Chapter 6 Tone-Deaf Melanie knew that if the deals between Jones Enterprise and the other partners collapsed tonight, everything would be on her.
Lately, Lenaâs father, Daniel Jones, who was also Melanieâs uncle, had joined forces with the board of directors and threatened her mother to resign from her CEO position several times. It appeared that Lena must have been working with her father to have their hands on those pictures.
If Melanie were to allow that to happen, she would have failed her mother, who was still giving everything she had to Jones Enterprise.
At this moment, Annie ran into the ballroom and stood beside her, out of breath. She said, âMelanie, Iâve sent my men to control the backstage. Once my men are there, theyâll cut off the screen.â
âLet it be.â
Melanie raised her eyes and stared into the screen calmly.
Annie asked anxiously, âAre you sure?â
Melanie nodded in agreement. She took out her phone calmly and logged into her personal email account to retrieve some data before sending it to Annie. âGet your guys to include this in the slideshow. Loop it with the pictures.â
Feeling Melanieâs familiar aura, Annie felt more confident. As such, she took the data from her, snuck through the crowd, and left the ballroom.
âMelanie.â
Lenaâs eyes were filled with hostility. She was not planning to leave a way out for Melanie as she said in an unruly tone, âYou only care for yourself. You never considered what would happen to Jones Enterprise. I heard my father say these businesses are vital to Jones Enterprise.â
âAre you sure that we arenât able to close the deal just because of a few pictures?â
Melanie held her cane and positioned herself before saying confidently, âWell, letâs make a bet. What if I can close the deals?â
Lena looked like she had heard a joke, and she could not help but burst out laughing. âMelanie, thereâs enough time to take back what youâve said.â
âStop messing around. What do you think?â Melanie was not backing off.
âFine!â
Lena was more afraid that Melanie would take back what she said. Therefore, she quickly came out with a wicked bet. âIf you lose, youâll pole dance on the stage.â
âDeal.â
Melanie agreed to Lenaâs bet. âBut if I win, youâll have to sing for us on stage.â
Lena was stunned for a second.
The crowd murmured as they heard their bets. Both of their personalities were polar opposites.
Lena appeared pure on the surface but harbored a wicked side within. Her wanting a cripple to pole dance on stage was a clear attempt to shame Melanie. However, they never thought that Melanie would be so merciful because to an influencer like Lena, singing a song was no big deal to her.
However, only Lena knew in her heart that she was tone-deaf. The singles that she released were touched up by a sound engineer at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars. If she were to perform in public, she would be jeopardizing her reputation.
The crowd around them started heckling, so Lena had no choice but to agree. She then glanced in the direction of the partners and noticed their disapproving expressions, ignoring the directorsâ explanations. This sight boosted her confidence significantly.
Lena thought Melanie said this on a whim, so what was she afraid of?
âFine, deal!â Lena agreed to Melanieâs bet.
Hearing this, Melanie lowered her eyes as hostility flashed across her eyes.
Shortly after, someone in the crowd shouted, âHuh? Look, what is that?!â
Suddenly, the pictures on the big screen transitioned to documents, zooming in for everyone to see. The crowd noticed that they were copies of Bryanâs media firmâs contracts. These were among the pictures featuring Melanie socializing with various businessmen. Soon, the crowd understood what was happening.
âThese contracts are linked to the people in the pictures. Look, Miss Jonesâ name is on the contracts as well. So, she was the one who dealt with the businessmen personally.â
The tables had turned in an instant.
âIf thatâs the case, Young Lady Jones has exceptional business capabilities. She was the one who closed the deals for some of the major projects of Bryanâs media firm!â
âIâm surprised that Young Lady Jones is a gorgeous woman with extraordinary business competencies! Itâs a blessing to the Wests that Bryan has a fiancée like her.â
The crowd shifted their perception toward Melanie. Not only did she showcase her professional abilities on the big screen, but she also maintained a dignified demeanor while they were badmouthing her earlier. As expected of a young lady from a prestigious family...