Chapter 649 Rumors
"Ms. Sandvik, you alright? Need to hit the hospital or call Mr. Lewis?"
"Don't believe everything you read online."
"Yeah, don't sweat it too much."
The folks around her suddenly acted all concerned. They were just gossiping a second ago, and now they were pretending to care.
But Desiree didn't feel any better, it made her feel worse.
She didn't need anyone's pity. She grabbed someone from the planning department and asked, "Where's Mr. Lewis?"
The planning department was right next to Harold's office.
The employee said Harold was in his office.
Desiree took off, leaving everyone behind.
When she got there, the office door was locked, and even the assistant was stuck outside.
"Ms. Sandvik, you're here, but we can't get in. No idea what's up. Mr. Lewis looked at his phone and kicked us all out," the assistant said.
"He looked at his phone..." Desiree mumbled.
"Yeah, Mr. Lewis never does this," the assistant said, looking worried. "There's a big meeting in half an hour. If he doesn't show, what are we gonna do?"
Desiree took a deep breath and pounded on the door. "Harold, come out! We need to talk. It's not what you think!"
She banged so hard her hand turned red.
The assistant tried to stop her, "Please, stop. Look at your hand. Mr. Lewis wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."
Desiree ignored him.
Just as the assistant was getting really worried, the door opened.
Harold came out, holding Desiree's hand with a pained look. He seemed a bit annoyed but spoke softly, "Why do you always hurt yourself like this? If I don't open the door, you can stop knocking."
"No!" Desiree shot back. "I have to knock."
Harold pulled her inside and got some ointment for her hand.
He didn't say much, just asked if it hurt, showing he cared. She couldn't tell if he'd seen the rumors online or what he thought about them.
Right then, Desiree felt like she was in a mess.
She was struggling, hesitating, and every second waiting for an answer was torture.
Finally, she said, "Harold, you must've seen the stuff online, right?"
Harold paused, then nodded.
"So, what do you think of me?" Desiree looked into his eyes. What she really wanted to know was if he believed her.
Maybe she was scared of hearing something she didn't want to. Afraid she couldn't handle it. So, she asked in the least painful way possible.
"I believe you," Harold said, locking eyes with her anxious gaze. "I was the one who got you off that yacht and brought you back from Daryl. Don't you remember? Even without all that, I'd still believe you."
"Harold!" Desiree threw herself into his arms.
She cried her heart out, but inside, she felt like her heart was dipped in honey.
As long as Harold believed her, that was all that mattered.
Harold had the PR team jump on the online rumors, trying to squash them. But it seemed like someone was fueling the fire. The PR department spent thousands to shut people up, and legal notices were flying out.
No one in the company was slacking; everyone was on this.
But the results were barely noticeable.
After a few days of public chaos, even Desiree's parents caught wind of it.
Desiree got a call from Tessa, but it was really Liam who wanted answers.
"What's going on with you and Daryl? Didn't you say you didn't like him?" Tessa asked, curious.
"I don't like him," Desiree said, gripping the phone tighter, her eyes darkening. "So I want to know who's stirring this up."
Tessa wasn't dumb. She knew Desiree well enough to know she wouldn't do something like this.
Realizing this, Tessa relaxed a bit and asked, "Are you saying this has something to do with the Fields Family?"
Desiree hesitated, thinking about the long-standing ties between the families. She didn't spill everything about the yacht incident, just hinted at it.
But that was enough to make Tessa furious. "This is outrageous! She invited you out with bad intentions, trying to set you up for her son."
Desiree couldn't speak. Realizing that Bronte, who had always been kind to her, had plotted against her was more painful than anything.
Tessa noticed her low spirits and quickly said, "It's okay. Your dad and I are here. The family business is fine. Don't worry. I'll call Bronte right now and ask her what she's thinking."
Desiree responded softly.
Tessa, not wanting to upset her more, kept the call short.
Soon, she hung up.
Desiree didn't pin all her hopes on that call. The Fields Family had acted so ruthlessly, they clearly weren't afraid of being found out, and they wouldn't admit to anything either.
Even if Tessa called, Bronte would just try to smooth things over.
"Call the legal department," Desiree told Harold's assistant.
The assistant nodded.
Desiree spent a good half hour with the legal team.
The next day, she sued the loudest voices online.
Her tough stance quieted things down for a bit, but a few days later, the uproar came back, even louder because she had sued people.
Those folks claimed she was panicking because of the previous incident and didn't take the legal notices seriously.
While everyone was at their wits' end, Harold got a call from his parents, asking him to bring Desiree home for dinner that night.
Desiree was surprised. "Go now?"
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