"Have you seen the news?!" Lacy, my assistant barged into my office worriedly, ignoring the 'Do not disturb' message I sent earlier.
"Lacy, you better have a good reason for this disturbance or else, I swear to--"
"A story got leaked!" She hurriedly passed her phone to me. "It's bad Diva. Every news outlet is talking about it. A reporter from Lemiers is camping outside the office right now trying to get a scoop."
"It's just another story why are you so..." My mouth hung low and I could hardly believe what I was reading. This wasn't the first time false news had been published about me. Infact, it got so frequent I was beginning to look forward to what creative lies they would come up with next. But this was far worse than a hate message framed as a think piece.
"DIVA DELORES BEATS PREGNANT HOUSE HELP VISCOULY, LEADING TO AN UNFORTUNATE MISCARRIAGE!" My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. As if the headline wasn't bad enough, below it was an image of me towering over my supposed pregnant "house help" while she lay crumbled on the ground.
A blatant lie spinned to make me look like the devil they all thought me to be.
"OH. MY. GOD."
"Everyone's talking about it." Lacy slumped on the seat in front of me defeated. "And I mean everyone! The original post has close to five million views in under an hour."
"What's PR doing? We need to take this down now!" I yelled as I grabbed my phone and rushed out of the office with Lacy trailing behind me.
"They're doing all they can but the news has already spread. There's too much engagement for us to--"
"Then debunk it! Call a press conference or something. This isn't true and we need to address it now before it gets worse... God, what do I pay you for." We got in the elevator I hurriedly pressed the button to take us to the seventh floor where the PR department was stationed.
"I- We're working on it boss." Lacy clasped her hands apologetically but I just ignored her. She is good at what she does, I can't deny that. But when it comes down to moments like these, I wonder if she has peanuts for brains.
The closer I looked, the more I recognized where that photo was taken. It was at my step sisters house for her birthday celebration last month. One of the servers had tripped and when I tried to help her up she flinched back. I found it odd back then but thought nothing more of it. Clearly I should have because that moment I dismissed is now proving to be the cause of my downfall. "She's not even my house help for Christ's sake."
"Anyone who sees the photo isn't going to care whether she is your help or not. At the end of the day it looks like you assaulted a woman to the point of miscarriage."
"This is bad." I sighed.
There have been baseless rumors in the past that I ate kids for breakfast or paid a dozen male escorts to please me each night. But those stories barely got traction outside snark forums dedicated to hating. This however, wasn't something I could brush under the carpet by deleting a few posts. Not with the damning photo evidence circulating around.
The PR department was in a frenzy by the time I got there. People were scattered, running up and down with papers in their hands, answering call after call. I walked over to the power box and pulled out a cord, disconnecting all their calls.
As soon as the line went dead, they all looked up to see me. "Boss!" Their eyes widened.
Wasting no time for formalities, I addressed them. "From this moment on you are not to interact with the press or anyone about this issue. Additionally, we need to put out a statement saying I'll hold a press conference tomorrow morning to address the issue."
Their faces were painted with worry and pity. A look I normaly hated seeing, but given the situation I was in, it was expected. "I know things look bad right now and given the evidence you might think--"
"We know you didn't do it." Jenny, the head of PR cut in.
"Yeah, none of us in this room--in fact, no one in this entire building believes you'd be capable of such a thing boss."
"We trust you."
A warm smile graced my face and I could feel my shoulder relax a little. Moments like these made me proud of the bond my employees and I had with each other. "I'll make sure your trust in me isn't misplaced. Keep up the good work."
"Don't you think tommorow is too early for a press conference?" Lacy asked as we rode the elevator to the basement.
"When do you think I should hold it then? When pigs begins to fly? Or is it after my reputation has faced unrepairable damage?"
"That's not what I--"
"Lacy this is a critical moment not a whimsical stroll in the park. You aren't taking it as seriously as you should be."
"But I am." Her voice went low and she lowered her head, blinking away tears.
"Seriosuly..." I shook my head. As much as I hated pointless tears, lashing out at someone was the last thing I needed at the moment. Calming myself I continued, "Why didn't you come to me sooner? It took you a whole hour after the news dropped before you informed me."
"The message, y-you said not to disturb you for the afternoon and I, I just..."
"Do not disturb does not apply when the situation is of this magnitude! You should have bulldozered your way into my office the moment you knew what was going on--that should have been your top priority.
"I'll do better next time, I promise."
"You better hope there's not a next time." We reached the basement parking lot and I turned to her. "Give me the keys. I'm going alone."
She wanted to protest but wisely kept quiet and handed me the keys. "I'm really sorry Diva."
"I know you are." I got in the car and lowered the window to look at her. "Keep the rats outside distracted while I leave."
"Understood."
I sat in silence for a while after Lacy left to catch my breath. The moment I leave the building, I'd have to face my fate head on, and steel myself against the hate this controversy would bring me.
"Give me the strength." I closed my eyes for a quick prayer and started the car, driving head first into the sea of paparazzi camping outside, ready to pounce on me.