Chapter 89
Before heading home for the night, Camilla made a stop at The Carter Group, bringing along the security footage from her office entrance.
As soon as she walked in, the employees greeted her with the usual respect, keeping their voices polite and formal. It didn’t take long for word of her visit to reach Aaron, who quickly came down to meet her by the elevator. “Camilla, you’re finally here. The board has been breathing down Barnard’s neck these last couple of days. He’s been swamped with work or he’d have come down himself to see you p>
“Let’s skip the small talk. I’m here to see Barnard, and it won’t take long,” Camilla interrupted, her tone straightforward.
Aaron seemed thrown off by her bluntness. In the past, he’d always tried to gently hint at how much stress Barnard was under, hoping to win her sympathy. Back then, she would’ve told Barnard to take a break while she stayed behind to help solve whatever mess had popped up. But things were different now. With divorce looming in her mind, she couldn’t care less about The Carter Group’s problems.
Aaron quickly picked up on the change in her demeanor, and it clearly surprised him.
He wasn’t exaggerating, though. As soon as Camilla opened the office door, she found Barnard slumped at his desk, looking completely drained. There was a half-finished cup of coffee at his elbow, and papers were scattered everywhere.
Davina’s stunt hadn’t exactly blown up the world, but it was plenty humiliating. Some of The Carter Group’s shakier business partners were starting to second-guess them now, wondering why a live-in nanny could so easily learn about their projects and then show up at someone’s house to cause a scene. It made the company look careless, and other potential partners were now reconsidering, asking themselves if they’d ever have to deal with messes like the one that happened with the Black family.
Davina thought she was being clever, thinking her dramatic move would just ruin one deal Camilla had landed. She didn’t realize that her behavior would end up causing all sorts of headaches for the Carter family. Even though Camilla wasn’t actively following the company’s latest drama, she knew how much pressure Barnard must be feeling.
“Camilla, I knew you wouldn’t just abandon me. The board p>
“I’m here to talk about Davina,” Camilla cut in.
Barnard, falling back into old habits, had started to pass her some files. She stopped him mid-movement, just like she’d done with Aaron. For a second, he looked stunned, as if he wasn’t sure how to react.
Aaron, sensing the chilly atmosphere, quietly slipped out of the office.
“Camilla, I know you don’t like Davina, but I’m really busy right now. I don’t want to get into more personal drama,” Barnard said, rubbing his forehead. The second Camilla mentioned Davina’s name, he automatically assumed she was here to stir up trouble. One glance at the mountain of paperwork on his desk, and he felt that Camilla was just adding to his stress lately.
He couldn’t help adding, “I’ve told you a hundred times, Davina isn’t a threat to you. I’m only grateful to her for what she’s done. There’s no reason to keep making a big deal about her p>
Instead of arguing back, Camilla just pulled out her phone, opened the video, and handed it over. “Just watch this. It’s from this afternoon, when I met up with Carol to apologize. Davina showed up at my work and, without saying a word, dropped to her knees. The video has audio, so you can hear exactly what she said. Barnard, I get that you’re busy. If this were anything minor, I’d just let it go, but this could actually hurt The Carter Group’s reputation. I thought you deserved a heads-up before it ends up reaching your dad and causing even more problems p>
Barnard watched the video, his face stiff. The footage paused on Carol’s shocked expression.
Camilla kept going. “Barnard, I’m not going to say anything else, but at the very least you need to remind Davina that you’re the president of The Carter Group now. You’re not the little kid she used to babysit p>
She could have called him a man-child, but she held back. But with the audio from the video still ringing in his ears, Barnard looked completely humiliated, cheeks burning. He couldn’t even meet Camilla’s eyes. Even though the video hadn’t been leaked, just knowing that Camilla had seen it left him feeling exposed, like everyone in their circle was laughing at him behind his back.
Camilla watched his face, noting the tension in his jaw and the veins standing out on his hands. She knew just how badly he was taking all of this. Calmly, she added, “Look, it’s a sensitive time for you and for the company. Neither of you needs any more negative attention. As for Davina p>
“I’ll deal with her,” Barnard forced out, his voice tight with frustration. He didn’t even bother looking at Camilla anymore as he grabbed his jacket and left the office in a hurry.
Watching him power-walk down the hallway, Camilla slowly put her phone away, a faint smile tugging at her lips. She knew Barnard well enough to know that his pride mattered to him more than anything. This was the second time Davina had stomped all over it, and both times had been in front of Carol. After today, Camilla was pretty sure Barnard would want nothing to do with the Black Group, no matter what tempting projects they brought to the table in the future.