Alexander dropped into his office chair with a sigh, still feeling the weight of his conversation with ire hanging over him like an overcast sky. He wasn''t entirely thrilled about the situation, but duty called. ire wanted him to reach out to udia again, and like it or not, he''d have toply. With a quick nce at the clock, he picked up the phone and dialed udia''s number. To his surprise, it only rang once before her voice came through.


    "Finally!" udia''s voice snapped over the line before he could even get a greeting out. "I''ve been waiting for you to call. Delete it, Alexander. Delete that damn recording fromst night."


    Alexander leaned back in his chair, unable to stop the amused smirk that tugged at the corners of his lips. There it was-deja vu. Every conversation with udia somehow circled back to demands and usations, but there was something almost charming about her fiery nature. Almost.


    "Nice to hear from you too, udia," he drawled, leaning back a little more. "But I can''t just delete it, not yet anyway."


    "Why not?" udia barked, her impatienceing through loud and clear. "You have no right to keep it, and you know it."


    "I''ll delete it," Alexander replied smoothly, "but you''ve got to do something for me first."


    There was a beat of silence, followed by a disbelieving scoff. "You''ve got to be kidding me," udia spat. "rify it to the media? What for? People will forget about it in a few days anyway. It''s not a big deal."


    Alexander''s smirk faded, and his expression grew serious. "It is a big deal, udia. That press release? It''s not just on some obscure website that''ll vanish in a week. It''s on YouTube, and on social media. People can re-watch it over and over. Not to mention, your cryptic talk during that Q&A session has already stirred the pot. The journalists are curious. They''re asking questions. It''s only a matter of time before things spiral."


    udia rolled her eyes so hard that Alexander could practically hear it through the phone. "Oh, so now you care about what the media thinks?" she shot back, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You''ve barely paid attention to the Wright family in years. Why start now?" Alexander''s brows furrowed, and his tone hardened. "That matter was resolved, udia," he said, irritation seeping into his voice. "You have no right to drag it up again."


    "Right, right," udia cut in, waving him off even though he couldn''t see it. "You''re the one who started this whole thing in the first ce."


    This was getting old, fast. Alexander pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Look, are you going to rify things or not? Because if not, then this call is a waste of time."


    udia was silent for a moment, her irritation simmering on the other end of the line. She knew Alexander was right, but that didn''t mean she had to like it. Thest thing she wanted was to face the public again, especially not now. For reasons she wasn''t about to share, the idea of being in the spotlight made her skin crawl. But this punk, Alexander, was pushing her into a corner.


    "Fine," she hissed, her voice tight with anger. "Fine. I''ll do it. But don''t think for a second that I''m doing it for you."


    "Wouldn''t dream of it," Alexander replied dryly, relieved but unsurprised by her eventual concession. He knew udia well enough to expect resistance, but he also knew she wouldn''t let things spiral out of control if she could help it.


    Two hours had passed since Alexander''s tense call with udia the previous night, and now he found himself sitting in his office, tapping a pen on the edge of his desk. He had just gotten off another call-this time, ire was on the other end of the line. "udia has agreed to rify her words during the Q&A session," Alexander said, his tone business-like, hoping this would ease some of the tension from theirst conversation. He had barely finished the sentence before ire sighed loudly on the other end. "That''s something," ire responded, but there was a sharp edge to her voice that made it clear she wasn''t exactly thrilled.


    Alexander hesitated, then asked, "What if we skip the video and go with a letter instead? I mean, have her write a formal apology. We can post it on the website, and maybe put it out as a press release. Less dramatic that way, right? We could avoid the whole YouTube circus."


    There was a pause on ire''s end. He could practically hear her tapping her fingers on the desk, probably deep in thought-or maybe she was just annoyed again.


    "You think a letter''s gonna cut it?" ire finally replied, her voice dripping with skepticism. "No, no, Alexander. udia needs to make a video apology, face-to-face with the public. Then, sure, she can add a handwritten note if she wants something personal, but not as a récement. We need both. We can''t just brush this under the rug with a typed-out letter. This whole mess has gotten bigger than that."


    Alexander scratched his chin, still unconvinced. "But what if she changes her mind again? You know how udia is, unpredictable."


    That was thest straw for ire. She let out an exaggerated groan, the kind you make when someone asks you the same thing for the fifth time in a row. "Alexander, seriously? You don''t need to run every single decision by me. You''re a grown man! You can handle it." He blinked, surprised by her sudden outburst. "What''s that supposed to mean?" he asked, a frown already forming.


    "I mean, you''re the CEO, Alexander!


    You act like you''re just a spectator in


    all this. But everything that''s happening this chaos with udia? It''s on you. It''s your business, your responsibility," ire fired back


    here was


    There was no hesitation in her voice, just pure frustration. "You should''ve had a better handle on this from the start. I don''t get how you didn''t know what was going on in your ownpany. It doesn''t make sense."


    Alexander could feel his jaw tighten as ire''s words hit a nerve. It wasn''t like he enjoyed being in this. mess either. "It''s not my fault," he shot back, his voice rising a little. "I


    Re


    didn''t know she was going to say all that You''re acting like I nned this whole thing, but I didn''t even know about it until it was toote."


    "Exactly!" ire snapped her tone now cutting through the air like a knife. "You didn''t know, and that''s the problem. You''re the CEO, Alexander! How can you not know what''s going on? Either you''re not paying attention, or someone''s ying dirty right under your nose, and you''re just... oblivious."


    Her words stung more than he wanted to admit. Alexander felt a sudden rush of heat as his frustration boiled over. He gripped the phone tightly, resisting the urge to just hang up. "It''s impossible to talk to you like a normal person. Every time we speak, you''re just... impossible."


    "Impossible?" ire huffed, clearly unimpressed by his jab. "Look, it doesn''t matter how you feel about me right now. What matters is that udia needs to make a statement-an apology. And you," she emphasized, "need to make one too. This isn''t just her mess, Alexander. It''s yours too. So you both need to own up to it. Got it?"


    Alexander opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything, the line went dead. ire had hung up on him.


    For a moment, Alexander just sat there, staring nkly at his phone screen, disbelief etched across his face. What had gotten into ire today? Sure, she was always tough, but this felt personal, like there was something else bothering her, and he was just unlucky enough to be in the line of fire.


    He slumped back in his chair and rubbed his temples. As if this whole situation with udia wasn''t stressful enough, now ire was throwing gasoline on the fire. He nced at his phone again, half-expecting her to call back with some final remark, but of course, nothing