The CEO and the Country Wildflower chapter 30

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The CEO and the Country Wildflower
Chapter 30: The Scandal and the Scheme


The morning after the gala, Lasmington’s business world was in chaos. Headlines splashed across every financial news outlet, painting Lucas York as a tyrant and Emelly Clus as his victim. The edited footage Brown Group had leaked showed only the worst moments—Lucas’s cold glare, Emelly’s defiant stance, their heated argument in the office—all stripped of context. The public didn’t see the playful banter, the quiet moments of understanding, or the way his migraines vanished when she was near. They only saw a narrative designed to destroy them both. Lucas’s phone buzzed incessantly with calls from investors, board members, and journalists demanding answers.


His jaw clenched as he scrolled through the articles, his migraine threatening to return with a vengeance. He had faced scandals before, but this one cut deeper—because it involved her. Emelly, meanwhile, sat cross-legged on her bed, laptop balanced on her knees, her fingers flying over the keyboard. Jane paced behind her, wringing her hands. "Em, you can’t seriously think this will work!" "It has to," Emelly muttered, eyes fixed on the screen. "Brown Group thinks they’ve won, but they don’t know what I’ve got." "What do you have?" Jane asked, peering over her shoulder. Emelly smirked. "A photographic memory and a habit of recording everything." --- At York Group, the office was in turmoil. Employees whispered behind cubicles, casting nervous glances toward Lucas’s closed office door. Linda Crow, ever the opportunist, had already begun spreading her own version of events—painting Emelly as an unstable upstart who had provoked Lucas into a meltdown.


Tony Bright, however, wasn’t buying it. He cornered Emelly the moment she stepped off the elevator. "You okay?" he asked quietly. She nodded, though her fingers tightened around the flash drive in her pocket. "I’m about to be better than okay." Lucas’s voice cut through the murmurs like ice. "Clus. My office. Now." The room fell silent as Emelly followed him, ignoring the stares. The moment the door shut behind them, Lucas turned, his expression unreadable. "You said you had a plan." She held up the flash drive. "I do. But you’re not going to like it." His eyes narrowed. "Explain." Emelly took a deep breath. "The night of the gala, I recorded everything—Leo’s smug little confession, the way he bragged about setting us up. But if we release it, it’ll look like we’re retaliating. So instead…" She grinned. "We give the press something juicier."


Lucas crossed his arms. "What could possibly be juicier than this?" "Us," she said simply. His brows shot up. "Think about it," she pressed. "Right now, the world sees you as a heartless CEO and me as your victim. But what if we flipped the script? What if we gave them a love story instead?" Lucas stared at her, his pulse betraying nothing. "You’re suggesting we fake a relationship." "Not fake," she corrected. "Just… exaggerate the truth. Let them think our arguments were just passion. That the tension between us was always romantic." A beat of silence. Then, to her shock, Lucas’s lips twitched. "You’re insane." She grinned. "Insane enough to save your company?" He stepped closer, his voice low. "And what happens when this charade ends?" Emelly’s breath hitched as his fingers brushed hers, the familiar warmth spreading up her arm. His migraine, she realized, had already faded. "We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it," she whispered. Lucas studied her for a long moment before nodding. "Fine. But I control the narrative." She smirked. "Wouldn’t have it any other way, boss."


By noon, the internet exploded. A leaked "private" video showed Lucas and Emelly laughing together at the gala, his hand resting protectively on her lower back. Then came the photos—him holding her coat, her fixing his tie, the two of them sharing a charged glance across the boardroom. The headlines shifted instantly: "York Group CEO and Genius Employee: A Love Story Hidden in Plain Sight?" Leo Brown’s smug grin vanished when his own edited footage was drowned out by the new narrative. Worse, whispers began circulating that he was the one who had manipulated the footage to break them apart. But as Emelly scrolled through the updated articles in the office breakroom, Linda Crow slammed her coffee down beside her. "You think you’re clever, don’t you?" she hissed.


Emelly smiled sweetly. "I know I am." Linda leaned in. "This little game of yours won’t last. Lucas York doesn’t do relationships. And when he tosses you aside, everyone will see you for what you really are—a desperate nobody." Before Emelly could retort, a deep voice cut in. "Problem here?" Lucas stood in the doorway, his gaze icy as it locked onto Linda. She paled. "N-no, Mr. York. Just… congratulating Emelly on her promotion." His brow arched. "Promotion?" Emelly blinked. "What promotion?" Linda’s smile was venomous. "Oh, didn’t you hear? Rumor is you’re being moved to the Brown Group merger team.


Effective immediately." Emelly’s stomach dropped. The Brown Group merger was a minefield—one wrong move, and York Group could lose everything. And now she was being thrown into the middle of it? Lucas’s jaw tightened, but before he could speak, Emelly stood, squaring her shoulders. "Sounds like fun." Linda’s smirk faltered. Lucas’s eyes burned into Emelly’s, a silent question in them. She gave him the tiniest nod. Trust me. As Linda stormed off, Lucas stepped closer, his voice barely audible. "You don’t have to do this." Emelly met his gaze. "Yes, I do. This isn’t just about us anymore. It’s about York Group. And I won’t let Leo Brown win." The air between them crackled, and for a heartbeat, neither moved. Then Lucas did something that stunned her—he reached out, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Be careful," he murmured. Her pulse raced.


"Always am." But as he walked away, Emelly couldn’t shake the feeling that the real game had only just begun—and the stakes were higher than ever.