?Arranged Marriage?♀️
To
a
?complete ?
? stranger?♀️?
By: worthy stories
Chapter 36
Not edited?
After my meeting with my family and in laws at the Anderson h.q I arrived to the law firm.
??
He explained to the family
“I know the truth now,” he said. “Her lies are exposed.”
He opened the envelopes and pulled out some pictures which showed me with different men, leaving nightclubs, holding hands, kissing and leaning on each other.
His father was shocked!!!!!!!
”
”
I was so angry. How can my husband be so wicked …. No love?
Every word out of his mouth was driving me crazy.
Again
“You know what Nathan? I’m sick of you,” I interrupted him.
” You asked me to stay away from your personal life and I have but you can’t seem to follow your own rules. I told his family with so much anger ..
Grandpa connected the private lawyer and asked us to meet with him later… I can’t believed my husband asked for a ?? divorce…….
??
I had my secretary Kate send Harry’s secretary a box of chocolates as my thanks for picking an outfit for me. Upon entering my cabin I found Rick playing with my figurines while waiting for me.
“No, no you can’t touch those,” I said annoyed.
“But I already did. What are you going to do about it?” He challenged.
“Ugh! You better have something good for me if you’re annoying me so,”
He chuckled and handed me a pendrive. I turned on my laptop and inserted the pendrive and opened a file named ‘Project G’ There was only a video and I clicked on it. A CCTV recording showed Gina and Hannah in a private room of what seemed to be a club accompanied by a guy who I vaguely remember seeing in the file Josh had handed me earlier of the information of the Williams.
His name was Darren Williams, Hannah’s brother and was expected to take over the company from their father. as the clip proceeded, Hannah could be seen sitting besides Gina while the three of them were talking to each other.
Then Darren began pacing around while Gina and Hannah started sobbing. And the very next minute, Nathan entered the room and went straight to Hannah. They were conversing but i couldn’t hear what was being said as this was a CCTV recording.
“I want to know what they’re saying,” I told Rick. “Is there any way you can find out?”
“One step ahead of you,” he said and pushed a file towards me. “I got a lip reader to decipher the conversation. It should be pretty accurate.”
I opened the file and began reading. After some time I shut the file close and threw it on the desk.
I just couldn’t believe what I had just read though I wouldn’t put it past those women. I felt utterly disgusted that I had once called her my friend.
I wonder what I ever did to earn her h@ťě. Why is she so hellbent on making my life so miserable? But what made me even more frustrated was how much Nathan trusted a stranger’s words compared to mine. He just met Gina but he believed her and decided that I was the guilty party here.
Harry was right. He was a dead weight that would never change. Every single day he found new ways to let me down. I was such a fool to think that there was a shot for us when my husband not only doesn’t love and want me, but is a fool who will never trust or believe in me.
“Your ex best friend seems like a Çüñť,” Rick said after a while. “Now I’ve seen some real hardcore $h|t that has happened between friends and two friends fighting over a guy and all that. But that is one heck of a woman. You were lucky to have seen her and your ex’s true faces before it was too late. But you let them go too easy. It’s payback time. Want some revenge on her?”
“For now do your job and find out as much of her activities over the past months as you can,” I told him. “Anything that can link her or any other person from the Williams’ to the Hunts designers team. I need solid proof. Any dirt on them I can use as leverage to get them to settle.”
I would get my revenge on Gina but in my own way. She shouldn’t have come back to mess with me. You don’t poke the snake twice and not expect it to strike back. And Hannah too it seems would need to learn a lesson. She was purposely trying to sabotage me. That cunning woman would also need a lesson on why no one messes with the Andersons. We are as ruthless as they come and don’t let go of our enemies so easily.
My grandpa always told me that while dealing with your enemies you need to be thorough so that they never come back to challenge you again. I disregarded that before when I let Gina go easily after ruining my engagement and now she was back foiling what little dignity was left of my sorrowful marriage. but this time I wouldn’t let her go.
“Will do,” Rick said getting up.
“Rick,” I stopped him. “I never told you that Gina used to be a friend or anything that happened back then.”
“You know what was my first project for you when you hired me?” he asked smiling.
“The McCallum case?” I asked remembering the first time I met him.
“No, my first project was to investigate you,”
“Huh, I don’t know what to make of that. What’d to find?”
“Plenty of interesting stuff in there. I’m an ex FBI agent. You really expected me to work for you without running a background check?”
“No, I’d be disappointed if you didn’t,” I told him. “But you should know, if anyone should ever try to buy your services against me, I’ll buy it back. if you try to double cross me…..”
“Don’t worry,” he chuckled. “I may know a thing or two about biting the hand that feeds you. We’ve been working together for three years now. You can put some trust in me to know that I won’t rattle you out.”
“The thing about trust,” I said staring at the video playing on my laptop. “It comes at a price.”
“A piece of advise?” he asked after a pause. “Don’t worry it’s free.”
I nodded.
Get rid of that husband of yours, he’s a fool. You can do better. Much better than him.”
“Thanks Rick.” I chewed on my lips. “After you finish this case, I want you to dig up Hannah for me. I want to everything about her relationship with Nathan. There must be a reason why Alex passed on her to be Nathan’s wife when they’ve been dating for years.”
“There is a reason. She’s a Ɓîtçh. Anyone with eyes can see she’s no good for him. She’s the type to only go after a person when it best suits her and dump them when she’s done with them.”
“There’s always much more to a person than meets the eye. Lets not judge.”
“You know, I spent some time working as a profiler for the FBI when I took a break from the field the first time around. I know how to read people. But wh@ťěver you say. You’re the boss after all. Congrats on you’re new position as COO.”
“You really are fast in finding out stuff aren’t you?” I asked amused. “The word isn’t even out yet.”
“If I wasn’t the best, you wouldn’t hire me.”
————————-
“You ready?” I asked Roman outside the conference room of Williams’ company where we would be meeting with our opponents to settle the case.
“Yeah,” he replied. “After all I have you. How can I be worried when I’m with you?”
I ignored his comment and instructed him, “They’ll try to taunt you or say things to get a reaction, do not give them an opportunity to get under your skin. Keep cool, and don’t say anything that is not necessary. Be blunt and to the point. understood?”
He nodded and we both walked to the conference room together. When we were just outside the room, Roman’s phone rang and I nodded to him to say that it was okay to answer it since we were anyway early. He answered the phone and moved away to talk in privacy. I was left standing there alone. Thant’s when I saw Nathan walking my way.
I was in no mood to talk to him, much less in a private setting as there was no saying what turn any conversation with him could take. So I simply turned the other way and pretended not to see him, hoping he would get the message. But he didn’t. Instead he walked up behind me and whispered in my ear-
“We need to talk,” and then he was holding my arm and dragging me into a small room that was connected to another room.
“What is you’re problem?” I asked yanking my arm away from his grip. “And what are you doing here anyway?”
There’s still time,” he said ignoring my question. “Drop this case. Wh@ťěver grudge you’re holding, we can work through it. Don’t do this, Hailey. I love Hannah, you know that. If you go ahead and hurt her, it will only complicate our marriage.” Which marriage?????
“We need to have a marriage for it to get complicated, Nathan,” I snorted. “You made it clear from the start that our marriage was only on paper.
That being said, there is nothing to complicate. You love Hannah and I have a job.”
“That’s why you’re doing this isn’t it? Because it will hurt Hannah and indirectly hurt me.”
“Or maybe it has something to do with the fat paycheck that I’ll be receiving in the end,” I suggested. “But seeing you get hurt doesn’t hurt either. Its the least I can do after all you put me through.”
“Hailey, listen to me. I’m-”
‘beep beep’ my phone buzzed.
“Opps, I gotta go,” I said. “I’ve been summoned. But it was nice talking.”
“You’re going ahead with this?”
“Can’t see why not. Listen Nathan, you’re not my husband, but that means nothing. And I’m not compromising my job for you.”
“So you’re choosing that ex who you called a jerk, who you said hurt you, over me? You’re going to represent him even when you know it’ll hurt me?”
“Yes!” I exclaimed. “But it’s more like, I’m representing him cause it is my job but if that’s what you think, go ahead. And maybe you’re right, I am getting some twisted revenge on. But if you think I’m not going to do my job because of you’re mistress, you’re wrong.”
——————————————-
“So Mr Hunt, Mrs. Rodriguez, Did you consider my offer?” Chris, the opponent attorney asked.
“That we did Mr Baker and its absurd,” I told him. “That 10 million you offered doesn’t even cover the production cost. We’d rather take our chances at the derivation proceeding. And after we prove that the original creators of the designs is none other than Mr. Hunt’s team, we not only walk away with the patent and rights to the designs, but we will also sue for damages and it will be a lot more than that 10 mil.
Not only that but I’d also like you to consider the negative publicity and that your client will never be able to set foot in the jewelry market again.”
“That won’t happen!” Darren Williams banged his fist against the table in a fit of fury.
“Calm down Mr. Williams,” Chris Baker tried to pacify his raging client.
“No, we are the original designers,” Mr. Williams insisted. “You stole from us! You won’t get away with all that you’ve done, Ms. Anderson!”
“So are you claiming that your company designed this project all on its own?” I asked slyly.
“Do not answer-” Mr. Baker tried to warn.
“Of course we did!” Williams answered despite the counsel of his lawyer.
“And by whom was it designed?” I asked.
“Why, don’t you know the name of the woman you’ve been working so hard to destroy? Ms. Gina Reid is the sole designer behind this mind blowing project,” he proclaimed. “It is her effort and brilliance that master minded the whole thing, that to without help from anyone.”
“Point to be noted,” I told the deponent. “Mr. Williams has made a claim that states, one Gina Reid, a person with no previous background in jewelry designing or any designing really, single handedly managed to design a collection of 23 different complex jewelry designs.”
“Mrs. Rodriguez, the fact still remains that we filed for patent first,” Mr. Baker insisted. “That will be a strong point against you even if you take it to derivation. Our offer is fair. You proceed any further and you are likely to walk away empty handed. Mr. Hunt, You are a businessman. You should know a bad situation when you see it. Wh@ťěver fantasy Mrs. Rodriguez has filled your head with, let me tell you, its all a big fat lie. Derivation proceedings are not only tiresome and expensive, but awfully hard to win. Infact, the chances that a person in your shoes will win is slim to none. Now you can take this deal I’ve offered you and walk away peacefully or you could try your luck and end up losing miserably. And you can trust that when I win this case, the end sum will leave a huge dent in your pocket.”
If only that were so easy,” I responded. “You and I both know that is far from the truth, which is why you are so desperate to get me to settle. If the odds did favor you, you wouldn’t be sitting here, willing to lose 10 million when you could gain a huge sum with an easy victory. Now, I have a deal of my own for your client to consider. I’ll make the same offer you made me– a monetary settlement and you withdraw your claim to the designs, because honestly your client isn’t convincing any judge that his girlfriend designed anything with that Ç0çƙ and bull story of his. My client will then be the sole undisputed creators and inventors of the whole project. You will never again use those designs or hold rights to manufacture or sell them under your brand name or any brand name. And for that we’ll offer you 50 million instead of the 10 million sum you offered us.”
“Even if what you say is true, and the derivation proceedings go in your favor,” Mr. Baker said with caution. “We both know that derivation proceedings can span over a long time. Time your client doesn’t have. Tell me Mr Hunt, isn’t this project a crucial part for your new venture in Japan? I’ve been told that you’re new possible deal with the Japanese investors which by the way, is worth billions, is riding on the success of this new projects. Now lets say, you win this case and the patent is handed to you and you are named the inventors, it will take a long time for that to happen. You can trust that I will drag this so much that you’re end of the year deadline won’t be met. You stand to lose billions in the process. So either way you stand to lose.”
Suddenly doubt filled Roman’s eyes. He began rubbing his thumb and index finger together, under the table, a habit of his when he gets nervous.
“Now, I have a new proposal for you,” Mr. Baker continued. “We’ll accept the terms and conditions of Mrs. Rodriguez’s earlier deal. Just not the settlement amount. Instead of 50 million, you pay us 500 million. After all you stand to profit billions. This is a small price when you compare it to that.”
I looked at Darren and I could see his eyes filled with confidence and greed. He believed he had won. Roman was considering the offer. He looked at me and I knew he was facing a hard choice.
“Mr. Baker,” I said and stood up. “Thank you for your time, but this meeting is over. I’ll let you know our answer in two days.”
“Well, take you’re time,” he said smugly. “That’s the best you are going to get. But after two days, the price will go on increasing.”
—————————————————–
Roman and I rode towards my law firm together in his car. We spoke about the deal and Roman confirmed that the Japanese deal was real and he needed the project launched by the year end at any cost which means he needed this win. I was frustrated he didn’t tell me about this deal before and that Chris got one over me. If I had known, I would have been prepared to turn the tables on him. I didn’t really expect him to accept my offer but I was testing the waters to see how desperate they really were.
When we were still in the car, my phone chimed signaling an email received. I opened my phone and begin reading.
“Ro, what can you tell me about Mr. Garry Turner?” I asked while still busy reading the file that was sent via email. When Roman didn’t answer my question for some time, I looked up to see what was wrong. He was staring at me wide eyed, a look of pure shock all over his face.
“Well?” I pushed, uneasy with the look on his face, wondering what got such a reaction from him.
“W-what?” he stammered and I repeated my question to him. He snapped out and answered.
“Garry is an employee, a senior designer,” he said. “He’s worked with us for many years, since before I took over. He’s good at his job and was assistant project manager of this project.”
I already knew all that from the message just sent, so I made my question a bit more clear. “What do you know about his personality, his personal life, what is he like? How is he as a person? Have you ever met him?”
“Hails, I run a company that employs thousands of people,” he deadpanned. I internally flinched at him using my nickname. “You seriously can’t expect me to know every single one.”
“Still,” I pressed on. “You may know something. Must have heard about him at the least. And if he was project manager, you would have met him once or twice.”
“Assistant manager,” he corrected. “Hm, Garry….Garry… He is an ambitious guy. Talented and opportunistic, always looking to climb higher. I think he was in the race to lead the project, but lost and was named assistant instead. He is good with people because the reason he got that position was the other designers preferred to work under him, even though he is not leader material and can be easily dominated and manipulated. He is an older guy, early fifties, married, I met his wife, though I don’t remember anything about her. Why’d you ask?”
You’ll know later. You sure went from not knowing to spilling a lot,” I muttered.
“I try to know as much as I can about those under me, but I don’t remember every single thing. But with you, my brain just wants to give you wh@ťěver you want,” he said. I rolled my eyes at his antics and muttered a quick shut up.
“You know, the deal he made wasn’t that bad,” Roman said after a while. “I know that its your job to make the best decision and I trust you to do what is best, but 500 million doesn’t compare to the billions we could rake in.”
“You are right. It is my job to make the best decision, its what you pay me for, so keep quiet and let me do my job,”
“Hailey, does this have anything to do personally? Are you so keen on winning this case or on getting back at Gina?”
I looked at him stupefied. “I am doing my job, Roman. But if you are afraid that I’ll let my personal experiences affect my judgement and hinder me from giving you my best services, I’ll refer you to another lawyer,” I told him angrily. “Our firm has plenty of great lawyers who can handle this more to your liking.”
“Hailey, don’t be mad. I wasn’t trying to question your ability or anything,” he said quickly. “Its just that given everything, it makes this awkward. And I understand you wanting to lash out, not only at Gina but also at the Williams for what they’ve done to you.”
My head turned to face him. How did Roman know about my predicament with the Williams? What does he know?
“It was an accident,” he explained. “I overheard your conversation with your husband earlier. I was in the adjacent room on the phone and I couldn’t help hearing. He is a jerk and I’m so sorry you have to suffer so with him. He is going to regret this one day, just like I did. But it just makes me wonder, what if we could be together again? Clearly your marriage isn’t working. I don’t know why you married him, but I can tell it wasn’t for love. Love is what we had. And I promise we can have that again. If you divorce him and give us a chance, I promise I’ll be better for it.”
“Stop, Roman,” I held my hand up unable to hear anymore. “First, you don’t know anything about my marriage, don’t go making assumptions. Second, you have no right to tell me what I should or shouldn’t do. You can’t take that decision. What we had ended a long time ago. There is no us again. So please, I’d prefer if you kept this to yourself and accept that we are over.”
“So you can forgive your husband for having an affair, accept his cheating and his mistress but what I did was so unforgiveable? You didn’t leave him for his infidelity but you continue to punish me, keep me at a distance and refuse to accept me back in your life? why this difference?”
“Like I said, you don’t even know half the story, so don’t make assumptions. As to the difference? I loved you and you betrayed me. But you were right when you said I am not in love with my husband. His infidelity doesn’t hurt half as much as yours did. So don’t even begin to compare. And anyway, you don’t have any right to question my choices.
——————————————————–
Back in my office, I went over the email again, reading and re-reading, checking to make sure all the details were in place. Fact checking everything myself. After ensuring there were no mistakes in the whole file, a devious smile made its way to my lips. I picked up phone and called a number.
“Richard,” a deep voice sounded from the other side of the line.
“Remember the revenge you promised me earlier?” I asked. “I have a plan…
TBC
A plan?????