Sleeping With The CEO
Chapter 157: Liars Stay Lying

Chapter 157: Liars Stay Lying

With all that had been going on at Haven Group, from the unprecedented fall of Olaf Group to his uncle’s would-be scandal, Derek had not wanted to think of sleep at all. In fact, he had pushed the possibility of it to the farthest corner of his mind and buried it there.

He had not wanted to be distracted. Not only that, he had wanted to give the job his all, making sure that by the time all was said and done, he knew for a fact that he had done his best. It had been very difficult to do, especially since Emily, who was very possibly the solution to all of his sleeping problems had constantly been there. Her presence working to both comfort him, and to tease him with something that he could not have. But through it all Derek had hung on. And now the day had finally arrived. They were free. The evening belonged to them.

They had no emergencies to attend to, no issues that required the presence of the CEO. Everything that was on his desk at that moment could be delegated to someone else and Derek was delegating to his heart’s content. He had been working himself to the bone for weeks. Now it was time for people to do, what he paid them to do. As he sent out various emails assigning different people with tasks that were best suited for them, Derek could not help the smile that played across his face every few seconds.

"Good day ladies and gentlemen. My name is Sebastian Haven of Haven Group. As I’m sure all of you already know," His uncle’s lackluster greeting was followed by a few quiet murmurs, the sound of pages turning and a few clicks here and there as cameras went off.

"Today I am here to clarify the issue between myself and the young lady with whom I was recently pictured with on social media. First of all I would like to start by offering a sincere apology. The awful terms that I called her were not said by me, instead they were said by a me that I am ashamed of. Someone who did not think, before they acted. It is shameful that such a thing is now out there on the web for all to see. I do not look down on women and I have never in my life referred to them in the terms that I used to describe the young lady that I was with. But thanks to a lapse in judgement and drinking more than was advisable, I ended up saying things that I did not mean, which is why I stand before you today to offer an apology not only to the general public who had to bear witness to my lapse in self-control. But also to the young lady in question," Sebastian paused, wiping a single tear. Derek felt like he was watching the biggest scam on Earth unfolding before his very eyes.

"I respect all women, and I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me for all of the awful things that I said," Standing at the back of the conference room with Emily by his side, Derek focused all of his attention on keeping a straight face. That had to be the worst apology that he had ever heard, but the press was eating it up, buying every single thing that his uncle was saying.

It was a good thing. It meant that public sentiment was most likely going to be steered in a way that would benefit Haven Group’s reputation. But Derek still found himself disappointed in the press. Was this really what journalism amounted to nowadays?

The people before him were not there to delve deeper into anything. They had not come to the press conference looking for a hot scoop. Instead they had come to be fed information straight from the horse’s mouth. Looking at them, it was clear that they were not there to hear about what had happened with the woman. Instead, for them, the biggest scoop seemed to be that Sebastian Haven was apologizing at all. The reason behind his apology, conveniently forgotten. It was a sad state of affairs.

And even though it was working out in Haven Group’s favour, Derek could not suppress his disappointment. What had happened to all the sharks? The reporters who used to ask uncomfortable questions? The bloodhounds who could pick a story from a mile away, and never let go of a potential piece unless there was evidence suggesting that it would be a bust. What had happened to those types of reporters? Derek missed them. When he had called the press meeting, he had not excluded anyone from the list, wanting every possible news outlet to be there. His plan in doing so had not been to attack or embarrass his uncle. Instead, it had been for the allowance of varying questions. From people who would clearly be writing articles that were either pro or anti Sebastian Haven’s behaviour. But it seemed as though every single reporter in the room had had their investigative skills switched off before coming to the meeting. They were literally just taking whatever it was, that his uncle said as the gospel truth.

"Bias and sexism at its best," Emily whispered as she shuffled closer. "I do not think the people in this room even realize that," She continued.

"But I think most of them already know about that lady. And this is their first time to get something solid on her," Derek nodded. When she put it like that, it made sense. After all, people were very rarely impartial, no matter what they claimed. So most likely, he was looking at a room of people who had long wanted to attack the woman. She was no innocent, that much Derek knew, but still seeing the way that every single reporter in the room was just willing to go along with whatever his uncle said, was sickening. Were it not bad for business, he would have called his own press conference and lambasted his uncle.

One day I will not need to protect him anymore, he told himself.

He will get himself into a mess, and I will just be able to leave him to the wolves, letting him fend for himself. It was a dark thought, one that Derek knew he should not be having about a family member, but he’d had it with his uncle’s antics. Unable to stomach anymore of what his uncle was saying, Derek quietly made his way out of the conference room, Emily’s footsteps following close behind. They kept quiet until they made it to Derek’s office. And once he literally threw himself at his chair, Emily took the one opposite his, and sat down with a sigh, her head pillowed in the palm of her hand.

"Whatever people say about your uncle Derek, he definitely has a way of charming the room," Emily said, he could tell from her tone that it was not a compliment. He nodded.

"That is very true, Emily. Very true. The only bright spot in all of this is that with the press conference done, tonight we are free. We do not have to worry about my uncle. He told her," She shrugged, all of the exhaustion of the past week, now plain to see on her face. About tonight she began and Derek’s heart sank. There was a look on her face that he did not like. "We need to talk," She said, and the dread in Derek’s heart amplified.

We need to talk.

Famous last words. That could not be anything good.