CHAPTER 10: MANIPULATED VIDEO

CHAPTER 10: MANIPULATED VIDEO

"I expected some competition, but I see I was wrong... I don't waste time with people who can't even arrive on time for an appointment."

"I apologize, Mr. Ashford, my daughter..."

"Save the drama. Apologies here are worth less than nothing. The world doesn't pause for losers who beg for another chance. Better find something more at your level, something less... ambitious."

"Please, Mr. Ashford, I really need this job. I'll do anything..."

"'I'll do anything' isn't a quality, it's desperation. Try not to waste my time any further. Understand?"

Sebastián slammed the phone down on the desk.

"Damn it!" he roared, his voice full of frustration. "That video is manipulated."

Inesa, who was with him, stood up and approached.

"I know, you're not capable of doing something so vile. What I don't understand is why upload this video to the internet?" She took the phone and looked at the comments, shaking her head, worried. "They're not good, Sebastián. Everyone is calling you a tyrant and cruel, someone who doesn't value others' lives."

Sebastián looked out the window, his mind working at full speed to find a reason.

"It's more than evident that it wasn't the girl, not to mention that I gave her the job after she told me her daughter had a fever all night. But... Damn it!" he pounded the desk, his frustration growing. "Who is trying to screw me over?"

"That's the least of it right now," said Inesa, trying to calm the situation. "The investors are very disappointed."

Sebastián looked at her, not understanding.

"How can a simple video affect a negotiation?"

Inesa adjusted the knot of his tie with too much familiarity, showing her closeness to him.

"Well, because the owner of the construction company is extremely family-oriented. He has 8 children and 10 grandchildren, and his wife is part of a foundation for orphaned children in Africa, so... your behavior doesn't look good in his eyes."

He pressed his lips together in frustration.

"Damn it! And just now when we need to enter the British market more than ever, we've invested a lot, losing that contract..."

"We won't lose it," she said softly. She leaned towards him and caressed his cheek. "You know you have me, Sebastián, you're not alone, we'll solve it."

Inesa looked at him intently while smiling, and without meaning to, she slowly moved closer. Sebastián was aware of her intention and deliberately stepped back.

"I have to go, Nicholas and I have an unfinished conversation," he said, putting distance between them.

Inesa stepped back, full of frustration, but forced a smile.

"Of course, Nicholas needs you."

Sebastián put on his suit jacket and grabbed his car keys.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Inesa, and... thank you very much for your support."

She waved her hand with a fake smile.

"Don't worry, we're friends... and partners... you can always count on me."

Sebastián nodded slightly and left.

The smile on Inesa's lips vanished as soon as the door closed behind him. Of course, she would always be with him, but she didn't want to be just a partner, she wanted to be his wife. She had fallen in love with him from the moment she saw him, at Sebastián's mother's birthday party. As soon as her eyes caught him, she knew he was the man of her life. But she quickly discovered there was someone else.

A girlfriend.

And all her hopes were shattered. But she regained hope when she found out that the girlfriend had left him to pursue her modeling career. Since then, she had done everything possible to make him notice her, to realize her love, but Sebastián seemed blind and didn't see it. That's why she had now set her plan in motion and pinned all her hopes on it. Sebastián had to see her as she saw him, not just as a partner or friend, but as something more, much more.

ASHFORD MANSION

In the austere study of the Ashford Mansion, Sebastián faced the imposing figure of his father, whose gaze was a block of ice.

"You've dragged this family's name through the mud with that pathetic spectacle," his father said in a cutting tone.

"The video is a lie, father. I would never..."

"Excuses!" his father cut him off, slamming the desk. "You're a disaster, a danger to everything we've built."

Frustration and helplessness took hold of Sebastián, feeling the anger boiling inside him.

"I'm doing everything I can to fix it, but if my own family doesn't support me..."

"You should have been more cautious," his father interrupted him. "Now, it may be too late. Do you have any idea of the cost of your mistake? How many years of effort you're throwing away?"

"I've dedicated my life to this company as much as you have!" Sebastián exploded, unable to contain his fury. "I'm not going to let a damn fake video destroy everything."

His father looked at him with a coldness that chilled the blood.

"Fix this. And do it quickly. Or there won't be anything left to save."

The atmosphere in the study was electric and charged with tension. Sebastián's father, with a gaze that cut like steel, issued an ultimatum that echoed in the study's walls.

"If you had a family, a wife, your public image would improve," he said, his voice filled with calculated coldness.

Sebastián felt a knot in his stomach. The idea of marriage now seemed like a prison, a chain to his freedom.

"I'm not interested in marriage, you know that. And I'm not going to give Nicholas a stepmother just to improve my image," he replied.

Sebastián's father stood up, his fury barely contained.

"Your son needs a mother! You're being selfish by forcing him to grow up without a mother or siblings."

"Nicholas is not alone; he has me. I am enough for him. He doesn't need anyone else to grow up happy and healthy."

At that moment, when Sebastián's father was about to reply, a soft but firm voice interrupted the tense exchange.

"Coraline," his father began, but she raised a hand, asking for silence.

"Your father is right, Sebastián," said mother, her tone full of resigned sadness. "Although your intentions are noble, the perception of the outside world matters, especially for the position we're in. And whether you want to accept it or not, Nicholas needs a maternal figure by his side."

Sebastián, after listening to his mother, stood up, his posture rigid like steel. He looked at both parents with determination in his eyes.

"I respect your opinion, but I'm not going to marry for convenience. I'll find another way to solve the video situation. And regarding the other matter, Nicholas and I will be fine."

Without waiting for a response, he turned and left the study.