36. Business Trip!

Cape Town was wonderful, it was very different from my city. The air was fresher, the ocean waves were calming and the wine farms were exquisite, I had a list of places I wanted to visit while there on business. It was the perfect recuperating place. However, I had to catch up on my sleep upon my arrival, I was still exhausted from Walter's visit the previous night. He came to say goodbye but decided to spend the night, Sandra had already gone home, so he couldn't miss the opportunity to have me one more time, to be honest, the feeling was mutual because I missed him just as much. After the long and steamy night we had, I was too worn out to even get out of bed, upon my complaining, he said we needed to make up for lost time, and knowing that I was going to be away the next four weeks gave him more drive. Recalling our time together always left a smile on my face, things have been going well ever since that talk, things went back to exactly how they used to be in the beginning, with just a little more affection and loud affirmations. I appreciated him for taking the first step.

I checked-in at the hotel, my manager made sure I stayed in the nicest hotel in town, I never felt so grateful. The room was a presidential suite and was elegantly furnished, I had the best rest, and given that the workshop was starting the next day; I needed to be at my best.

The first week of the workshop went by quickly, everything was proceeding in order. I felt fortunate to be rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest and best people in the industry. My days have been peaceful and calm in such a way that I even forgot about Rachel, looking back, that must have been the calm before the storm.

The following Wednesday during lunch, I received a text from Shirley with a screenshot of Rachel's Facebook post. 

"Thandie, so apparently the lady in publishing is rumored to be a home-wrecker and she keeps following Walter around". Rachel shared an old picture of her and Walter with the caption 'We have come too far to let some village girl break us apart. At the end of the day, it is just you and me baby.'

I completely forgot about my war with Rachel, reading her post pissed me off, I didn't think she was going to make the fight a public one. Just as I was about to reply to Shirley's text, Walter's call came in,

"Thandie, so the thing between me and Rachel has been sorted out, she is no longer in the picture and will not be bothering us anymore". Hearing his calm tone, I could tell that he hadn't seen Rachel's post and so I informed him about it, he hung up to check it out, then called me back within 5 minutes.

"Oh my God, I didn't see that, I will tell her to take the post down immediately! What the hell is she playing at??", Walter was just as furious as I was, but then I decided not to entertain her, I refused to stoop down to her level, "if she wants a fight, she must make it an adult one". Walter was relieved to hear that I was not going to entertain her, but he still insisted on having the post taken down.

"No, it's okay, let it be", I knew the post was directed at me, that was her first punch.

Knowing her self-entitled, narcissistic personality, I should have known that ignoring her was only going to worsen things, Rachel spent every working day of the week throwing shots and calling me by all sorts of names, from slut to home wrecker. By now, she had already created enough buzz, her followers were curious about the mystery homewrecker who broke their queen's heart. I had to fight off the urge to defend myself, Walter's calls had also increased; he would call me every time Rachel posted something. He was getting more anxious by each passing day, and I had to ask him not to get involved again, hoping Rachel would get tired, but our silence only made things worse. Just as I was getting good at handling the posts, on a late Friday afternoon while I was having a social drink, smiling, and networking, Shirley called me in panic, "You have been exposed! I knew you were the publishing girl, but it is not looking good for you, check out Rachel's post for today. Walter and I will try to contain the situation this side".

The instant Shirley hung up, I rushed to Rachel's post which was now made public and spreading like wild fire. She posted a picture of me and Walter hugging and it looked like it was taken the day we met her at the elevator with the caption, "The secret to quick success is to sleep with management. It's not enough that you took my love, but you had to get a job right where he works and rub it in. "

All this time, I managed to keep my business under wraps, and it took a single post to blow open everything. My phone could not stop buzzing from close colleagues wanting to know if I knew Walter before joining the company. The picture alone was enough to cause a commotion, but the caption sealed it. I was the office gold digger who seduced her way into the company, some people like Shirley believed me, but they were only a small voice. Because the story involved Walter, one of the successful, eligible bachelors in the city and Rachel who happened to be influential, it quickly became gossip and finally reached home. Sandra called me fuming in anger, 

"That evil witch, how can she lie like that?! And how can people believe that ridiculous story? Do they think Walter is famous enough to be popular in our small town??"

I was honestly thinking the same thing as Sandra, but I had no time to dwell in my anger, I needed to have this buried. "Sandra, please take care of my parents, I need to handle this."

"Okay, I know Aunty and Uncle don't believe this. Be strong!", I felt better knowing that Sandra was there with my parents.

The post was shortly taken down, and the gossip columns were all buried, but it was already too late because more than a handful of people had already seen it. I called Walter in a state

"That's it! This is way more than you now, how dare she attack my work ethic", I didn't have to say it twice for Walter to understand, "Yeah, you have been quiet enough, she went too far, let it reap! She asked for it!"

The war between me and Rachel became too personal way too quickly and I needed a heavy blow, I didn't know what, but I knew I had to do something. The damage done by her post was beyond measurable, the post somehow found its way to Cape Town. Every important person in the industry who was in that workshop knew me as the girl who went to bed with management to get to where I was. Some people thought that was the reason I was in such an important meeting when I was only an assistant. The attack was no longer directed at just me, my manager was also catching smoke. Just then I got her text:

"Don't run and do not panic! Show them that you got the job through your hard work. Those people are professionals, they know talent. Show them and save us both, I believe in you. If you need rescuing let me know."

She was right, proving myself meant proving her innocence, but I also needed to give Rachel a taste of her own medicine, I needed a plan for Rachel. 

"Hey, is this true?", A woman approached me to show me Rachel's post,

 I was already drained from answering similar questions from my colleagues, but unlike the other people in the workshop who just kept giving me judgmental looks, at least she was direct, "No ma'am, it is not.",

She released a sigh of relief but laced with a bit of disappointment, "Rachel, she has done it again...",

I was shocked by her reaction and 'What exactly did she mean by again', hearing that gave me a glimmer of hope, 'could she be the one to help me fight back', I didn't know much but one thing for sure, she was someone I needed to get to know.