickugh. “Hold on for me. I’m close by. I’ll be there right away.”<fn642d> Read full story at Find[?]ovel</fn642d>
She ended the call, snatched up her bag, and marched out. “Cooper Group, if you want to y dirty, don’t me me for striking back. For Maia’s sake, I’ll fight tooth and nail today,” Pattie muttered.
Backstage, just before the press conference began, Rnd ended the call and loosened his tie, though a private memory stubbornly clung to him. He couldn’t shake off the image of Pattie leaning too close that night when she had one ss too many.
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