I hadn't realized that everyone around me viewed me this way.
I glared at Logan. "Logan, remember when I brought you on board, thinking highly of you?
"You're doing well with Kate. Don't come looking for me anymore."
Logan froze, a wave of helplessness washing over him.
I straightened my back and walked out of the venue.
I suddenly remembered how Kate used to be unable to handle alcohol.
Once, I nearly ended up in the hospital trying to secure a resource for her.
After that, she started learning to drink.
In her early twenties, Kate nearly had her stomach pumped from drinking, but she just smiled and said it was no big deal.
Back then, I knew she truly cared about me.
Vincent, Kate's first love, had left the country years ago, and they lost touch.
But now, Vincent was back.
The phone rang sharply, and I saw it was Logan calling.
I rubbed my temples and answered.
"Clark, something's gone wrong. Check the trending topics!" Logan's voice was fraught with urgency.
I quickly opened the trending section, and the top headline read: [Superstar Kate Spotted with Former Lover.]
The accompanying photo confirmed it.
Vincent was blurred out, but Kate's drunken face was crystal clear.
A sharp pang of discomfort hit me.
"What do we do, Clark?" Logan's voice was almost frantic.
"Put Kate on the line."
I had planned what to say, but when I heard Kate's voice, my confidence wavered.
"What's your plan?" I asked, trying to keep my tone neutral, hoping to defuse the tension between us.
There was a pause on the other end.
"We can't let Vincent be exposed. He's just back at the Moore Group and hasn't established himself yet."
I struggled to keep my voice steady, my heart racing. "So, you want to take the blame for everything yourself?"
Kate's response was barely a whisper. "Yes."
My mind went blank, and my lips trembled with anger.
I shouted, "Is Vincent really that important to you?
"Important enough to throw away ten years of hard work?
"Or is our future just meaningless to you?"
Kate seemed taken aback by my outburst, her voice trembling as she responded, "Clark, you're yelling at me!"
Realizing I'd lost my composure, I tried to calm down.
"I'm sorry, Kate. I didn't mean to..."
But she had already hung up.
I was left seething with frustration. In ten years, had I ever spoken to her like that before? Nope.
A memory surfaced—an online post I had seen while trying to clean up some negative press.