One Night Stand Gone Wrong

Arielle no longer said anything.

She played a video of that managing director who she had slapped.

The manager made lewd remarks to Arielle and asked her to sleep with him for better benefits.

Arielle slapped him in the face without a word.

After that, an image showed his computer stats, followed by other images revealing his unusual relationship with some female employees. He had spent 85% of his time in PGI watching porn and sleeping around.

Another short video showed a few former employees who had quit. All of them said the same thing.

They quit because they did not want to sleep with that manager. When asked why they had not complained, they all answered the same – the manager was supported by Mr. Green.

Mr. Green was a board member, a shareholder of PGI, founder and CEO of Green Group, and Sophia’s father.

Another hushed silence followed the hall.

Arielle became serious and announced.

“PGIans, you can rest assured that no project of PGI has been leaked, at least not through me.”

“President Thomas is quite aware of ongoings inside PGI and keeping tabs on everything.”

“Every employee who was ‘let go’ after I joined was a threat to PGI. Or they were holding on to a position without doing the actual work. Or they were misusing their position. They were using the budget and resources which could have been distributed amongst you or used to hire fresh blood.”

She nodded at Thomas and added.

“President Thomas wrote to me during our negotiations during my hire that he was hiring me to clean up PGI inside out. And to help him develop a work culture which will make everyone feel accepted, included, and a part of growth.”

“He wanted to build a company culture where things were about people and ideas instead of numbers and projects. He wanted to create a team of leaders who mentored talent rather than lead heedlessly. He wanted to align everyone to the company’s vision and take care of all its employees while employees give their time and effort to PGI.”

She paused as she added.

“The changes we had made throughout these months were drastic.”

“I admit it was intentional. President Thomas did not try to cover it up or downplay it. That was because he did not want to hide from you guys. He wanted an open environment where everyone was accountable, including himself.”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Everything I have done so far was to help him reach that vision of PGI.”

Arielle added, “Lastly, please allow me a few more minutes before we can get back to the actual presentation.”

She then played a video of Sophia sneaking into her cabin and changing some data in her laptop, stealing pages from her file, and another video of Sophia and Emma playing those misleading videos in PGI during lunch break.

She told the officers that that was all she had, and they took Sophia and Emma with them.

The humiliation would last forever.

Arielle continued her presentation but only went over the critical parts.

This time, everyone listened attentively because they all knew she was a biggie.

Finally, she ended her session after Q&A.

Before she went off the stage, she announced something that left everyone speechless.

“As per my contract with PGI, all the employees must help protect my privacy, or you would be liable to pay a lot of money, while PGI would compensate the same amount.”

Now, everyone found out how she managed to be extremely low-key.

Everyone important knew her, but to a layman, she was a nobody.

Arielle left the stage amidst thunderous applause.

Thomas’s speech was the last. He explained pretty much the same things that Arielle had highlighted.

He told everyone to enjoy the banquet. He would dismiss ten people who were not a cultural fit by the end of the week. They had deliberately spread gossip and panic while ignoring their work.

As a company, he expressed his hope to build an inclusive environment where everyone would act as a group and help each other in need, stand by the innocent and help them out of trouble. He would not tolerate anyone who spread panic and defamed or disturbed others.

A standing ovation followed his speech, where everyone, especially women, was very touched. They were usually the ones left in the mud.

The nasty gossipers, including those paid by Sophia, were in a pickle as they were sure to be fired. With Sophia and Emma out of PGI, their support system was gone.

Some wanted to curry favor with Arielle, but she had that ‘stay away from me’ look on her face the entire time.

After the dance, she proposed a toast to Thomas and bid her goodbye as it was her last working day on PGI.

Her job in PGI was over.

Thomas watched as she was led away by another man while he had to stay back and hold onto his company that he no longer interested him. He knew Emma would be back to create trouble again, so he had lost all enthusiasm.

The rest of the employees stayed back and enjoyed the banquet to the fullest as they had seen security in their workplace with a better working environment and benefits.

Thomas received a message from Arielle to meet her in her apartment for something urgent.

Just as Thomas arrived at the entrance of the building, he received a call from his father. His father called him back urgently for a family meeting.

Thomas had no choice but to head back to his family villa.

Arielle watched from her window as Thomas took a U-turn and left.

In a way, Thomas had made his choice.

She packed and left without turning back.

There was no need to stay back for a man who could not prioritize her despite being in love with her.