Chapter 1607
“Ms. Bet,” groaned the manager, tossing a stack of invoices onto his cluttered desk, “it’s the end of
the year and a handful ofpanies haven''t settled their ounts yet. Every time our sales reps bring
it up, they get the runaround—some say they’ll pay in a few days, others im they need time to get
their finances in order, and some have just gone off the grid.”
Dean rubbed his temples in clear frustration. The delicate bnce of maintaining good business
rtionships while ensuring future cooperation meant he could only ask his team to be patient, to wait
a little longer.
But the New Year was around the corner.
“Some of these execs have the money, but they just don’t n on paying up. Our reps try to reach
them, and they im they’re out of the country.”
“Catch them in the act,” Ms. Bet suggested. “Make it seem like a coincidence when they’re with
other partners at an event. They’re less likely to refuse in front of others. Choose your words carefully,
and maybe approach them during a dinner event where they can’t easily avoid you. If they’re
deliberately withholding payment, we’ll cut off their supply. If they’re genuinely in a tough spot, we can
settle for a partial payment—for now, every little bit counts.”
“And if our sales reps still can’t collect the money?” Dean inquired, seeking advice.
“Then it’s time for the finance department to step in and audit the ounts.”
Once the finance department got involved and started formal auditing to confirm the amount of debt,
any subsequent litigation would be straightforward. With an audit report in hand, the debtor’s chances
of winning awsuit were slim to none.
Of course, that was the nuclear option, ast resort when all else failed.
“Let the finance folks have a talk with them first. If that doesn’t work, then you let me know,” Ms.
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Bet concluded, ncing at her watch. “I need to head out now.”
Dean checked the time; it was barely three in the afternoon and Arabe was already leaving.
But then again, Ms. Bet was unpredictable and always on the move.
Meanwhile, at another location.
Louisa mmed the coffee table, fuming. “These people are out of line! Saying that only lip-syncing
could produce such wless vocals? Maybe it’s hard for them to reach that level, but for Be, singing
is as easy as breathing. They can’t do it themselves, so they use others of faking it!”
“Exactly,” Keh agreed, visibly upset as he scrolled through the trending topics on his phone.
“They’re even saying Be was just mouthing the words, that the performance we heard was pre-
recorded. I’ll have someone cool this down. It’s outrageous, the nerve of some people!”
usations of lip-syncing were bad enough, but they didn’t stop there. Rumors were spreading that
Be’s past songs were giarized, with some iming she had copied up to eighteen different tracks
—an absurd assertion.
“We can’t just suppress this; people will say Be’s paying to havements deleted,” Louisa
pondered their next move when a new headline caught her eye, “David Collins steps forward to
confirm.”
She quickly clicked on the link. Her son, David, had posted on Twitter that Summer was indeed singing
live, apanying his statement with a simple image captioned, “Case closed.”
His word was the strongest testimony, and public opinion began to shift in his favor.
[David said it, so it must be true—Summer was singing live!]
[How could David not know about lip-syncing? What can you tell from watching on TV? David was right
there during the concert; his word is final!]
[David is the best witness!]
[I believe David!]
[So do I!]
Simultaneously, another trending topic appeared, “Ms. Kiki Strikes Back.”
Curious, Louisa clicked on the news, only to discover that Be’s agent, Ms. Kiki, had posted dozens of
screenshots from users who had used Be of lip-syncing and giarism. She had preserved each
one and was now sending out legal notices, preparing to take each user to court.