Chapter 141: True Friends

"Your response is only going to enrage his fans further, after Victor worked so hard to calm them down yesterday. Are you trying to put him in trouble?" The reporter asked.

"If his fans can’t trust his choices and the work he’s involved in, then they don’t deserve to be his fans. Didn’t Victor make it clear in his message that he asked them to trust his decisions?" Natalie countered.

"So, Ms. Natalie, are you sure you haven’t plagiarized this time?" a reporter sent by Sephina asked again, clearly trying to provoke her.

"Do you want me to give it to you in writing with a stamp on it?" Natalie replied sarcastically.

"Well, that won’t be necessary," the reporter continued, "but how about you participate in the upcoming national perfume creators’ contest and prove yourself by winning it?"

"I don’t need any contest to prove myself," Natalie said firmly.

"Are you scared that you’ll be caught again?" the reporter pressed.

"You’re free to think whatever you like," Natalie shot back, glaring at the reporter. "If you’re done asking questions, please excuse me," she added as she began walking away, John by her side. No one dared to stop her.

"Ms. Natalie, do you not dare compete against your sister in the perfume competition because you know she’ll expose you as the thief, plagiarist, you are?" the same reporter called out from behind.

Natalie stopped in her tracks and turned around, her gaze confident and mocking at the same time. "I do dare. But does she?"

"Does that mean you’re participating?" the reporter asked, eager for a direct answer.

Natalie didn’t respond, simply turning and walking away.

The reporters murmured among themselves, buzzing with speculation.

Natalie entered the office and immediately noticed the tense atmosphere. Ella, Dan, and the newly hired staff all looked uneasy. The news about Natalie’s past accusations of plagiarism had spread like wildfire, and criticism questioning her credibility was everywhere.

As she walked in, everyone stood up to greet her, their faces full of unspoken questions.

Natalie scanned the room, her gaze firm. "Anyone here who doesn’t trust me and believes the rumors being spread in the news is free to resign. Even if you’ve only worked here for a few days, you’ll be compensated with two months’ salary. No one will stop you."

The room fell silent, the staff exchanging uncertain glances. Over ten newly hired employees seemed unsure of what to do.

Finally, one of them spoke up. "I choose to believe in you, Ms. Natalie."

The others quickly followed suit, echoing their support.

"That’s your choice," Natalie said. "But if you regret it later, that’s not my fault." She then headed to her office, with Dan and Ella following closely behind.

This woman clearly never tried to please anyone, but was direct with her words. Somehow, this attitude of hers was what made others feel confident in her. All of them resumed their works, no one wanting to resign.

As she entered her office, she was greeted by an unexpected sight—Victor Reid, lounging on the couch in a tracksuit rather than his usual fancy clothes.

"Don’t you have anything better to do than be here so early in the morning?" Natalie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"My boss hasn’t given me any new work to keep me busy, and with her always being in the news, it’s hard for me to avoid the reporters. So, my only option was to get here before they show up outside your office," Victor replied casually.

"What did you come here for?" she asked, her tone flat.

"I just wanted to see how pissed off you’d be," he teased, "but seeing you so calm, I have to admit—I’m disappointed."

"Jerk. Get the hell out of here," Natalie shot back as she sat down at her desk.

Dan and Ella weren’t surprised by the playful banter between the two.

"Ms. Natalie, what should we do?" Ella asked, her voice laced with concern. "You were right—if it gets out that you’re in those photos with Victor, it could cause a lot of trouble. I wonder who leaked this news. Who is the traitor in our office."

"Nora," Natalie spoke, making the girl almost jump in the fright as if she was caught red handed. A line of sweat appeared on her forehead as if she would kneel right away and start admiting everything.

"Get me coffee," Natalie instructed, her gaze fixed at the frightened girl.

"Y-Yes, Ms Natalie," she escaped as fast as she could.

"You scared the little girl," Victor chuckled, "Don’t play with her this way."

"That’s none of your business," Natalie shot back.

Ella, as if understood something, spoke, "Ms Natalie, you mean, Nora...."

"Ignore it," Natalie interrupted her. Ella looked at Dan, who offered her an assuring nod, "Listen to Ms Natalie."

Ella could only agree to it.

"Victor’s fans being upset is one issue, but what you said..." Ella trailed off, uncertain how to continue.

"That her image doesn’t align with the theme of the perfume?" Victor chuckled as he leaned back lazily on the couch. "She’s quite self-aware, isn’t she?"

Ella wasn’t sure how to respond and instead asked, "What do we do about the claims that you’re a plagiarist and that this new perfume must be stolen?"

"Just focus on our scheduled work and ignore the noise. The perfume launch cannot be delayed," Natalie said firmly. "As for the rest, leave it to Sephina and Briena Ford. They’ll take care of it for us."

"Huh?" Ella blinked, feeling like she’d misheard.

"You underestimate your boss’s foresight, dear Ella," Victor said with a smirk.

Ella and Dan exchanged puzzled looks.

Victor stood up and walked over to Natalie’s desk, leaning down with his hand on the table. He looked directly into Natalie’s eyes, which remained impassive.

"Tigress, I helped you out by letting you be my model in the photoshoot and turn this issue even bigger thanks to my popularity. How are you going to pay me back for that?" he asked, a teasing tone in his voice.

The others in the room were confused.

"You’ll get your reward when the time comes," Natalie replied in annoyed tone. "Now get out of my face and let me work."

As Victor turned to leave, he threw one last comment while looking over his shoulder. "By the way, I kept some pictures with your face fully revealed in them, as a sweet memory of our time together like a romantic couple. If you want any, just let me know." He smirked and added, "I’m thinking of framing one as a wall-sized picture in my bedroom," and exited the office, with Ron following him.

"Ms Natalie, what was he talking about?" Ella asked, "Is this all under your expectations?"

Natalie hummed, "Time to clean some dirt from the past."

"But you shared it with Victor, but didn’t tell us anything," Ella’s expressions sad. "You know how worried I was."

"I didn’t tell him anything at all," Natalie responded, picking up the file from the desk.

"Then?"

"He has some weird knack of getting the things right on his own when it comes to me," Natalie sighed and mumbled, "That Jerk is more annoying this way."

Ella chuckled, "Then, isn’t it a good thing, instead? He seems to really care about you. You two must have been great friends to understand each other without saying a word."

Natalie didn’t comment, while Nora entered the office with a coffee mug in her hands. Her hands shaking as she put the mug on the desk.