Ch. 131..140
Chapter 131 It’s Mine!
Daniella looked at Nicole in front of her and tried her best to keep her composure. She clenched her hand and said, “This is my design draft. You have plagiarized my design draft, but you still won’t admit it!”
When Nicole saw her stubborn appearance, she smiled and asked bluntly, “How much benefit did Queenie Anderson give you?”
Upon the mention of Queenie, Daniella’s heart obviously tightened. She didn’t expect Nicole to know that Queenie was the one that reached out to her.
But as Queenie said, no one stood out to claim this design draft anyway. After she claimed ownership of this design draft, her status and reputation would rise, and by then, she would be more than just a junior designer.
Besides, Queenie had helped her fix all the details of the design. As long as she claimed this design as her own, no one would be the wiser.
What was more, Queenie promised her that she would give her a large sum of money after this success—she needed this money!
“What are you talking about? What Queenie?” Daniella pretended not to know.
Nicole chuckled lightly and looked at the person in front of her who was either bought over by Queenie or dazzled by fame and fortune.
“You know it in your own heart whether this design draft is yours. It’s still not too late to stop it now. Otherwise, when the truth comes out, you will lose everything.”
Daniella listened to Nicole’s words and sneered in her heart. She’s only saying this because she just wants me to withdraw the lawsuit. Immediately, she raised her head, looked at Nicole, and said, “This design draft is mine. You’re only saying this because you want me to withdraw the lawsuit. You’re really despicable!”
“Hey, what are you talking about? Miss Nicole is only saying this for your own good. This design draft is clearly—”
Whitney was unconvinced and wanted to continue but was interrupted by Nicole.
“Whitney,” Nicole whispered.
Whitney stopped talking, snorted coldly, and left it at that.
Nicole stared at Daniella for a while before asking, “Are you really not going to withdraw the lawsuit?”
Daniella looked at Nicole and straightened her back as an act of confidence. “What? Could it be that you’re threatening me?”
Nicole hooked her lips and said lazily, “This is not a threat; it’s just a piece of advice. If you take things that are not yours, you will be punished by the heavens.”
Daniella narrowed her eyes and said with a sneer, “I will return this sentence to you as it is.”
Nicole looked at the person in front of her and shook her head, feeling that she was really a person who was dazzled by her interests. Since Daniella was stubborn, Nicole felt she didn’t need to be merciful to her any longer.
“Since you said that, I have nothing to refute.” Nicole stood up. “Take care, then.”
Hearing what Nicole said, Daniella looked at her without panicking at all, but for some reason, she felt inexplicably unconfident in her heart.
However, when she thought of her bright future after this incident was over, she still endured it and said firmly, “This is my design draft, and no matter how you threaten me, I will not compromise!”
Whitney looked at her arrogant appearance and couldn’t help but want to yell at her again, but Nicole stopped her.
Nicole shook her head and motioned her to stay still with her eyes.
Soon after that, Daniella went out directly when she saw that they were not blocking her.
After Daniella left, Whitney sat down in a dissatisfied manner and said, “Nicole, will you look at her? I really want to slap her in the face.”
Nicole looked at Whitney, who was standing up for herself, and chuckled with the corners of her lips hooked up. “She is just a pawn, and what we have to do now is to find out the person behind her and bring them down.”
“Then do you already have a solution?” Whitney came over and asked.
“The prouder they are, the more they’ll slip up. We can wait for a while longer, and when they think they’ve made it, we will completely overwhelm them then,” Nicole said lightly.
Nicole had never been a pushover. After all, she would not offend anyone if they didn’t offend her first! But if someone did offend her, then she would definitely repay it back tenfold or even a hundredfold!
Chapter 132 Treat Someone to Dinner
Whitney looked at Nicole’s determined expression and breathed a sigh of relief. After all, the Nicole she knew would never do anything that she was unsure of.
“Then, what are you going to do with Daniella?” Whitney asked. Listening to her tone today made her very upset, but Nicole asked her to endure it, so she did.
“We’ve been kind to her, and we’ve even persuaded her. It’s her business whether she listens to us or not.” Nicole raised her chin and sat down again.
“That’s true. This kind of person will fall into trouble sooner or later,” Whitney said gloatingly.
After speaking, Whitney saw that Nicole was still sitting, so she asked curiously, “Miss Nicole, are we still meeting someone here?”
Nicole nodded, patted the seat beside her, and looked at the time. “It’s almost time, so let’s sit down first.”
As soon as she spoke, the door was opened, and a man’s loud voice came from outside. “Hi, little beauty.”
It was Mason who opened the door and came in. Mason originally thought that Nicole had invited him alone, but when he saw that there was another person in the room, he couldn’t help being stunned.
He looked at Whitney carefully for a while and said, “Little beauty, why did you bring a big beauty here? Wait—are you trying to introduce a girlfriend to me?”
Hearing Mason’s teasing voice, Whitney couldn’t help but look up, wanting to see who was so frivolous.
Glancing up, she couldn’t help but be stunned for a while.
Mason was wearing a gray suit today. He had soft hair covering his head, and he had an outstandingly handsome face. If he didn’t open his mouth, he would definitely be a handsome young man.
However, after staying in F&M Apparel for a long time, she had seen her fair share of handsome men, so Whitney quickly reacted. She was unforgiving and muttered, “Have you taken a look at the mirror?”
Although Mason heard Whitney’s muttering, he didn’t mind. He sat over with a smile and asked with his fingers slightly joined, “Little beauty, has everything been settled, seeing as you have the mood to invite me to dinner today?”
“No, I knew you work nearby, so I figured just as well,” Nicole said with a smile.
Mason was stunned for a moment. He didn’t expect Nicole to know about his job, and he pouted slightly.
“I thought I concealed it well, but I didn’t expect you to be so smart and guess it right.”
Nicole raised her brows, then lowered her eyes and gave him a coy smile. “It’s not a guess. After all, you are using your real name, Mason Schumacher, President of Pinnacle Group. It’s nice to meet you.”
Even though his identity was revealed, Mason showed no expression at all. He leaned on the seat lazily and said slowly, “It’s just a name. I can’t do anything, but I like to be a womanizer.”
After finding out Mason’s name, Nicole checked it out but unexpectedly found out that he was the president of Pinnacle Group. But just as Mason said, he was just a nominal president.
A few years ago, after the heir to the Schumacher Family died in a plane crash, Mason was recognized as the heir even though he was an illegitimate child. Although he became the president of Pinnacle Group overnight, he knew almost nothing.
“No matter who you are, I invited you to dinner this time to repay you for saving me twice—heroically, in your own words,” Nicole said with a smile.
“If you really want to repay me, why don’t you introduce me to this big beauty beside you?” Mason said, raising his brows. His eyebrows curved, and he looked at Whitney with a smile.
However, as soon as he looked over, he was met with Whitney’s eye-roll.
When Nicole looked at the appearance of the two of them, she couldn’t help but laugh and said, “I’m afraid I can’t decide this.”
Mason nodded and said with a cheeky smile, “It seems that I can only work hard, then maybe I can get you one day, big beauty.”
Whitney disliked Mason for calling her ‘big beauty’ and said coldly, “My name is Whitney Campbell, and you can call me by my name.”
“Whitney, huh? That’s a pretty name. I’ll call you Beauty Whitney from now on. How about that?” Mason said with a slick tongue.
Chapter 133 Mason Schumacher
Whitney rolled her eyes at his remarks and stopped talking. Soon, she moved to the other end of the seat and played with her phone.
Nicole handed over the menu to him. “Take a look at what you want to eat. I’ve already ordered all the ones that have been ticked.”
Mason glanced at it. After finding out that she had actually ordered a lot, he shook his head. “Wow, you ordered a lot, and it’s more than enough for me.”
He closed the menu and noticed that the atmosphere was a little quiet. The two people sitting next to him didn’t intend to speak, so he took the initiative to start a conversation.
“By the way, when I first came in, I saw one of our company’s employees leave.”
Nicole raised her eyebrows and said with a light smile, “Maybe she was here to eat too.”
Mason reached out and pointed at the table. After glancing around the booth, he bluntly revealed, “But I saw that she came out of your booth.”
After being exposed, Nicole shrugged indifferently and asked, “So what are you actually trying to say, President Schumacher?”
“Hey, stop calling me like that. It makes us look like strangers. Anyway, I’m just asking out of curiosity. I remember that person, Daniella Zimmer. She is a junior staff member in the design department. Although she has been with Pinnacle for a long time, it seems that she has always stayed at that level, never getting promoted or demoted.” Mason smiled. “If I remember correctly, she has a husband who is addicted to gambling and owes a lot of debt.”
“I didn’t expect you to know the people under your command quite well.” Nicole smiled, noticing Mason’s shrewdness. He was not as foolish as the outside world had made him out to be.
Mason smiled indifferently, propped his chin, and stared straight ahead.
“I’m not good at business, so I have to at least know a little bit about the other things, you know?”
Nicole didn’t care whether what Mason said was true or false. After all, it had nothing to do with her anyway.
After the two chatted for a while, the dishes came. Whitney lowered her head and concentrated on eating, completely ignoring Mason.
When Mason saw that Whitney was ignoring him, he became even more interested in her. “Beauty Whitney, it’s not fun to eat with your head down. How about we eat while chatting?”
Whitney gave him an indifferent hum.
Seeing that Whitney clearly didn’t want to talk to him, Mason didn’t keep talking.
After the three of them finished their meal, Mason didn’t stay long and he waved goodbye. “Little beauty, if there’s anything you want or need, you can call me. I promise to tell you everything I know.”
After Mason left, Whitney looked at Nicole and said, “Miss Nicole, I can feel that this man is not a good person.”
Nicole squinted and smiled. She first reached for the napkin to wipe her lips before she asked, “Why do you say so?”
Whitney placed her phone in front of Nicole—she had found something just now.
“The Schumacher Family had two sons before, and they both died in accidents, so Mason, as the illegitimate son, was brought back from the outside. Besides, Mason was also a gang member before, and quite a powerful one at that,” Whitney said, but when she continued to look into this information, she found that she couldn’t find much, as if it was deliberately erased.
Nicole understood what she meant for the most part, but it had nothing to do with her, so she only nodded. “I see. I will take precautions in the future. As long as he doesn’t try to do anything to us, let’s just not bother about him.”
After the cooperation between the Gardner Corporation and F&M Apparel was over, she would return to F&M Apparel anyway. At that time, these domestic disputes would have nothing to do with her anymore.
“Looking at him made me uncomfortable, and he was so glib too,” Whitney muttered in a low voice.
Nicole smiled while watching her complain like a child. She then put her hand on her shoulder. “What kind of people have you never met in F&M Apparel? You should just get used to it.”
Whitney considered her words. Well, she’s right, she thought. After that, she didn’t think about it anymore.
“But then, Miss Nicole, what are you going to do next?”
Nicole curled her lips, stood up, and stared straight ahead. “Well, we’ll take one step at a time and see who is the one going down first!”
Chapter 134 Threats to Withdraw the Lawsuit
Just as Whitney and Nicole returned home, the Internet had been stirred up again.
Whitney looked at the statement posted by Daniella on the Internet and was so angry that she almost smashed the computer into pieces. She said angrily, “Miss Nicole, that shameless b*tch actually said that you threatened her!”
Nicole glanced at the content posted by Daniella, which mentioned that at noon, they went to her company to forcibly take her away, and then coerced her into withdrawing the lawsuit.
There was also a piece of audio below the text, but the audio was obviously edited, and the content really sounded like she was being threatened.
“Nicole, she even recorded it—we’ve been tricked!” Whitney’s face turned red with anger. Unexpectedly, their kind words of advice were used to make them look like the bad guys.
There was no panic on Nicole’s face as she reached out and clicked on the computer. “If you feel angry, then don’t read it.”
“You are the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel—when have you been reduced to being slandered by these nobodies!” Whitney exclaimed, obviously upset.
Since she joined F&M Apparel, she had been working for Nicole and was always her assistant. She also knew that Nicole was a true talent.
“The more arrogant they are now, the more painful it will be when they fall,” Nicole said with a smile. Now that she could access her email account, by the end of the month, it would be time for the real counterattack.
“So we just allow them to slander you this way on the Internet?” Whitney asked. She was angry at those comments, and she couldn’t wait to retaliate against them on the spot.
“Let them be happy for a while now, and at the end of the month, we’ll get rid of them,” Nicole assured her.
…
In the President’s office of the Gardner Corporation.
Tony stood in front of Colton and reported the recent company affairs.
Colton listened a little absent-mindedly, resting his chin on one hand while staring straight outside.
Tony glanced at him carefully and was reluctant to remind Colton that he was distracted, so he could only continue talking.
Halfway through his reporting, he was interrupted by Colton, who suddenly returned to Earth. “How are things online recently?”
Tony was dumbfounded when asked. His brain quickly searched for information about the matter. Recently, the only thing that had been making waves on the Internet was Nicole.
He asked carefully, “Is it the one to do with Miss Nicole?”
Colton frowned slightly and asked, dissatisfied, “Who else could I be talking about?”
Tony suddenly understood why his boss had been in such a bad mood these days. After all, all the current news on the Internet was bad things about Nicole.
After some hesitation, he then said in a low voice, “Yesterday, Daniella Zimmer of Pinnacle Group posted in the morning and claimed that the design draft was hers, and she wanted to sue Miss Nicole. And then, in the afternoon, she posted an audio recording, claiming that Miss Nicole threatened her to withdraw the lawsuit…”
When Colton heard this, his expression became darker, and he lowered his voice. “What is the identity of this Daniella Zimmer?”
“Just an insignificant employee,” Tony answered honestly.
When the news broke, he immediately went to check and found that there was no power behind Daniella.
Colton frowned and folded his hands together. Just as he was about to say something, there was a sudden knock at the door.
The two shut their mouths very tacitly at that.
After knocking on the door, Nicole pushed it open and walked in, only to find that both Colton and Tony were inside.
She asked politely, “Am I interrupting?”
Colton glanced at Tony lightly.
Tony immediately shook his head like a rattle. “Not at all. I just finished reporting to President Gardner. You can speak to him now.”
After he finished speaking, he put the file on the table very quickly without saying anything. Then, he swiftly opened the door and went out.
Chapter 135 Bring Henry to Me
When Colton saw Nicole coming over, the gloom on his face dissipated a lot. He then stood up and walked slowly to the sofa.
While pouring water, he uttered, “News on the Internet these days have not been not good for you. Do you need any help?”
Nicole took the water that Colton handed over, took a sip to moisten her throat, and said with a smile, “The more commotion, the better.”
Colton looked at Nicole’s confident appearance and felt a little relieved. He sat opposite her with a cup of coffee in hand and asked with pursed lips, “That woman, Daniella, went after you, and is obviously unwilling to let go. So what are your plans?”
Nicole had nothing to hide, so she placed down her cup and replied, “I already advised her, but she was carried away by the potential benefits, so there’s nothing I can do about that.”
“It seems that you already have a plan.” Colton smiled.
Nicole didn’t deny it either. She nodded, looked at Colton, and talked about the main thing that brought her here today. “There is one more thing, and I hope you can help me with this.”
“Tell me. After all, we are all on the same boat now.” Colton had a little smile in his eyes, and he realized that he had underestimated Nicole.
At the beginning of this matter, he believed that Nicole had the ability to deal with it, but as the matter fermented more and more, he became worried a little, for fear that Nicole would not be able to keep up. But it seemed that he was overthinking.
The woman in front of him seemed like she was already confident of winning.
“Henry Cooper was the one who leaked the design draft. I know very well that I asked you to let him go before.” Nicole slowly spoke about it.
Colton nodded. He also saw the video about Henry on the Internet, and what he said was indeed a bit too much. “Now you want to get him back?”
“Yeah,” Nicole responded. Whitney had already found Henry’s location, but it seemed unrealistic for the two of them to go over and grab him, so only Colton could help them with this.
“I’m certain to be able to turn over the entire situation of the design draft, but the remarks made by Henry before can only be explained clearly by him in person,” Nicole said seriously.
Colton asked curiously, “I’m a little curious—is what he said true?”
Nicole was suddenly at a loss for words while she clasped her hands and pursed her lips. Lowering her eyes, she explained softly, “Half of it is true.”
Colton looked at Nicole’s sad expression and wanted to say something, but before he had time to speak, Nicole continued speaking.
“Back then, my mother was seriously ill and was admitted to the hospital, but we had no money.” There was a hint of bitterness that hung on the corner of her mouth. Her eyes drooped, and her throat was dry as her tone was a bit heavy.
“I broke up with Henry when my mother was seriously ill, but that was more than three months before I did… it… for money.”
After breaking up with Henry that year, Henry also tried to get her back, but her mother was seriously ill, and she didn’t want to drag Henry down, so she didn’t agree to being with him anymore. Later, Henry more or less found out about her family’s situation and didn’t contact her any more.
Because of this, she always felt as if she had somehow wronged him, but she didn’t expect Henry to think of her that way!
Colton listened to her slightly heavy words and suddenly had the urge to slap himself—why did he have to ask this question? Now, the atmosphere had become stiff.
Nicole retracted the wry smile at the corner of her mouth, looked up at Colton, and uttered in a hoarse voice, “President Gardner, these are old stories that aren’t worth mentioning. So, about Henry?”
Colton nodded and changed the topic wisely. “I got it. Leave the matter of Henry to me, and I will bring him here before the end of the month no matter what.”
“Well, Daniella has already sued me, and I have also received a subpoena. The case will be brought to court at the end of this month, so I hope you will be able to convene a press conference before the end of the month,” Nicole said seriously.
“You’re trying to make things bigger?” Colton looked at Nicole with a smile on his face.
“After all, everyone is already riding on my head, so I can’t do nothing.” Nicole pursed her lips and smiled. “Furthermore, I will be able to promote the clothing brand through this news. Kill two birds with one stone, right?”
Chapter 136 Insult
Nicole came out of Colton’s office and bumped into Queenie when she went downstairs.
She originally wanted to avoid her, but when Queenie saw her, she began to yell from a distance, “Hey, Nicole. It’s been a while.”
Queenie’s voice was loud enough for the entire office to hear.
When the people in the office heard this, they turned their heads and looked over.
Although they were not from the Design Department, Nicole’s plagiarism issue was too big a matter, so all of them naturally knew about it.
But Colton had openly mentioned that this matter could not be discussed privately without permission, so they could only keep quiet.
Nicole’s face was cold. She raised her eyes and glanced at Queenie, wanting to see what she was going to do.
Seeing her stop, Queenie walked forward slowly with a swing in her hips to Nicole. With a clear smile on her face, she softly said, “Nicole, why are you walking so fast? We haven’t had a good chat in a long time.”
Nicole glanced at her disdainfully and sneered, “I don’t remember having anything to talk to you about.”
After hearing Nicole’s words, Queenie put on a hurt expression. “Ouch, Nicole. We were born from the same father anyway, so why are you so heartless?”
Queenie’s delicate and pretentious voice made Nicole feel nauseous. Her lips pursed tightly as she waited for her next sentence.
“Dear sister, you’ve been very popular recently, huh? There are rumors about your plagiarism all over the Internet. I didn’t believe it at first, but the original owner of this design draft has come forward, so I had to believe it anyway.” Queenie finally cut into the theme of her speech slowly. The people around them also pricked up their ears and listened carefully.
She enjoyed the moment of insulting Nicole and continued with the corners of her lips hooked up.
“Anyway, I heard that you got into trouble, so I want to help you. Why don’t you go back home and tell Dad that you shouldn’t have climbed into a man’s bed five years ago, and just let him help you solve this problem?”
Nicole narrowed her eyes while looking at Queenie’s aggressive appearance, but she did not look angry at all.
She hooked her lips and laughed suddenly.
Queenie looked on as Nicole chuckled and was suddenly a little stunned. She wanted to force her into anger so that she would hit her, for that would make the content in the headlines tomorrow more exciting. Unexpectedly, Nicole did not react as she had imagined.
Nicole laughed out loud for a while before she stopped, then she waved her hand and restrained her smile a little.
“I believe your father must be quite magnanimous. After all, you made out with the young master of the Mann Family in front of so many business and political leaders of Goldwick and Lumore, yet he still allows you to stay at home,” Nicole enunciated, her eyes full of mockery.
Queenie’s face changed quickly. Although many people witnessed this incident, news about it was suppressed. Basically, not many people knew about it, but now, Nicole had brought it up in public instead.
“W-What nonsense are you talking about?!” Queenie reprimanded with a blushing face.
“I’m talking nonsense?” Nicole looked at her with an amused look. “Doesn’t everyone know about this?”
“Nicole Anderson! You were the one that climbed into some man’s bed five years ago, and even gave birth to that b*stard. Now, you’re a suspect of plagiarizing too, and yet you still have the audacity to criticize me?!”
Queenie roared with a blushing face. Right now, she didn’t look like a respected lady at all.
Nicole frowned. She stretched out her hand to cover her forehead and said with a bit of sadness in her expression, “Why is there a b*tch here barking in the office? Damn. This is giving me a headache.”
“Who are you calling a b*tch!?” Queenie angrily stretched out her hand and jabbed her directly.
Nicole hooked her lips, showing no weakness. “Whoever answers.”
“You!” Queenie originally wanted to insult Nicole, but she didn’t expect to be insulted by her in turn, and her eyes immediately turned red.
Nicole hurriedly took a few steps back, holding her hands up and pretending to be innocent. “I didn’t do anything, so don’t put the blame on me.”
Immediately, Queenie was trembling in anger. She gritted her teeth and snorted, “Fine. You get the last laugh here, but I’ll see how you can laugh when you go to court at the end of the month!”
Chapter 137 Cooperation
Nicole tilted her head to look at her, then she took a few steps forward and whispered in her ear, “Do you think you can threaten me as you like? Queenie, you missed something.”
Queenie’s eyes flashed with a trace of astonishment. She didn’t understand what Nicole was talking about. Just as she was about to ask, Nicole had already left, and she could only watch her retreating back.
Immediately, panic rushed into Queenie’s heartt as she thought, What does she mean that I missed something?
She clenched her fists. She must not miss this perfect opportunity and must use this matter to completely suppress Nicole! She couldn’t go wrong at all!
With that in mind, she walked quickly to the Design Department. The reason why she came to the Gardner Corporation today was to discuss things with Joanna.
At the Design Department, Joanna looked at Queenie, who came over, not looking too happy, so she frowned and asked unkindly, “What do you need, Miss Anderson?”
Although she knew that Queenie was trying to bring Nicole down, she didn’t want to get involved. After all, the matter had not reached the last moment, so it was not certain who would be the final winner.
Queenie was leaning back on the chair, uttering slowly, “Now that Nicole has been accused of plagiarism, Director Schmidt, you are like a duck to water.”
Joanna pretended not to understand and said with a smile, “I’m afraid I am not exactly sure what you’re talking about.”
Queenie didn’t have time to beat around the bush with Joanna, so she snorted coldly. “All the evidence now points to Nicole. The court will declare a sentence at the end of the month, and Nicole will have to go to prison for at least a few years.”
“Oh?” Joanna raised her eyebrows, looked at Queenie, and said slowly, “That’s really a misfortune in the family.”
Queenie raised her chin and continued, “I know you don’t want to get involved, but you also have a share in the Henry Cooper matter. Even if you want to pull out now, it’s too late. Actually, you don’t need to do much. I only need you to make Mrs. Gardner dislike Nicole. Now that President Yates from F&M Apparel is abroad, as long as Colton doesn’t take action, Nicole will be done for!”
Joanna had no answer. She sat in her own seat with a half-smile on her face.
Queenie looked at her, narrowing her eyes slightly. “So? Director Schmidt, have you made up your mind?”
Joanna did not answer this question directly, but just pulled out a document from the side and said slowly, “I don’t really understand what you’re talking about, but I am going to go to Mrs. Gardner’s after I get off work later. Miss Gardner’s first birthday ceremony is around the corner, so I need to customize a dress for her. ”
Although Joanna didn’t answer directly, Queenie knew clearly that she also wanted to bring down Nicole, so she laughed. “I hope we have a great cooperation.”
Joanna still ignored her.
Queenie knew she wanted to keep her hands clean, but it didn’t matter since she could help anyway. Other than that, nothing else mattered.
…
When Nicole returned home, Whitney was playing with Hayden, and when she saw Nicole had come back, she asked, “How did it go with President Gardner?”
“He will resolve the matter regarding Henry,” Nicole said with a light smile.
Although she was confident about this matter, her nerves had been wound tight these days, and she simply felt exhausted.
Nicole sat on the sofa, relaxing slightly and letting herself sink into the sofa.
Hayden looked at his mother’s tired appearance and crawled over in distress. He put his hands on the corner of her brows and rubbed gently.
“Mommy, don’t work too hard. I feel bad for you.”
Hearing her son’s warm words, Nicole opened her eyes, took him into her arms, and reached out to rub his head a few times.
“It’s not hard for me at all. I just need to wait for this month to pass,” she said with a little smile on her face.
Hayden folded his body directly into Nicole’s arms, nodded, and said, “Well, if there is anything, you must tell me; I can help you!”
When Nicole saw Hayden’s serious appearance, she suddenly felt relieved and huffed a smile. “Sure thing, Mr. Bigshot!”
Chapter 138 Clarification Press Conference
#LisaHoldsPressConference
#LisaDeniesPlagiarism
When the Gardner Corporation announced that Lisa was going to hold a press conference in the afternoon, it immediately became one of the trending topics on social media.
After Lisa was accused of plagiarism, a series of questions appeared one by one like mushrooms after the rain. However, neither F&M Apparel nor Lisa herself spoke up.
The original author of the design draft subsequently sued Lisa, who allegedly threatened the original author to withdraw the lawsuit.
Lisa, who already had a bad reputation, suffered another blow.
The court session was scheduled at the end of the month. Everyone was already waiting for the ‘drama’ to unfold, hoping that the law would punish the wicked. However, at this juncture, Lisa suddenly wanted to hold a press conference through the Gardner Corporation—just what was she going to do?
The public couldn’t help but wonder: Could it be that the Gardner Corporation and F&M Apparel had already figured out a way to whitewash the matter, or had they bought someone off with a lot of money?
The speculation did not die down. Hence, there were many more people at the press conference than last time, and it almost filled the entire venue.
Under everyone’s gaze, Nicole appeared while being surrounded by a circle of bodyguards.
Originally, she didn’t think it was necessary to bring so many bodyguards, but Colton insisted, saying that her current reputation was too bad, and she might be beaten up by the crowd if she didn’t bring bodyguards, so she reluctantly brought them with her today.
The bodyguards escorted her to the stage and surrounded her below the stage, blocking the reporters’ attacks.
Otherwise, the reporter’s microphone would be directly stuffed into Nicole’s mouth.
Nicole stepped onto the stage and looked at the bunch of people below her before laughing involuntarily. Soon, she cleared her throat and spoke into the microphone.
“I believe that everyone is here today because of what has been circling on the Internet recently.”
As soon as Nicole finished speaking, a reporter raised his voice and asked loudly, “Lisa, do you admit that you threatened the original author to withdraw the lawsuit? Do you know that you have violated the law?”
“Yeah, since you’ve already plagiarized and made a despicable threat, is today’s press conference meant to whitewash you?”
The questions went on.
As soon as Nicole said an opening remark, the people below grew irritable, and every question was as sharp as knives.
It seemed that they really didn’t have a good impression of her.
Nicole tugged at the corners of her lips helplessly and said in a low voice, “Everyone, can you please be quiet for the time being? You may ask your questions one by one when I’m done talking.”
The reporters quieted down a little, and they all stared at Nicole, wanting to see what she had to say.
“Today’s press conference is mainly to clarify a few things. First, the video posted on the Internet that damaged my innocence has been taken down, and I have also filed a police report about it. As for the ex-boyfriend in the video, he has been brought to the police station, so I hope everyone has their own judgment on this matter!”
As soon as Nicole finished speaking, several reporters interrupted impatiently.
“Miss Lisa, we are here only to hear your explanation on the plagiarism matter.”
Nicole twitched the corners of her lips. Almost looking down at the reporter, she sneered. “If you want to vilify me just like this, then why should I explain anything?”
“Then do you mean to say you didn’t commit plagiarism?” the reporter blurted out after listening to Nicole’s words.
Nicole stood on the stage and nodded directly. “Yes.”
“Miss Daniella Zimmer, the designer of Pinnacle Group, made the accusation against you and provided the comparison chart of the two design drafts. It is obvious that you plagiarized her. What do you have to say about this?”
“Yes. Miss Lisa, if you didn’t plagiarize, why would you go to Pinnacle Group and even threaten Miss Daniella?”
Nicole watched the audience question her one after another. She didn’t say much besides, “I didn’t plagiarize. As for the result, everyone can wait for the ruling of the trial tomorrow!”
Chapter 139 The Questioning
Over at the Anderson Residence in the afternoon, Queenie was looking at the trending topics on the computer. Frowning, she found it to be a little strange. What the hell is Nicole doing?
She is obviously at fault, so how could she still calmly hold a press conference and appear so righteous?
Queenie felt faintly uneasy, somehow getting the feeling that Nicole had a plan.
“Queenie, I heard that there’s a bed-and-breakfast near the mountains in the outskirts of Goldwick. The environment is pretty good. Let’s go on vacation together at the beginning of next month,” Lydia said as she walked out from the room.
For the past few days, the Internet was full of negative news about Nicole. She felt refreshed after reading them and even her mood had improved greatly.
“Mom, did you watch the press conference this morning?” Queenie looked up and asked.
“What press conference?” Lydia hadn’t been paying much attention to these things for the past few days.
“Nicole held a press conference in the morning to clarify the video released by Henry,” Queenie explained. For some reason, she felt uneasy.”
Lydia wasn’t bothered at all. “So what if she clarified it? Whatever the case, she committed plagiarism. That b*tch, Nicole, can’t escape no matter what!”
Her mother was right, but seeing how confident Nicole was on stage today, Queenie felt inexplicably flustered and anxious.
Queenie lowered her gaze and thought for a while before shaking her head. She would be able to completely destroy Nicole tomorrow, so why was she thinking about this now?
“All right, Mom. You’re right.” She nodded.
…
Nicole wanted to head home right after the press conference and merely wait for the next day’s trial. To her surprise, when she went backstage, she saw her father—William!
She frowned and intended to ignore him.
However, as soon as she walked out, he called out, “Nicole!”
Nicole paused. There were many people around and she didn’t know what he was going to do.
She turned and looked coldly at the man in front of her. He had aged a lot compared to five years ago, but she didn’t feel any pity for him at all and simply asked coldly, “Mr. Anderson, is there something wrong?”
“Nicole, I’m your father. Can you not talk to me in this tone?” a slightly dissatisfied William said.
As she asked rhetorically, she couldn’t help laughing. “Father? Have you ever played the role of a father?”
William was a little speechless, but seeing as they were in public, he could only calm himself down and reply, “I have something to talk to you about. Let’s talk inside.”
Nicole did not refuse or agree to his request as she simply strode into the room.
He quickly followed her in.
Only the two of them were in the room. She sat on the sofa, took a bottle of water, and drank it.
William approached her and silently sat opposite her.
After Nicole finished drinking the water, she screwed the cap back onto the bottle and uttered with a smile, “Mr. Anderson, just say what you have to say. I don’t have time to sit and stare at you.”
William’s expression turned sour when he heard Nicole’s nasty tone, but his voice was still gentle. “What are you planning to do about this incident?”
Nicole raised her eyebrows, not expecting him to care about her. Nicole chuckled self-deprecatingly. “What? Am I affecting you?”
Looking at her, William said slowly, “You’re my daughter after all. It’s quite upsetting to hear about the news being spread.”
“Daughter?” Nicole repeated the word and scoffed. “When did I become your daughter? Don’t paint yourself in such a good light. You cut me off perfectly clean back then.”
William’s expression changed as he gripped his hands and spoke calmly.
“This ruckus is humiliating enough. What else do you want?”
It turned out that he came here today to question her.
Chapter 140 The Persuasion
“I’m the one being shamed. Does it have anything to do with you?” Nicole asked, leaning back slightly, pretending to be indifferent.
Seeing how unbothered Nicole was being, William got a little angry. “Don’t you know what your reputation is like now? Everyone’s disgusted with you!”
Nicole still appeared calm as she lowered her head and asked, “And?”
William’s expression eased a little when he saw that Nicole was still willing to listen. “Apologize now, and F&M Apparel will help you regain your fame when the time comes.”
Nicole thought that William truly cared about her; she didn’t expect that he just wanted her to apologize. She couldn’t hold back her laughter as she raised her clear eyes and looked over.
“Why should I apologize?”
William frowned in response to Nicole’s stubborn behavior.
“It’s already gotten to this point. What else do you want? Will you only be happy when you’ve completely ruined your reputation?”
“Isn’t that what you want to see?” Nicole stood up and gave him a condescending look.
“Besides, no matter what happens to me, it has nothing to do with you, Mr. Anderson!”
When William saw how persistent Nicole was with this behavior, his entire body trembled with anger. He stood up and looked straight at her while yelling, “You’re from the Anderson Family. You’re an Anderson. Now that this matter has become such a huge issue, our family is going to be humiliated because of you. If you’re sensible, you’ll behave and admit your mistake, and the matter will blow over. If you’re still so stubborn, you’ll become more of a joke.”
It turned out that he was persuading her to apologize because he was afraid of being humiliated. Nicole was a little amused, and her expression hardened as she said coldly, “No matter what embarrassing things I do, it has nothing to do with you!”
“You’re so shameless!” William was so furious that he raised his arm, about to slap her. However, before he could do it, his wrist was grabbed.
Nicole held his wrist, then tightened her grip and threw his arm aside as she smiled. “You’re better off taking care of your own affairs. You don’t need to bother about mine!”
“Do you know that you’ll turn the entire Anderson Family into a joke if you continue like this?!” William exclaimed, his face flushed.
In the beginning, because Nicole was the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel, many business and political figures tried to establish a relationship with him. Due to the fact that he wanted respect, he didn’t deny that Nicole was his daughter.
Now, the matter of plagiarism had befallen Nicole, completely embarrassing him!
“So, what does the Anderson Family’s affairs have to do with me?” Nicole asked with a smile. Her eyes were cold, and she didn’t want to bother about the person in front of her.
“If you’re here today just to tell me this, then forgive me for being unreasonable, but please get out of here at once.”
“You…” William was about to say something, but Nicole was already leaving.
“Since you don’t want to go, then I will.” With that, she slammed the door and went off.
With a cold expression, Nicole walked with rapid footsteps, and her mind was in a mess. Sure enough, no matter how many years had passed, William would always be like this. He had never changed.
What was I expecting?
Just as she was mulling it over, she suddenly slammed into a firm chest.
Groaning in pain, Nicole took several steps back, almost falling. Fortunately, the person in front of her was quick to react and grabbed her.
However, due to the momentum, after Nicole was grabbed, she slammed right into his arms once again.
Her face flushed, and she hurriedly untangled herself from Colton’s arms as she said in embarrassment, “I’m sorry. I didn’t watch where I was going.”
Colton noticed her slightly reddened cheeks, and the corners of his lips curled up as he chuckled. “It’s fine. Is something on your mind?”
“Yeah.” Nicole nodded. She figured he could tell from her appearance that her mind was occupied, so there was nothing to hide.
“If you need help, I’d be happy to give it,” Colton offered like a gentleman.
“It’s alright. It’s already solved,” Nicole answered, not wanting to trouble Colton about her family matters. After all, Colton and her so-called sister were still engaged.