"And you expect me to believe that?" Jenny fired back. "You deliberately told Mr. Alvin that my mother stole from him so he could have her prosecuted, didn't you?"
She shook her head in disappointment.
"You're a snitch."
"Jenny, that's not what happened—"
"If you're really innocent, then prove it."
"How?" Josh asked, rolling his eyes in frustration.
"Plead with Mr. Alvin to drop the charges against my mother," Jenny demanded. "If you can convince him to let her go, then I'll believe you had nothing to do with this."
Josh stared at her in disbelief.
He couldn't believe the impossible demand she had just made.
"No way." Josh's eyebrows shot up in disbelief.
"I know that look," Jenny said, her voice trembling. "I thought you were on my side. You're the only hope we have now. Please, do something."
She suddenly dropped to her knees and grabbed Josh's trousers.
"Please, stop! Get up!" Josh pleaded, glancing around as people began staring. "You're embarrassing me."
But Jenny refused to move. She remained on the ground, desperately pleading with him to drop the charges against her mother.
"I've always known you to be a clown, but I never thought you'd do this to me," Jenny said bitterly. "This is the one favor I've ever asked of you, and you've chosen to destroy my life. I thought we were best friends. What happened to 'I'll always be there for you'?"
She tightened her grip.
"If there's anyone in that organization the boss listens to, it should be you."
"I wish I could help," Josh replied, his voice softening. "But he doesn't even know that you're connected to this yet. You should talk to him yourself."
He gently pulled himself free from her grip.
"I'm out of here. See you at the office. Good luck."
Josh walked away without looking back, leaving Jenny alone to face the consequences of her mother's actions.
Jenny slowly got to her feet and turned toward Megan.
"Happy now?" she asked bitterly, narrowing her eyes at her mother. "You've successfully dragged me into your mess. I just hope you come out of this."
"I'm so sorry for getting you involved in my shit," Megan said remorsefully. "I had no idea your boss was involved. How do I fix this? I really want to make amends."
Jenny took a deep breath.
"I'm going back to the company to speak with Alvin Alejandro. Just pray that he listens to me."
She paused, her expression hardening.
"But if he doesn't…"
Jenny left the sentence hanging.
Without another word, she turned and walked away angrily, leaving Megan to wonder what her daughter would do next.
************************************
Jenny arrived at the company shivering with nervousness. Despite working for Alvin for over five years, she had never managed to get along with him. The two simply didn't like each other. To Jenny, Alvin was nothing but proud, ruthless, and impossible to please.
She stopped in front of his office, took a deep breath, crossed herself, and gently knocked on the door.
"Come in," Alvin called from inside.
Jenny stepped in and immediately noticed several unfamiliar men seated around the office. Judging by their expensive suits and the serious discussion that had just taken place, she assumed they were business associates.
"Oh, sorry. I had no idea you had visitors. I'll come back when your associates are gone."
She turned around to leave.
"No, it's fine. We're done here. They were already about to leave when you knocked. Come and sit down," Alvin said, stopping her.
Jenny hesitated before taking a seat.
A few minutes later, the business associates gathered their belongings and filed out of the office. Once the door closed behind them, Alvin turned his full attention to Jenny.
"Okay, over to you. I don't recall asking you to come to my office. What brings you here this morning?"
"Sir… um…" Jenny stuttered, struggling to find the right words. "How do I even say this?"
"I've got a busy day ahead of me. If you don't know what you want to say, I'd advise you to leave my office immediately."