"So what are you going to do now?" Joshua asked, wondering why it was so difficult for him to figure out what Sheffield was thinking.
"First of all, I need to apologize to Evelyn!" That was Sheffield's number-one priority right now.
Joshua, however, couldn't understand why Sheffield would apologize to Evelyn. After all, she was the one who stood him up. "I'm not kidding. Before you say anything to Evelyn, just hear her out first," Joshua insisted.
Sheffield smiled and reassured him, "Don't worry. I'm not going to argue with her. I love her too much for that. She said there was something wrong with the new product launch. I'm just driving her home right now."
"You must be under some sort of magic spell to love her like this, Mr. Tang," Joshua added.
"Maybe! But I willingly subject myself to her spell."
"Yeah, yeah. Now you're just showing off!" Joshua wanted to lighten the atmosphere, at least to make Sheffield happier.
"You're right, maybe just a little. But, hey Mr. Single, it's not like you have anything better to do than to listen to me brag about my love life!"
Joshua feigned annoyance. "Damn it! I'm single and I'm happy!"
"Fine. Go ahead enjoy your single life. I'm going to pick up my girl."
"Get outta here!"
Sheffield hung up the phone and pulled out the location of where the new product launch event was taking place. After securing his luggage, he drove straight to his next destination.
On the way, Sheffield wondered if he would be disappointed in Evelyn, especially after what had happened today, if he had no idea of her previous pregnancy.
However, there were no ifs or buts about it.
Sheffield had no right to blame Evelyn for what had happened today. After all, the pregnancy had put Evelyn's life at risk.
No matter what Evelyn had done, she was absolved of any kind of blame or accountability, at least in this case.
At ZL Group's subsidiary
When Evelyn arrived at the venue and stood in front of everybody, all the reporters swarmed out of their seats in excited unison.
At the end of the day, the person standing before them was Evelyn Huo, daughter of the CEO of ZL Group and the most influential female executive in Y City.
All of a sudden, hyperactive cameras and flashing lights aplenty gave the impression that this was all very exciting.
Much to everyone's surprise, as soon as Evelyn finished her speech, an angry mob barged into the venue. Among them were almost a dozen well-built men, each with tattoos all over their bodies, who rushed towards Evelyn aggressively. So much so that even Evelyn's bodyguards couldn't stop them.
Right behind the tattooed men were a group of angry women, carrying plastic bags in one hand and shouting like shrews, regardless of the media's presence. "Are you the CEO of Trend Company?"
Trend Company was a subsidiary of the ZL Group. A real estate company that belonged to Evelyn.
Wearing an unchanged expression, Evelyn nodded and answered, "Yes, I am."
"It's her! Throw!"
Before Evelyn knew it, the women took out eggs from their bags and started throwing them at Evelyn. "Blood-sucking company! Give us our homes back!"
"You took our homes! You greedy, heartless bitch!"
"Evelyn Huo, we demand a public explanation from you today!"
Evelyn was taken by surprise by the time she noticed the eggs. As a result, one of the eggs hit her in the forehead and the liquified egg yolk ran down her cheeks.
In the blink of an eye, the entire venue fell into chaos.
Tayson rushed to the stage and stood in front of Evelyn. "Stop!" he shouted at the crowd. "Call security! Take these people out!"
Soon after, a group of security guards came in and caught the women who were about to throw more eggs at Evelyn.
However, the security guards failed to contain the mountain-shaped tattooed men, who ran towards the stage. "Don't try to stop us. Evelyn Huo, you've come from a ruthless and merciless clan. You took our homes and now we have nowhere to go. We want an explanation from you today!"
Eventually, more security guards came in and managed to contain the situation before things got out of hand again.
Nadia took out a wet tissue, wiped Evelyn's face clean with it and straightened her clothes.
Evelyn, however, wasn't angry at all. While tidying herself, she ordered Nadia, "Please go and find out what happened. Ask the general manager of Trend Company to come and see me now."
"Yes, Miss Huo." Nadia immediately started making phone calls.
Although the chaos had been contained, there was still public unrest at the venue. Evelyn stood in front of the microphone again and said, "Everyone, please be quiet!"
Instantly, the place fell silent. "I'm sorry, but we're at the launch event of our company…"
Before Evelyn could finish, a disgruntled woman interrupted her. "So what? We wouldn't have found you if it weren't for this event! People like you like to hide and enjoy yourselves, but what did we ever do to deserve getting kicked out of our own houses like street rats? Why?"
"Yes, why?"
Amidst their complaints, Evelyn responded in neither a humble nor a pushy tone. "I've asked my assistant to investigate the matter. Please go to the 22nd floor and help yourselves with a cup of tea. I promise to get back to you once I have more information on the matter."
"No, we'll stay right here! We won't leave and you can't go anywhere either!"
"Yes! We have tried to reason with your company, but you just keep ignoring us! We are not leaving!"
Looking at the security guards, Evelyn said, "Let go of them. Everybody, please sit down. I'll be here waiting for news from the person in charge."
Her reaction and calmness astonished everyone.
The security guards released those they had detained earlier. The protestors had no intention of giving up, but when they saw Evelyn standing on stage and showing no intention of leaving, they all sat down one by one.
The launch event was being broadcast live, and as such, the incident was viewed by almost everyone online. The conflict had become a hot topic for discussion online. The words "ZL Group's new product launch event" had sparked a sensation on the Internet. The amount of searches had soon reached five million.
The number of searches online under Evelyn Huo, the trustworthy CEO of Trend Company soared through the roof. As graceful as a queen, Evelyn showed neither anger nor embarrassment in the difficult situation. Netizens were amazed by her composed disposition and elegance. She had become their goddess.
The live broadcast was still on-going. As a matter of fact, Nadia was the one who had arranged for the security guards to get the media journalists out of there. However, Evelyn stopped her. The viewers had only seen the beginning of the story. If they were to stop the broadcast now, it would look like their company was trying to hide something disgraceful. It would change the entire narrative of the situation. Evelyn wanted everybody to see the whole truth. And if her company was in the wrong, she would set things right and hold the person in charge responsible.
Five minutes later, Nadia hurried inside with her phone in her hand. She briefly told Evelyn about what had happened.
It turned out that last year Trend Company had begun demolishing clusters of dilapidated housings in the city. When the people involved in the affair knew that it was related to the ZL Group, they began asking for exorbitant prices.
