Conspiracy theories about mysterious people and institutions have existed since the beginning of humanity, they are a way to explain what the layman can't, but when those theories morphed into outright lies, those lies often posed a danger to those the lie is slandering. The idea that Wonka was luring defenseless children into his factory, either through the use of Golden Tickets hidden inside Wonka Bars at random or by any other means, in order to murder them was one that Charlie had heard for over a decade now, and while the mere theory disgusted him, he could see why some might believe it. For years, the Good Boy wondered what lied behind the dark brick walls that surrounded Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, and it took sheer luck in finding the fifth Golden Ticket in order to be able to set foot inside and have a look for himself. Nothing could have prepared him for all the amazing stuff he would find inside those walls; the same could be said about the other Golden Ticket winners and their chaperones, the only difference was that he enjoyed the tour while the other kids were punished because of their actions. It wasn't a surprise that Charlie began to hear ridiculous rumors about the factory after the tour, he always believed one of the kids must have started venting about his or her experience afterwards only to have no one credible believe them, leaving only the crazies on the fringe to bastardize the other Golden Ticket winners telling of events in a global game of Telephone, thus resulting in such bizarre theories. While at first, these theories were nothing more than urban legends, but in the past few years a shift in culture had made it possible for anyone with some money and spare time to undermine entire institutions by having the people turn against them, the Age of Disinformation had come to the shores of Wonka's chocolate factory. The world had changed so much in the last 14 years, but no change had been more socially radical than the advent of social media; what had originally designed to help us share credible information with each other quickly morphed into a machine that pumped out garbage into the minds of the platform's users, many of whom were the same people Wonka Candies targeted to buy their products.
In the last couple of years, Charlie had had to confront more people espousing dark theories about the inner workings of the factory than ever, and this meant exposing the Good Boy to themes of abuse and murder, something he did not enjoy but something he had to do in order to be able to debunk these claims whenever someone raised them to him, such as this most recent assertion. Charlie might not have been a lawyer, but he sure felt the scenario Gilchrist described was tantamount to human trafficking; not that Wonka was even guilty of said crime, but in the cut-throat world of business, perception was all that mattered. And, while on the matter of perception, it did not matter to Veruca that it was her own brattiness that led the squirrels in the Nut Sorting Room to pin her down, deem her a Bad Nut and cast her down the Garbage Chute, all she remembered was that those rodents assaulted her and she nearly died because of them. If she was in the right head-space at the moment, she would tell anyone who would listen about her experience at Willy Wonka's factory, it was truly a dark tale, but her own biases made the mysterious factory sound just like how the conspiracy theories made the place out to be, something that was bad for business, especially if the "whistleblower" seemed to have the approval of the heir to the factory by way of having her accompany him on night out with other members of the London business elite, and something the Good Boy had to put a stop to as soon as possible. The casual tone in Veruca's voice was the complete opposite of the total shock and panic going through Charlie's mind, all he could imagine were the sales of Wonka Candies plummeting if Gilchrist took his encounter with the heir to the world's greatest candy empire to the media, leading to the truth spreading to every corner of the globe, and thus tarnishing the business forever.
Charlie had one job as the company's representative to the outside world, to protect and expand the Wonka legacy at all costs; and like the staff of an unruly political candidate, he used an adrenaline rush to thrust himself into damage control in order to regain control of the situation, and thus pleaded with Gilchrist, "No, no, I can assure you, sir, no kids almost died...no kids died at all, that is!"
"I don't know what she's talking about. What would she know about the factory, anyhow? He he," the heir added, gesturing towards Veruca with his hand flailing about while he hyperventilated and released a nervous Wonka-esque chuckle, looking as if he was about ready to break down and start sobbing.
Now, the uncomfortable face that overcame the chocolate laddie disturbed Gilchrist, so much so that he began to back up from him and his guest, and quickly excused himself before leaving, "Well then, enjoy your evening."
Even though Gilchrist had left the scene, the panicking sensation inside Charlie had not subsided; the alcohol was starting to make Veruca more careless than she already was, only this time her bad manners could bring down a multi-national corporation. There was no knowing if Charlie beseeching his guest to control herself would do any good, but he surely wasn't going to wait until the Metropolitan Police or the National Crime Agency opened up an investigation and demanded access to the factory in order to finally quench the public's outcries that the labyrinth was the site of heinous crimes against children to act. With the tone of a man on his last leg, Charlie squeezed Veruca's arm and begged her to do as he said, and pleaded, "Veruca, please, for the sake of Mr. Wonka's reputation, for my sake, don't give those tired, old conspiracy theories any more air. I hear at least one variation of the theory every time I attend some sort of gathering and I always shoot it down, but they just don't seem to die!"
While Veruca always made sure she never had to do what someone else ordered her to do for nothing in return, there seemed to be something Charlie could do for her that could make it worth her while to comply, and so she simply replied, "Under one condition."
"Name it!" Charlie responded, squeezing ever more tightly on his guest's forearm.
"Don't be so...intimate when we're around important people," the brat declared, emphasizing Charlie's sense of tenderness and closeness with her as she liberated herself from his grasp by pulling open the Good Boy's clenched fingers from her arm and then pushing his hand away.
With no other option, Charlie expeditiously accepted the terms, even straightening up in his chair in order to look just like another person at the table and not the one who invited Veruca to this event. There was no way for Veruca to keep her promise, not because she had never been loyal to anyone before, although, that in itself was cause for concern, but because the Veruca that made the promise to not talk about all the bad stuff that happened during the tour of Wonka's factory and the Veruca that would spend the rest of the evening at the banquet was a Veruca that already had way too much to drink. She was not stammering like she did when the two former Golden Ticket winners reunited at Fenston's, or struggling to stand up like when Charlie escorted her back to her penthouse, but alcohol always made people slip up, and the chances of that happening were even higher if the drinker already lacked impulse control while sober. But with limited options, Charlie was left to either agree or risk losing everything, even if the agreement meant that he had to act stiff and more distant towards Veruca while in the presence of everyone else at the banquet. Although, with the stress of his guest running her mouth off and damaging everything he held dear beginning to recede following their agreement, Charlie was left to wonder why Veruca suddenly changed her mind on intimacy, especially seeing as how tight she grabbed onto him when they were getting their pictures taken. The only thing Charlie could think of that could have made her change course was the reintroduction of Gilchrist back into her life, especially because they first met through her father and seeing how she emphasized toning down interactions in front of important people instead of just people. In the end, the heir did not know why Veruca stipulated such an arbitrary rule, but it was almost as if she did not want anybody to know she was out and about with the street urchin turned industrialist's heir, well, anyone important, that is.
Once dinner wrapped up, the waiters reemerged with their carts one final time in order to pick up all the used dishes still on the tables, thus ushering in the event everyone came for, the awards ceremony. Before the awards were distributed, the chairman of London's TABA chapter approached the podium and gave a speech on what the organization's goals were, what its members were required to advocate for and how the group had used their collective power to affect policy decisions since their last meeting. Before long, the chairman rescinded the podium to the first in a string of announcers who listed the names of those nominated for a specific award and then proceeded to announce the winner and presented the person with the award the person won. There were so many categories, such as "Most Yearly Sales," "Best Improved Business," "Most Active Member" and "Creator of the Highest Grossing Product," and with such a diverse array of categories brought with it so many interesting characters. Every single member nominated for the evening's banquet deserved to win, but if Charlie wanted to win, he needed to learn not to worry himself about the feelings of others.
After a string of announcers and recipients claiming their awards and giving thanks had taken center stage, another well-groomed man in a tux approached the podium, and began announcing the category Charlie had been nominated for, "In the category of Most Successful Entrepreneur aged 18-29, the Nominating Committee of the Trans-Atlantic Business Association-London Chapter is proud to announce this year's nominees. Rolland Lavender of Total Mass, Ltd. Charles Bucket of Wonka Candies, Ltd. And Grover Baugh of Roadrunner Trainers, Ltd."
As the compère put down the list of nominee's names and pulled out the envelope containing the name of the winner, it seemed to the heir that Veruca was concerned with how he'd deal with loosing, since she leaned over and whispered to him, "Just remember, Charlie, don't start crying if you don't win."
Unfortunately, this act was not born out of concern for her inviter's composure, especially considering how depressed he'd gotten when she'd dismissed him out of her life following the new sofa incident, but out of her dark and twisted need to tear people down at their weakest, claiming, "It wouldn't be the first time everyone found out you're a loser."
While many people would interpret such an uncalled for and downright mean-spirited jab as something hostile, Charlie theorized that Veruca simply had a hard time expressing her emotions in a normal, healthy fashion, insults were just her way of expressing affection and they were something he hoped to help her get past the more time they spent together. Regardless of whether or not the brat truly had any rancor towards the heir, the presenter continued with the show, opening an envelope while he proclaimed, "And the winner of the Award for Most Successful Entrepreneur aged 18-29 is..."
With the envelope opened, he pulled out the slip of paper containing the victor's name, all three nominees, along with all the other guests, sat in silence, until the presenter declared the winner, "Charles Bucket of Wonka Candies, Ltd."
A round of applause overcame the room, especially from the table Charlie and Veruca were seated at, and as formal music came on through the speakers to announce the winner's approach, the Good Boy got all giddy in his seat, jumping up and down and shaking his hands all about in excitement as his face lit up with joy, leading him to proclaim for his guest to hear, "That's me! That's me! I've got to go up there and get it."
With a face bright enough to guide ships into a harbor on a foggy night, Charlie got up from his seat and began heading up to the podium, but not before Veruca grabbed onto the tail of his tux, pulled him back towards her, and told him, "Hey, hey, hey, hold on!"
"What is it, Veruca?" Charlie gleefully asked his guest as he turned back to face her.
And while the award winner would've preferred a "Congratulations," his guest only called him back to give him a single piece of advice which she delivered in a most inappropriate fashion that fit her personal style, adding, "Don't open your eyes so wide when you smile, you look like a fucking serial killer."
As vulgar as Veruca's mind was, all Charlie could do was chuckle since he was so exited that he had won the award, although, he did heed his guest's advice and tried to keep his eyes as naturally squinted as possible when he faced a crowd of guests applauding him. Albeit, Charlie also couldn't take his mind off another thing about Veruca as he got up to get his award, her hypocrisy concerning his smile when hers was not exactly producer of sunshine and rainbows. While Charlie had large, round eyes that stood out when he smiled, Veruca's eyes too stood out when she put on one of her infamous fake smiles in order too woo her target so that the person could do whatever Veruca wanted of them, be it buy her something or provide a service to her, but other parts of her face were not as tender. The Bad Nut had high cheekbones, which look beautiful when you are a stoic model, which Veruca fancied herself throughout virtually every second of her life, but when combined with her large, pearly teeth, they left her with an expression on her face that could scare anyone who wasn't prepared to see it. Sure, Veruca could critique Charlie's smile, but saying anything about the Good Boy's awkward grin was a lot coming from someone whose fake smile made her look like the Joker as he contemplated his next plan to terrify Gotham.