The Devil's Harem

Chapter - 91

Just as Alex walked through the door, there it was, a familiar face in front of him.

Alex first saw Daniel in the meeting he attended with Karen. He was the only other male beside him there and the only male to sit in the club of the elite female brigade.

When Alex entered, Daniel was on the phone. Daniel welcomed Alex in gestures and pointed at the chair for him to sit.

"I know, but why won't they let you meet them?" Rubbing his head in frustration, Daniel asked on the phone.

"They are only charged. Nothing has been proven yet, right? Or they are saying they have some evidence?" Daniel asked.

"Find it out, and don't panic. I will be there as soon as possible," Daniel reassured the person on the phone.

Alex sat there for a while before Daniel finally ended the call and turned towards Alex, "Hi, I am Daniel. I am the head of this, as you can see the extensively busy Legal Department," Daniel extended his hand for a handshake as he introduced himself.

"I know. I saw you on the day of the all department meeting," Alex said, shaking hands with Daniel.

Hearing Alex, Daniel thought for a while. It took him some time, but he suddenly recognised Alex as he said, "Oh, yeah. I remember you now. You were the guy with Karen who gave the presentation that day, "Daniel said, remembering Alex, "It was a very satisfying presentation. What was your name again? Sorry, I have a lot on my plate, and I can't seem to remember it."

"Thank you, and I am Alex Rutherford". Alex told him. Alex continued, "Karen sent me here. She said I might be of some help".

"I know... I know... I know... I was just on call with Karen before this. She did tell me your name, but well, I forgot in all this mess," Daniel acknowledged, "She said you have a bit of knowledge in this regard, is it true?" Daniel asked.

"I once prepared for the bar exam. But later dropped the idea," Alex told Daniel.

"So you don't have any experience in this regard?" Daniel asked.

"Don't worry, I may not have experience working in the legal field, but I remember every article and law there is." Alex tried to hide his lack of expertise in the guise of his knowledge.

"Well, as long as you can understand the technicality and differentiate between legal and illegal, you will do fine. So, can you?" Daniel asked, but before Alex could reply, he continued on his own.

"Well, never mind. Sorry to say this, but I need more of the chore boy in you than a legal expert. Come, let's go," Daniel stood up to leave as he said.

Daniel grabbed a couple of files, his jacket and walked out of his office. Alex also followed behind without dilly-dallying.

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When they reached the parking, Daniel gave Alex the keys to his car, "I have some files to go through. Can you drive?" Daniel asked.

"Sure," Alex said, taking the keys.

In the car, Daniel was seriously going through the files. He would make some calls from time to time to the company, to his friends in the police and prosecution. Daniel was trying his best to keep a couple of guys named Abir and Sana from being held up in lockup.

Alex would occasionally look at Daniel, open his mouth to ask something but could not bring himself to ask whatever was there in his mind.

"Shoot it. What do you want to ask?" To Alex's surprise, Daniel asked without even averting his eyes from the file he was looking at.

Alex was startled, "I... I didn't mean to disturb you. It's just that it has been very chaotic since morning. Everyone in the PR department was also super busy answering calls, calling reporters, publishing articles. And now, even the legal department looked as if in a battle," Alex told him what he saw all day.
"Have you been living under a rock?" Daniel couldn't help but ask as he saw Alex with strange eyes.

What's happening at Theation has not only shook the company but also created a buzz in the city. The only news on television right now was about the scandal at Theation and the celebrities involved. But to find someone who knew nothing about the turmoil the company was going through, Daniel found it hard to stomach.

"Yeah, I was sick, so I took a couple of days off," Alex told him, "And well, things happened, so no one told me about anything."

"Is that so?" Daniel nodded, hearing Alex, "Well, let me tell you in brief. It all started two-three days back. Lawsuits for copyright infringement, bribery charges against higher officials, DUI and hit and run charges against some of our celebrities were filed and many more. It all came so suddenly that we are unable to comprehend anything, but we are sure that someone is trying to set us up". Daniel told him.

"So someone is purposely targeting 'Theation'". Alex asked.

Daniel nodded, "Most of the lawsuits are nothing but dummies. Fake and were busted in no time. Witnesses were caught and prisoned for perjury. We filed counter-lawsuits for defamation and took every means possible to fight back, but you see, all of this created a buzz..."

"... Suddenly, we found ourselves surrounded by so many lawsuits that it was hard for us to even breathe. So I asked Karen for some help. Actually, I wanted Karen to help me, but she was busy cleaning up after the mess that it was hard for her to come." Daniel told Alex.

"How could Karen be of help to you guys?" Alex asked, a bit confused.

"You don't know?" Daniel looked at Alex, "Aah... I remember now. There was a talk of this newbie in Karen's team, well, a male intern to be exact. You are that, aren't you?" Daniel said as if coming to a realisation.

"Hmmm..." Alex nodded.

"Not that it will be matter. You see, most of the heads of departments actually know each other well before Theation. When Karen started Theation, she more or less poached us from the parent company. Not that you need to think about it, "Daniel brushed off the not so important detail.

"Most of the staff was hired later on. I worked with Karen earlier. We were in the same company. We may not look that old, but both of us were the senior legal consultant there," Daniel said as he boasted about himself and Karen.

"When we came here, instead of joining as the head of the Legal team, she chose the PR department. I don't know why, but it's a pity. She was actually pretty good at what she did, maybe even better than me..." Daniel smiled as he told Alex about it.

"... To be honest, on paper, she is just a regular head of the PR department like any other company. But in reality, she is second only to Jessica in the company. Other than Jessica, she is also one of the major driving forces of the company," Daniel let in Alex on the little secret.

Alex agreed with a smile, "Well, she is quite talented."

Alex really admired Karen, but he blew it up today. Giving it some thought, he knew that all Karen did was care about him. He knew that, and thinking about it, he even appreciated her for that. But Susan was the one who messed it all up. What was his mistake? He just wanted to talk to her, and even though he didn't understand, when she asked him to leave, he was about to. It was that Lickinbottom guy who stopped him.

Now, for Alex, everything was tolerable. He won't mind if someone punched him in his face, cursed him. Heck, he would try to brush it off even if someone spits on him, but Martha was different. Cursing Martha is crossing the line, something he won't tolerate. And Alex lost it, something everyone should expect him to. But he never thought Susan would slap him... Na... Na... Na... that was a surprise for him.

He was hurt, sad, angry. There was this cocktail of emotions erupting inside of him, and Karen, his sweet and caring boss, caught him at the wrong time.

He brought her husband in between and got a slap in return. Something he very much deserved, but more than him, Karen was hurt. He could see that in those teary eyes and shivering shoulders. She was hurt and maybe, disappointed in him.

In his heart, Alex wanted to apologise, but he, for some reason, didn't want to accept that he was in the wrong. He didn't even want to be in there with everyone else, and this temporary transfer was the perfect exit for him.

Daniel, on the other hand, continued to praise Karen. But when he saw Alex spaced out, he nudged him a little to bring him back, "You there with me?" Daniel asked, "Eyes on the road, buddy. Don't space out, or we will be haunting people on this very road." Daniel joked.

"Ahh... No... I was just thinking about something. Don't worry, I am a decent driver," Alex nodded, "So where are we going?" Alex asked.

"Everyone in the Legals is busy handling something. And we, right now, are on our way to the police station to take care of the DUI and hit and run case," Daniel told him, "Let me enter the route on the navigation for you." Daniel said and put in the location of the police station.

Alex nodded, and with that, the car fell into complete silence. Daniel engrossed himself in the files while Alex focused on driving.

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