Mark slowly said as he stroked Arianne’s hair, “I’m not thinking about anything. I don’t want to since it’s tiresome to think too much. All I want is to hug you like this now. You smell really nice…”Arianne pursed her lips and smiled. Mark no longer had the scent of roses on him and had returned to how he used to smell in the past. It would seem that Mark had changed all the bathing products that Shelly changed for him previously. He even changed back to the type that Arianne liked to use previously. Women have always been easily moved by little details. Although Mark was not a person who paid attention to details, he had already done his best for Arianne.Suddenly, when they heard Smore coughing from the room next door, Arianne reflexively sat upright in shock. “I’ll go over and take a look at him. He’s been coughing for the past few days and doesn’t seem to be recovering.”After covering Smore with a blanket and observing for a moment, Arianne returned to her bedroom again. “He’l
Scorn was dripping from Mark’s smirk. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care about your trifling, boasting cockalorum to your friends. All I want to know is this: who gave you that bloody design draft? I know you didn’t pen it—it’s my wife’s creation. You stole it, you sued her for plagiarism, and you extorted one-hundred-fifty grand from me. Seems to me we’ve got a long score to settle.”James was shaking like a leaf. “N-No! T-T-That’s untrue! I didn’t steal anything from nobody. I swear it’s my creation! I didn’t steal! Please, Mr. Tremont, just let me off, okay? I don’t even want the rest of the money anymore, alright? Let’s just call it a truce, yea? I’ve told the press that the whole plagiarism thing was a misunderstanding! We’re alright now! That’s a good reason to let me go, right?”Mark’s patience was rapidly thinning. With a frown, he hissed, “You talk too much. Is this your way of pleading to get your tongue removed?”James immediately shut up, not a single word escaping him.M
Brian scowled at James—who was still lying on the floor, pathetic as ever—before getting into the car. “Mr. Tremont, shouldn’t we get our money back from him? We owed this schmuck nothing. There’s no reason he should hold onto our money, especially when seventy-five grand isn’t just any sum,” he spoke.“Oh. He’ll return the money to us of his own volition, mark my words,” Mark replied calmly. “He’s a milquetoast. Even the most dull-witted milquetoast knows that salvaging a chance to live another day is leagues better than dying.”Just as he predicted, the money Mark had given to James was returned to him in full later that day. At the very least, the man still had enough sensibilities; choosing any other action would have invited more than a savage beatdown.James had previously told the press that the plagiarism accusation was a “misunderstanding”, but soon, the man had come to the press with something more to add into the narrative. In another statement released—this time prodded
After a brief internal musing, Mark spilled, “That designer—James McGinnis—had admitted that the design was given to him by an anonymous sender through email. It was never his original creation from the outset; he stole Arianne’s idea. As for the identity of that sender, they may benefit from anonymity now, but it’s not at all hard to find out who they may be. Soon, the truth will come out… and we’ll see.”Mark had paid his most exacting attention to Shelly’s expression while he spoke, but nothing in her mien was out of place. In fact, she sighed a breath of relief. “Oh, that’s good news, isn’t it? Go get that little snake, you. Everyone will be able to breathe easy if that perp is finally apprehended. Anyway, go and take your shower while I set up the table.”After dinner, Mark summoned Henry to his study. “I want the identity behind that email sent to McGinnis uncovered as soon as possible,” he ordered. “No matter who it is, do not let anyone catch hold of it. It is for my ears onl
cheSylvain turned silent for a moment before speaking again. “Mr. Tremont, can you please give me some time to check with Robin? I’ll give you her answers.”Mark approved his request. He preferred tackling this current knot with a more humanistic approach since the great, overarching issue had already been resolved. Next to that, this was more of a small, loose strand.Besides, judging from Arianne’s nature, she would still refuse to take any action even if Robin were the real culprit.After exiting Mark’s office, Sylvain dashed straight to the Strategy Department. There his wife was, completely engrossed in her agenda-of-the-day until he whisked her away so suddenly; she was too shocked to question him.It was only when the two of them were in an empty, remote corner of the office that Robin finally inquired, “What are you doing, Syl? Oh God, you look ghastly… Is there something wrong? I’m a bit busy right now, and I don’t want my superior to see us, ‘cause this superior is super
Mark took his seat behind the desk. “What’s the matter?”Robin promptly handed him a resignation letter. “Mr. Tremont, I know that things are looking bad for me now, which is why I… I have no problem resigning my position as long as Sylvain is safe from negative splashes. I swear, though, I’ve got nothing to do with any of this. I’m innocent! But Sylvain told me that it’s too difficult to clear my name by now, and it’s likely that the investigation has no other leads to go forward. I… I guess that means there’s no other way out, so I’ll willingly resign. I’m sorry.”Mark stared at the resignation letter in her hand and thought for a while. “Take this back. Frankly, I’ve never even considered firing you,” he replied. “I’ve talked to Arianne just now, and we both agreed to close the chapter on this case. Neither of us are interested in continuing this investigation, and no one will mention it ever again, let alone allow it to affect Sylvain negatively. Both Arianne and Sylvain are adam
That same night, Melanie invited Arianne to have dinner at the Smith Estate.She accepted the invitation and attended alone. It had been a while since the friends chatted with one another, so their ensuing conversation quickly turned into a pleasant, lively one. Revisiting the topic about the plagiarism scandal around the dining table, Arianne once again reaffirmed her disbelief that Robin was the one behind it.Melanie agreed. “I don’t think it’s her, either. I’ve talked to that girl before; I’ve got nothing other than good things to say about her. Someone must have hijacked her computer at work and used her account. Poor girl; she’s still shouldering blame that was never hers to begin with without knowing what has really happened! Good thing you’re a force of reason, Arianne. Otherwise, there really isn’t any other way but to have her kicked out, and that will definitely impact Sylvain, too.”Alejandro, who had been reticent to comment throughout the women’s exchange, suddenly sni
Before Arianne could mount a reply, Alejandro had stepped into the opening with a repartee. “And this is why no one seriously considers a woman’s opinion on things. Turning the other cheeks doesn't bring peace—instead, it only makes you seethe and suffer your indignance on your own. An eye for an eye is the real way of living! We’re all equal as humans, so why the f**k should we have to tolerate certain subsets of people, despite them being no more special than we are, huh? What’s the point of living a life of servitude and submission?”Melanie was so exasperated that she launched into a series of eyerolls. “Oh, please miss me with that high-minded bunkum. You just want to watch the world burn with a box of popcorn in hand, Nero. Sure, your conjecture sounds reasonable, but it doesn’t automatically exclude the possibility of you being dead wrong! What if you were wrong? You goading Arianne into pursuing this investigation is basically just you trying to manufacture more drama!”Aleja