The Comments Called Me Ruined and I Called Bluff Chapter 08
The imposter was gone, but the disasters she left behind extended far beyond the house.
There were plenty more waiting for me outside.
That afternoon, I had a scheduled meeting with one of our business partners.
The second I sat down, the man across the table started making passive-aggressive comments.
“Miss Dixon, you’re finally willing to sit down and discuss actual business? Last time, you signed the contract without even reading it. We thought that was just how the Dixons did business.”
The people next to him chuckled along.
[This is all the imposter’s doing.]
[Signing without reading? Exactly how much of the Dixon fortune did she squander?]
I stayed calm, flipped the contract to the third page and pointed to a specific clause. “This profit-sharing percentage is wrong.”
The man blinked, “What do you mean it’s wrong?”
“The industry standard is 70-30, but you wrote 80-20 here. The last contract was exactly the same.” I closed the file and looked directly at him, “Do you think the Dixons are easy to fool?”
“I… I didn’t…”
“If you didn’t, draft a new one.” I stood up, “Have it sent to my office within three days.”
“Wait, Miss Dixon…”
I had already walked out of the conference room.
[YES! That’s how you do it!]
[The real Nicole actually studied business. The imposter’s amateur skills can’t even compare!]
On my way home, I received a phone call from an unknown number.
I picked it up, and a man’s voice came through the line, his tone overly intimate.
“Nicole? Why haven’t you been replying to my messages lately? We agreed to grab dinner last time, remember?”
[It’s the imposter’s side piece!]
[Oh no, he’s coming for her!]
“Who is this?” I asked.
The man paused, “Are you kidding me? It’s Harvey. Harvey Sterling.”
“Don’t know you. Wrong number.”
“Nicole, stop playing around…”
I hung up immediately and blocked the number.
When I got back to the manor, Cyrus was sitting in the living room looking at his tablet.
“A man named Harvey called me.” I said, putting my bag down, “Do you know him?”
Cyrus’s face darkened instantly. “The guy the imposter was chasing after.”
“Oh. I blocked him.”
He glanced at me, remaining silent for a couple of seconds.
“In the future, just tell me about these things. I’ll handle them.”
“No need, it was just a quick phone call.”
“I’ll handle them,” he repeated, a subtle weight entering his tone.
Sadie poked her head out from upstairs, “Who called?”
“Nobody, just a telemarketer,” I said.
Cyrus looked at me but didn’t expose the lie.
[Cyrus’s tone clearly shows he cares.]
[This Sterling guy is definitely going to cause trouble later.]