Chapter 123: Sucker Punch

For Jenny, the past few days could only be described as an extreme sport. She’d been running from meetings to meetings and between the calls and never ending documentation, she’d barely had time to sleep.

With the Apex Future Focus approved, she’d been preparing for the launch like a mad woman, wanting to get this out of the way. But it wasn’t all bad though. Because the more she worked, the more she could feel the progress being made.

Her division’s offices at Apex HQ was like a bee hive with how much activity was happening inside. She could definitely say that other departments and divisions were not at all jealous of the work.

The team she’d assembled had worked with her, pouring their energy into building the perfect ESG initiative. And she’d been so absorbed in the work that she hadn’t considered what Jasmine might be plotting.

She hadn’t considered why Jasmine had chosen this time to approve the fund.@@novelbin@@

That… was her mistake.

The bomb dropped on a Friday, just when she least expected it. She had been reviewing the final draft of an important documentation when there was a knock on her door.

She jolted out of her focused state, then sighed, picking up the cold coffee on the table and taking a sip. She glanced up to see her assistant standing there, her face pale.

"Ms. Voss, there are some… officers here to see you."

"Officers?" It was as if that word cleared away any lag in her thinking. She stood up with a frown, immediately alert. "What officers?"

"Internal auditors." Her assistant clarified nervously. "They say they’re here to perform an audit on the social impact division."

"What?" The words hit Jenny like a bucket of ice water. She composed herself quickly and walked out to the reception area, where three stern-looking men stood with folders and tablets in hand.

"I’m Jenny Voss, head of this division." She said, not even bothering to go for a handshake. "What’s the meaning of this?"

One of the auditors stepped forward with an air of superiority. "We’re here to conduct a financial and operational audit of the social impact division and of course, Apex Future Focus. These are direct orders from the chairman’s office."

"The chairman’s office?" Jenny’s eyes narrowed. "Are you saying Jasmine sent you?"

The man’s expression stayed the same. "We’re acting on the authority of the chairman, Ms. Voss."

Her team began to gather behind her, confused about what was going on. She turned briefly to them and said, "Back to work, everyone. This doesn’t concern you."

Then she faced the auditors. "I challenge the necessity of this audit. My division hasn’t even started operating at full capacity, and everything we’ve done is above board."

"We understand your concerns." The auditor replied with an expression that said he didn’t care. "But this is a precautionary measure. We’ll need access to your files and financial records."

Jenny gritted her teeth at his words. Precautionary, her foot. This was an attack, pure and simple. This was what Jasmine had been able to come up with to discredit her. She should’ve seen this coming.

"Fine." She said coldly. "Be my guest."

The auditors nodded, and Jenny motioned for her assistant to assist them.

As the group disappeared down the hall, Jenny turned and made her way to the elevator. She wouldn’t let this slide. Not for a second.

She stormed to her sister’s office and entered without even bothering to knock. Seated at the table was Jasmine who had an innocent smile on her face as she reviewed some documents.

At Jenny’s entrance, she glanced up, an obviously fake look of surprise on her face.

"Jenny." She said sweetly. "What brings you here? Shouldn’t you be busy with your little ESG project?"

Jenny closed the door behind her, and stormed to her sister, her eyes blazing. "Stop it with the bullshit, Jasmine. You ordered an audit on my division."

Jasmine leaned back in her chair, twirling a pen between her fingers. "I’m just making sure that Apex runs smoothly. With a new division like yours, it’s standard procedure."

"Standard procedure?" Jenny snapped. "You don’t expect me to believe that."

Jasmine’s smile widened. "Believe what you want. The board expects transparency, and I’m just doing my duty. The same way my acquisition of NovaGen was scrutinized, so must your division. That’s just the way things work."

"But I wonder." She tilted her head as she kept twirling the pen. "With this audit, who knows what discrepancies they might find?"

Jenny slammed her hands on Jasmine’s desk, leaning forward. "You can’t stand that I’m doing something good for this company, can you? You’re terrified because every step I take makes it clearer to everyone that I’m the better choice for Apex."

Jasmine’s expression hardened for a moment and she stood, smoothed her blouse, and walked around the desk to stand in front of Jenny.

"This isn’t about fear, sister." She said, her voice as cold as ice. "This is about responsibility. Apex Future Focus is your baby, and I need to make sure it’s not going to tarnish our family’s reputation."

Jenny laughed bitterly. "You mean your reputation. If Apex is a success, we both know whose reputation takes a hit."

Jasmine’s eyes narrowed and she stepped even closer to her sister. "If you can’t handle scrutiny, maybe you shouldn’t be leading a division at all."

"Ha!" Jenny laughed in her sister’s face. "You’re not going to scare me, Jasmine. This stunt of yours? It reeks of desperation. But don’t worry. I’ll use this opportunity to prove to the board and everyone else that your paranoia is baseless."

Jasmine crossed her arms, a smug expression covering her face. "Oh, please. Spare me the theatrics. You might be able to fool a few people with your noble act, but we both know you’re out of your depth."

"Think whatever you want, Jasmine." Jenny turned away from her sister and walked to the door, throwing one last blow over her shoulder. "If you think this is a war, you’re about to find out what it means to really fight, little sister."