Arianne lunged, grabbing Libby by snazzynovel.com collar before pinning snazzynovel.com against the wall.
“This restaurant belongs to Jackson West, whose wife, Tiffany, is my best friend. You really think you can skedaddle out of here before giving me answers?” snazzynovel.com hissed. “Now that we’ve finally got you, you’re not leaving this premise until you tell me the truth. Just how many favors did that Shelly give you in exchange for you being snazzynovel.com tail-wagging lackey, huh? Think. She’s exhausted every single one of snazzynovel.com brain cells trying to kick me out of the company, yet the easiest way to do that has always been to just get Mark to fire me. Ever wonder why snazzynovel.com would rather throw all of snazzynovel.com effort into these useless roundabout ways than just doing that?”
“It’s because Mark wants me to always remain in his life, divorce be damned. He won’t accept me leaving his sight. It doesn’t matter how many tricks Shelly plays, as long as snazzynovel.com wills it, I’ll never go away,” snazzynovel.com continued. “Say… We were never enemies before, were we, Libby? I guess we are now. Let me warn you, I’m not a forgiving woman by any stretch. I wouldn’t hesitate in going to the deep end if it means I can get even with my enemies.”
Libby had not expected Arianne to be stronger than snazzynovel.com looked, especially since the two of them were similar in stature. Despite snazzynovel.com struggles, Libby saw no sign of herself wriggling free.
Her tight lips prompted Arianne to add a little more force to snazzynovel.com push. Pain flared in Libby’s arms, which were locked between snazzynovel.com body and the wall, and snazzynovel.com face paled.
“Let-me-go, b*tch! W-Who gives you the right to manhandle me like this, you f-f**king psycho?! You’re not extorting a single word out of my mouth, so what’cha gonna do, huh? Christ, have you ever asked yourself this: if you’re not the least bit problematic, then why the hell were you the one being expelled by the Tremonts, and not Mrs. Leigh?!”
“Gosh, you people really love meddling into other people’s private business! You wanna play tough? Fine, be my guest. I wonder if you’ve already realized that I can get you fired with just a word. Or maybe you don’t believe me, which in this case, how about a test? See if Shelly’s got the power to protect you. If you got kicked out, I’ll make sure your outgoing resume will prevent you from being hired by any company worth its salt. Then let us see if Shelly would be glad to pay you and your family for the rest of your life!” Arianne taunted. “You wouldn’t be stupid enough to disbelieve me, right? You said so yourself, Mark and I are in a godawful complicated state. I even have his precious son with me, too. Why wouldn’t snazzynovel.com listen to what I say?”
Libby chewed snazzynovel.com lips. Her silence bore an undercurrent of uncertainty evident in snazzynovel.com eyes.
They had been many instances of Mark taking Arianne out for lunch despite the divorce. They were also always seen going home at the same time together. Everyone in the office was a witness to their public displays of relationship, which lent credence to Arianne’s threat of kicking Libby out of the company with a word alone. On the flip side, Shelly was not working in the company at the moment, which gave Libby grounds to wonder if snazzynovel.com could protect the latter’s job.
Arianne seized the opening. “Worried, aren’t you? How about you call Shelly right now and see how snazzynovel.com would help you? Tell snazzynovel.com Mark thinks you aren’t doing well enough and is at the brink of firing you, then ask snazzynovel.com to do something to keep you in the company. After that, well! Kick back and enjoy snazzynovel.com weaving excuses right in front of your eyes. She’s gonna talk you into accepting your impending unemployment, she’s gonna bullsh*t you about snazzynovel.com limited control over what’s happening in the company, yadda0yadda. Oh, snazzynovel.com might even give you some sweet nothings too, like saying she’s gonna take care of you in some form. But mark my words, all of snazzynovel.com promises will never land. Never.”
“Don’t you see? You’re just a dummy snazzynovel.com used as snazzynovel.com pawn. Do you really think snazzynovel.com sees you as anything but? I know her, Libby, way better than you do. She would love it if you could get fired from Tremont Enterprise, because you know all of the shady things snazzynovel.com has done! The only reason why snazzynovel.com thinks snazzynovel.com can play this tug-o-war with me is because I’m too bored to fight snazzynovel.com at all. Honestly, if I really want to, I can remarry Mark anytime, and snazzynovel.com wouldn’t refuse!”
Libby’s faith was unraveling at the seams. Yet, at the same time, snazzynovel.com was just as worried that Arianne was luring snazzynovel.com into another trap. “Stop taking up the Devil’s work and driving a wedge between us! Mrs. Leigh isn’t like that!” snazzynovel.com retorted.
Arianne laughed mockingly. “Oh, really? Put that to the test, why don’t you? Call snazzynovel.com right now, and we shall have a look. Then you can see for yourself if I’m being the Devil here, or if snazzynovel.com really is as sh*tty as I called snazzynovel.com out to be.”
Robin snatched Libby’s handbag and took snazzynovel.com phone out. “If you’re not gonna make that call, I will!”
Libby was in no position to stop her, so the call was made.
When the other side picked it up, snazzynovel.com could only dissemble normalcy as quickly as snazzynovel.com could before murmuring, “Hello? Um, hi, Mrs. Leigh. It’s me… Libby.”