A Case of Libel

[Foxglove]

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Lyell sighed inwardly, beginning to massage the bridge of her nose. Marston's demeanor was tiring her greatly. How was it possible that a single human being could have so much fluff in his head? She had completely overestimated him, it seemed. The fact that he was that easy to anger made his inaptitude all the more apparent. "Dear Mr. Marston: I haven't insinuated anything," she began, outwardly not showing how disappointed she was with him. "All I said was that it would really be a bloody shame."

She made sure to slightly stress the last two words, only slightly, so she could plausibly explain it with a cold. "Imagine the fallout. APM would take an even bigger hit than it already sustained. What was that I heard — you had to sell the majority of your shares to Interspace, Marston?" She could help but hawk a laugh at this. Poor Marston. Whereas he could've literally build a Mako out of solid gold with the money he had, it wouldn't even suffice for a Bullhead now. "I mean, I'd not want to be responsible for getting you fired, Marston. Who would feed your family, right? It has always been survival of the fittest. Wouldn't take long for someone else to supersede you as Co-CEO of APM."

Being pretty sure that she had given Marston's little head enough to think about, she stared a bit off into the distance, beginning to count the chairs in the room behind them. The situation was perfect. If Marston wouldn't obey her, he'd undoubtedly be fired if Lyell were to make his involvement in the Delta events public. Sure, she'd damage APM even further, but that was hardly her concern. Were this to be the case, she would have little problem asserting herself as Co-CEO of APM in his stead. However, she was quite sure that Marston was a supremely selfish man at heart, and as such, he would rather throw the entirety of the Core under the bus than risk getting killed.

Ideally, Lyell didn't want the position of Co-CEO herself. It would be unwise to concentrate too much power in herself. Marston would be way more useful in the position he was in right now and taking directions from her. If he was being stubborn, however, she would need to take it from him.

Regardless of the outcome, she would win something. The beauty of it was indescribable.

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