22. Aftermath #2
As soon as Nadine stepped off the elevator, Devi was there, tablet and coffee in hand. She handed the coffee to Nadine, who took a sip and winced. She missed Zaire’s perfectly made coffee already.
“Good morning, Mrs. Moody. Your 9 am meeting was cancelled. The pharmaceutical sales team wants to talk recruitment strategies. They’re asking you to be a guest speaker for one of their training sessions. And…”
“Slow down, Devi,” Nadine chuckled. “Can we ease into things? We’ve been virtual for over a month now. Gotta ease back into the groove.”
Devi closed her tablet and nodded. “Right. I’m sorry. I just wanted to get a jump on things.”
“I appreciate that.” Nadine gave her a pat on her shoulder. “So, what was up with the last text you sent?”
Devi looked around cautiously. “Uhm, let’s talk in your office.” She opened Nadine’s office door, ushering her inside. She closed the door behind her and sat in front of Nadine’s desk.
Nadine shrugged off her jacket and sat down. The theatrics were a bit much, but she appreciated Devi’s discretion. She folded her arms across her chest. “Devi, what is really going on?”
“Well,” Devi sighed. “Mitchell isn’t the one that’s been messing up your reports.”
Nadine’s eyes widened. “Really? Then who?”
Devi tucked her lips into her mouth, then took a deep breath before speaking. “It was Clyde Waters, Mrs. Moody.”
Nadine’s eyes widened. Clyde, she thought, was a stand-up guy and quite eager to make the merger successful. He’d been a staunch ally during meetings and really had her back when it came to the snide remarks Mitchell was making. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive,” Devi nodded. “I had to basically promise Gerald down in IT that I’d go out on a date with him. I am not proud to say that I agreed to that to get this information. Even if the girls say he is hung like a circus elephant.”
Nadine raised an eyebrow. Not sure if she wanted to know about Gerald’s dick, but Devi going out of her way to get this information was beyond the scope of her duties. She definitely was getting a bigger Christmas bonus than usual.
Devin straightened in her chair. “Sorry. Long story short, Clyde Waters is manipulating the numbers. He’s trying to make you look bad so that he can come for the CEO job once the merger is complete.
In all honesty, DigiCo is doing terribly.
In the toilet, actually. Yet, they want to seem like their numbers are great as this merger completes and have PharmaDigital take on a greater financial burden.
It would line their pockets tremendously. ”
Nadine was stunned. She knew she wasn’t going crazy when she thought things weren’t adding up. She had no idea it was because of this. “Well, I certainly appreciate it, Devi. But you didn’t have to do that. I’m sure I could have found out another way. Even if Gerald is…blessed.”
Devi cleared her throat. “Well, Mrs. Moody, there’s more.”
Nadine squinted. “More than Clyde fudging the numbers?”
“Yes. This isn’t easy for me to say, Mrs. Moody, but Clyde hates you. They all do. The whole being supportive thing is an act. Apparently, a few of the exec team from both DigiCo and PharmaDigital have a secret Discord channel where they are bagging on you.”
Nadine’s jaw was on the floor. A secret Discord just to shit on her? She couldn’t believe it. True, she knew that she and Mitchell had tension. But to go this far? That was disgusting. What a waste of brain cells and energy.
Devil continued. “They’re calling you incompetent.
Saying you’re just a rich woman playing CEO.
Wondering why you’re working when you don’t have to.
Not to mention the memes. Some of them made when you were pregnant calling you a “Real Housewife reject”.
Now, those were made mostly by Mitchell. It’s terrible.”
Nadine smoothed down her hair and straightened her back. It was a tale as old as time. No matter how competent she was or how much revenue she earned, she’d always be a joke to them. Always had been. Always will be.
Nadine tried to regain her composure. “When is the meeting to close the merger, Devi?”
Devi looked at her calendar on the tablet. “Uhm, it’s next Tuesday.”
Nadine’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She opened a text message to see a photo of Zaire, completely naked, fingers deep in her pussy as she sat at Nadine’s home office desk.
Zaire: Because I miss you.
She was about to close her phone when another text came through, this time from Eddie. It was a photo with the print of his dick in his slacks in his office at the university.
Eddie: My dick is hard just thinking about you right now. I should come home and fuck you on my break.
Jesus, those two. Nadine smiled, then cleared her throat, almost forgetting that she was at work. She turned her attention back to Devi, who was staring at her, curiously.
“Sorry, Devi. Again, thanks for this information. In the meantime, this stays between us. And seriously, you do not have to go out with Gerald.”
“But the girls in advertising say his dick is magical. And I’ve been celibate like six months now…never mind, sorry. That’s TMI. I’ll see myself out.” Devi quickly left Nadine’s office.
Nadine drummed her fingers on her desk. She didn’t have a plan…yet. By the time she had her next meeting with the team, she would. They wouldn’t get away with this shit.