The Artist And The Atheist

| 7 | HIS SINISTER EYES |

بسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In The Name Of Allah, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful

⊱ ⋆ ⊰

"You overdrinking will not magically resolve the issue at hand."

Jolyn (pronounced as Jo-Rin in Japanese) lets out a tired sigh upon hearing her. Pressing the bridge of his nose, he stridently puts down the glass on the table with a loud clunk, spilling some of its contents; as a result. The Manager Director then takes tipsy steps toward the full-height glazed windows of his office room. With both palms pressed against the cold glass for support, Jolyn gazes outside with bloodshot eyes.

"Tono," Akio Tsukomo, the Technical Team Lead, sitting on the beige leather couch, calls out to Jolyn. "Vevlet's official website, Instagram official page, and Facebook official page have been broken." He looks at the Manager Director and notices him fisting his hands in fury.

(boss)

Seated a little further away from him, Vanessa Elrod cocks an eyebrow at the Team Lead, finding him hesitant to narrate further.

"And different news channels are bombarding us with emails and tweets to schedule a meeting with the Velvet members specifically-- Wafa Sheikh." Tsukumo vocalizes. "The leaked article has certainly done a lot more damage than we expected."

Jolyn cusses loudly, a scowl marring his face. "The CEO had made a grave mistake by turning a blind eye when that lowly online gossip site threatened us with the footage," He growls, his fizzog turning a shade of crimson-red out of rage. He then shifts his attention from the passing cars outside to Elrod. "And look where that got us-- those idle-talkers released the article the day before the Velvet Annual Conference!" He remarks, banging his fist against the window.

"And surely your filterless mouth will neither change the mistakes of the past nor the consequences in the future." In response, Vanessa voices out composedly and stoically, in contrast to Jolyn's etiquette.

"Invite the high-ranked anchors working with the local news channels who reached out to us to tomorrow's VAC." She orders Akio.

And as if a bomb has dropped right above his head, Jolyn's jaw hits the floor out of horror. "Have you lost your mind, Josei?!" The Japanese-American man grits. The side of his head throbs in pain upon thinking about her phenomenal idea. "The members and the team sent there were under Seiga's protection. Wafa was under Seiga's protection! Kenyan authorities just played a voluntary part. Remember Ms.Elrod. They. Were. Not. Their. Responsibility. It was our responsibility while half of our men passed out from late-night drinking. And you want to invite the anchors?!" He huffs and rolls his eyes at the absurdity. "Now I'm starting to doubt your loyalty."

(woman)

"Watch your tone, Mr. Takahashi." Vanessa narrows her eyes at him. She icily reminds him, then stringently, she avows, "You know better than anyone else where my loyalty lies. Both my grandfathers and father served Seiga with all their sweat. Do you think I will betray what my predecessors spent all their lives establishing?" Even if I work under my ex-fiancé.

"Then why are you so adamant on sliding the company down onto the ditch to taste the mud? First, you made CEO Kyoya Hayashi approve Wafa's proposal, and now you suggested we call the press so that the whole world can find out how Seiga failed to ensure the safety of its clients." Jolyn begins to laugh like a drain. "Quite a loyalty you're showing here."

As Vanessa only glares at him with her steely eyes, Akio, on the other hand, massages his temples, in an attempt to relieve some stress.

"Trust me. Both will be of our benefit." She assures.