Chapter 28
The vague comments quickly pushed Joycelyn into the spotlight, sparking curiosity and rumors that spread like wildfire.
People loved gossip, and with hundreds of colleagues in the company, it didn’t take long for whispers about Joycelyn to circulate. Her name was now tied to the joint venture, creating buzz across various departments.
Even though work hadn’t officially started yet, the messages quickly began piling up.
Joycelyn usually ignored the company-wide chat, but when she noticed a flurry of messages about her, she couldn’t help but check.
“Joycelyn, have you seen the company chat? Selene says Mr. Crows is pursuing you…” one message read.
That was when Joycelyn realized that the rumors were quickly connecting her name to Tommy’s, sparking even more speculation.
“There’s no way Joycelyn would be interested in someone like Mr. Crows,” Aurelia quickly jumped in to defend her. She sent a laughing emoji. “I was at the dinner last night too, but I didn’t notice Mr. Crows giving Joycelyn any special attention. If anything, he seemed to be more focused on Ms. Lome.”
Meanwhile, Linda, lying in her hospital bed, watched the chaos she’d stirred with a smug smile. She saw Aurelia’s message and her expression darkened.
Linda swiftly replied with a new message: “Joycelyn had been drinking last night. Halfway through the event, Mr. Crows gave her a ride home. They both left early, and then they signed the contract so quickly. It’s obvious that Joycelyn must have played a big part in that (with her charm).”
The message set off another wave of gossip, and Joycelyn felt her hands shake with anger as she read it. It was clear that Linda was intentionally spreading rumors, trying to imply that Joycelyn and Tommy were more than just colleagues.
Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Joycelyn calmly responded to the chat: “Aurelia, could you please distribute the flowers to everyone?”
“Sure,” Aurelia and Selene offered to help immediately.
Joycelyn grabbed the bouquet of 52 roses and took them to Linda’s office herself, placing them next to Linda’s professional photo on her desk. Then she snapped a picture of the setup.
When she returned downstairs, she saw that every colleague had either a bouquet on their desk or in their hands. Joycelyn uploaded a photo of the signed document and the roses to the group chat.
Joycelyn: “Ms. Lome, the 52 roses have been delivered to your office. Everyone has benefited from your kindness.” (Attached were the three photos.)
She quickly followed up with another message: “Last night, I meant to drink coffee instead of alcohol, but somehow you ended up pouring me liquor. Since I can’t hold my liquor, my friend had to take me home. As for you and Mr. Cross—being so close—I’m sure he didn’t need me to worry about him.”
Joycelyn added a playful emoji, combining respect with a hint of lightheartedness. Her message had a formal tone, almost as though she were handling an office task, but it was clear she was addressing the rumors and asserting her side of the story.
By presenting everything as if it were a work-related matter, Joycelyn managed to make her stance clear without directly confronting the rumors.
The colleagues who had been eagerly gossiping began to realize the tone of her messages and stopped fueling the fire.
But Linda’s assistant wasn’t backing down. He quickly jumped in to keep stirring the pot: “But those red roses. They symbolize love! I heard they were for you. Didn’t you sign for them?”
Joycelyn: “I signed for them on behalf of the department. Everyone got one, including you.”
That silenced the assistant, and he had no more to say.
Joycelyn kept her responses careful, cautious not to cross any lines. But Linda wasn’t done yet. She made one last attempt: “Joycelyn, are you just embarrassed?”
Joycelyn was left speechless, thinking, This woman is deliberately trying to provoke me, to make me a topic of office gossip and give the impression that I am using an affair to climb the corporate ladder.
People loved to talk, and by now, the photos of her and Mr. Cross might already be circulating. This office drama, especially when it was instigated by someone in a superior position, was hard to navigate.
Despite Joycelyn’s calm exterior, she couldn’t avoid being dragged into the mess. Colleagues who had been quietly observing the drama began spamming the chat with memes—making it clear they were watching the spectacle unfold. It was clear this wasn’t going to blow over anytime soon.
Joycelyn felt a surge of frustration but didn’t reply. Instead, it seemed that Ellison was stepping in.
Ellison, who rarely spoke in the company-wide group chat, had already posted a couple of messages that morning. His tone had shifted from calm to something far more authoritative.
Ellison: “No more nonsense! Unless it’s an official announcement, stop flooding the group!”
As soon as this message went up, everyone who had been gleefully gossiping went silent. The chat, which had been full of nonstop messages, suddenly froze, the silence broken only by new notifications.
Ellison ordered with a stern expression, “William, adjust the settings so only I can post. Mute everyone else.”
William immediately pulled out his phone and made the change. “Done.”
Once the mute notifications went out, the group finally quieted down. The earlier chaos was now under control.
Ellison: “Linda, if as a director, you need your colleagues to drink excessively to secure each contract, it suggests your leadership still needs improvement.”
This message hit everyone like a punch to the gut. Hundreds of people reading the chat could almost feel the pressure behind his words.
What had started as light-hearted gossip suddenly turned serious, and the office grew tense as everyone processed what had just been said. But Ellison wasn’t finished.
Ellison: “Take a few days off to rest. Aurelia is highly capable, so I’m promoting her to co-director to manage the Planning Department with you.”
When Selene saw this, she rubbed her eyes in disbelief. A few seconds later, she practically screamed. “Aurelia, you got promoted!” Selene, always bubbly, immediately dropped her phone and rushed to hug Aurelia.
Aurelia, still processing the surprise, let herself be hugged but managed to stay composed. “Joycelyn, what do you think this means? What’s going on with Mr. Grant?”
“Of course, he knows how capable you are and how considerate you are of others—that’s why he promoted you! Looks like we’re in for some good times!” Joycelyn responded with a smile.
Joycelyn, her earlier frustration replaced with a more serious expression, walked over and joined Selene in hugging Aurelia. It felt like they were celebrating a new opportunity, and they were happy for her.
The rest of the department joined in the celebration.
“Aurelia, come, have some water!” Selene pulled up a chair for Aurelia to sit down.
“Aurelia, congratulations!” Joycelyn said with a gentle smile, offering Aurelia a shoulder massage.
Aurelia was nearly in stitches, laughing at the two of them. “Mr. Grant probably just said that offhand.”
“Grant? The kind of guy who chooses every word carefully? No way he was just saying that casually. You’re probably going to be the envy of the whole company. A sudden promotion? People will be talking about it for days!” Selene made a dramatic “OK” sign, her excitement palpable.
Joycelyn thought about it for a moment. This is a clever move—shifting the attention onto Aurelia, effectively putting an end to the drama around me.
Joycelyn sighed quietly, relieved. She wasn’t sure how else she could clear the air.
Just as she thought things were finally calming down, her phone buzzed again. She checked it—another message from Ellison.
Ellison: “After what happened yesterday, you still haven’t told me what’s going on?”
Joycelyn: “It’s nothing, it’s all in the past.”
It wasn’t a big deal, and she’d already handled it, so she didn’t want to revisit it.
But Ellison, seeing her casual reply, felt a surge of frustration. His face darkened, and he threw his phone aside in annoyance, not bothering to reply.
This version keeps the office drama and adds more nuance to the characters’ interactions. It highlights the complexity of the workplace politics and the consequences of the gossip, while also focusing on how Joycelyn navigates the situation with grace and strategic responses.
