Chapter 17

Cedric was about to grab Lucas by the collar once again but Veronica was able to stop them before it happens.

"No-no. It was my fault. Theresa was here earlier but she asked me to cover up for her and I didn't…" she stops halfway contemplating whether to continue or not.

Veronica took in a shallow breath, "...I didn't know that the job is like this when I agreed to help her."

The two were silent so she continued, "I'm sorry. I'll talk to my boss and I'll make up for whatever inconvenience I caused you both but I-" she hesitated once more, closing her eyes and then opening it again, "-I don't think I can do it."

The silence resumed before they heard Cedric scoff, "Well, that's smart. You agreed to help her without thinking and now you want to quit because you can't do it." he sneered before going back to sit on the couch. "Didn't you see how many people saw your face and took your picture? Can you pay for all the damages you'll cause my name and company once they find out that you're fake?"

"Ced-" Lucas tried to intervene but Cedric stopped him.

"Get out, Lucas. We'll talk later."

"I-" Veronica was taken aback by the sudden hostility that she was at loss for words. She watched the man on the couch before moving her gaze to Lucas who was shaking his head while heading for the door to walk out of the room.

Once Lucas was out, Cedric resumed, "Now, Miss?" he raised his brows in question while looking at the woman standing awkwardly in front of him.

"Veronica." She gulped, "Veronica Renarth."

"Right, Miss Renarth. How will you compensate me, huh?"

Cedric stood up and walked closer to her.

"I'll find a way, I promise. I just have to get my phone to call my boss."

But he didn't respond and just continued walking.

She took a step back whenever he steps forward until she felt her back touch the wall. "Please?" Veronica squeaked out with her eyes close when she realized how close he was.

A knock came on the door and Veronica only then notice how she has been holding her breath.

When the door opened she felt the warmth of his body leave her side all while his voice reached her ears.

"Hand it over," he said.

Out of curiosity, she peeked to her side and saw a man in a red suit, standing at the doorway holding something familiar.

It's her bag.

To her surprise, Cedric handed her the bag in his hand before muttering "Be quick,".

Veronica immediately took out her phone, mumbling a quick thanks before checking her inbox to see if April has seen her messages. She scrolled down and saw that April was able to read it but didn't send any reply so she dialed her number in a rush while giving a sideways glance at the two men by the door.

Pick up, A. Please, she muttered in her head.

She tried calling again after the first one failed but to her dismay, April didn't answer any of her calls.

Cedric let out a sigh as he watched the woman panicking. Veronica Renarth, huh?

He let her do what she wanted for another minute before taking the phone from her hand.

"Wait please..." She pleaded with him while reaching out for her phone but his hand was already too far for her to grasp.

"Sit down." He said motioning his hand at the empty chair. "-Seems like your boss doesn't plan to answer your calls so we'll talk without that person," he said before he caught sight of her face that resembled a defeated puppy.

Since he took her phone, Veronica had no choice but to follow him so she sat on the empty seat beside the couch.

"I'm canceling the contract with your boss."

"Wha-"

She was about to protest but Cedric raised a finger to tell her to let him finish, "-And I'll make a new one that says I'm hiring you instead. Since Lucas was the one who made the contract, I trust that the bargain should have been done fairly otherwise, I assume that your boss would not have agreed with his terms so I'm keeping the contents of the contract as it is except for one change which is your name."

Veronica continued to stare at her lap regretting her fucked up decisions. Way to go, Roni.

"I'll give you a day to think about it." He said with finality before giving the phone back to her.

For a moment, Veronica regained confidence as she raises her head to look at him and object but the look on Cedric's face completely threw off her plan so she continued to sit still.

"I hope you do think about my offer, Miss Renarth. It's not like you have that many options either." He added before looking at the man she didn't know was standing beside her.

"Have her drop off anywhere she wants," Cedric ordered the man.

As soon as he said that, Lucas barged into the room, his eyes darting to Veronica and then to Cedric in panic. "Gran's on her way here."

Cedric's expression turned dark before pointedly looking at the man beside Veronica as if in a silent conversation.

The man in a red suit nodded his head and pulled Veronica up from the sofa with a hint of urgency.

As he guided her outside the room she heard Cedric telling Lucas to buy them some time to escape before their voices were drowned out by the closing door.

Her mind drifted back to reality when she heard the man talking to him. "We'll be using the emergency exit to avoid the chairman and the press. Please follow me."

Even though he couldn't see it as his back was facing her since he's walking ahead, Veronica still gave him a slight nod in response.

In a few seconds, they reached a door with a glowing exit green sign at the end of a hallway. The man hurriedly opened the door and soon they were walking down a steep flight of stairs that leads to another exit to the back of the building where a black car is waiting.

The car dropped her off at April's apartment. Before getting off, she thanked the driver who just grunted at her in response before driving away.

She checked the windows from below on April's unit to see if there were lights turned on but the inside seemed dark. This only means that April hasn't come home yet either. She rummages through her bag to get the duplicate key for April's apartment as she walks up the stairs to their floor when her phone started ringing once again.

Thinking that it was April, Veronica didn't bother to look at the screen to check the caller's id as she quickly swiped for the answer button.

"April?"

"Veronica,"

Her eyes squinted as she makes out the voice on the other line. "Mom?" she blurted out before finally looking at her phone screen to confirm and it is indeed Lucia Renarth who called.

The line went silent for another minute that Veronica thought the call already ended but she checked her screen one more time and saw that it's still connected. "Mom? Are you there?"

Worry and panic started to rise in her gut when her mother didn't reply. Multiple thoughts and the worst scenarios played in her head as she listened closely for her response. calm down. calm down. calm down she repeated in her mind.

And then a short shallow breath sounded before Lucia's voice came out again, "...H-help".

_to be continued_