Unable to hold myself back, I opened the door to take a look.
Brooklyn and a few other employees were in the corridor outside the pantry. They were surrounding a bespectacled man wearing a grey suit. He looked quite grim, more like an unsatisfied client than a troublemaker.
“What’s wrong?” I asked with a smile, walking over and maintaining my composure as the boss.
When everyone heard my voice, they glanced at me. The man adjusted his glasses and scrutinized me with a gloomy gaze.
Brooklyn strode toward me and whispered, “This client has a dispute with the Ziegler family. You instructed us to stay in line with our business and not offend those few families for the time being. I wanted to turn him away politely, but he refuses to leave. He even threatened that he’ll file a complaint against us to the lawyers association.”
I glanced at the bespectacled man and nodded in acknowledgment.
“So, It looks like you’re the boss here, huh?” asked the man with a solemn look.
“Indeed.” I smiled and pointed at my office. “Why don’t you discuss with me in my office? I still have other clients here, so it’s best to not make a scene.”
Thinking that the enemy of an enemy was a friend. I wanted to find out why exactly he came to the Stanhope family’s law firm.
The man contemplated for a while before walking toward my office.
When he sat down, he said, “Since you allowed me to stay, it means that your law firm is prepared to accept my case, right?”
He sat in front of me with his legs crossed and hands placed on his knees. Twiddling his fingers leisurely, he did not look like an average man.
After casting my gaze downward and thinking about it, I asked calmly, “How may I address you, sir?”
“Bison Queen,” he replied.
Bison?
Perhaps it had something to do with my recent tendency to be hasty, but when I heard the name, I could not help but raise my eyebrows in surprise.
The name “Bison” did not really suit such a gentle-looking man like him.
As if he could read my mind, he elaborated, “I know what you’re thinking about. It’s Bryson, not Bison. My name’s not that lame.”
I felt embarrassed that he managed to expose my thought so quickly. “I’m sorry.”
“Forget it, you’re not the first one to mishear my name. A rich guy like me doesn’t care about these trivialities,” remarked Bryson in a half-joking tone, not bothered by it at all. He then changed the topic. “Let’s cut the crap and go straight to discussing the lawsuit. Your law firm isn’t a fraud, right?”
I was at a loss for words.
As expected, one’s appearance was deceiving. Although he looked like a gentleman, I could immediately tell that he was a wealthy man the moment he spoke. What a drastic contrast…
“Haha,” I smiled, adjusted my emotions, and turned to ask Brooklyn, “why did Mr. Queen file a lawsuit against Ziegler Corporation?”
Brooklyn looked at Bryson helplessly, then lowered his head and explained in a polite tone. “There is an investment company under Ziegler Corporation that deals with stocks and funds. Two months ago, Mr. Queen invested in some commodity futures that amounted to around two hundred million following the suggestion of a top investment agent.
However, in only one month’s time, he suffered a complete loss from this investment. During this time period, not even a single soul checked with him whether to sell off the futures to cut losses. After this whole event, Mr. Queen went to the investment company to demand an answer for his unreasonable loss. They refused to do anything about Mr. Queen’s loss citing the reason of the company not being responsible for unpredictable market changes.”
At the mention of his misfortune, Bryson was especially inflamed. He took off his glasses and ranted, “Damn it! I thought the Zieglers were an elite family and hoped to make friends with them. That was the reason I gave all that money to the Ziegler woman without worry. Who would have foreseen that it was a trap?
I went all the way to their company, waited a whole day, and that wretched woman didn’t even bother to appear. Whatever it is, I am a director of a listed company, so she’s definitely looking down on me! I will remember this! I am not a Queen if I don’t make them pay!”
I was taken aback. I have only heard one person speak in this manner, and that was John. There was someone like him in K City? Why haven’t I heard anybody mention him before?
Looking at Bryson, I suddenly felt a slight regret at not having met him earlier.
Based on my first impression of him, there was nothing especially remarkable about Bryson. Nonetheless, his daring attitude toward Thora made him a person worth befriending.
“Alright, I understand. Don’t worry, Mr. Queen. We will take up your case, and assign our best lawyer to you. If that arrangement doesn’t work for you, I shall represent you myself,” I offered generously.
“Really?” Bryson looked at me skeptically. He lowered his head; his cunning fox-like eyes flickered rapidly. “It seems what was said in the magazine was right…” He mumbled to himself.
He said it at a very low volume, but my ears caught the intriguing statement. Therefore, I gossiped unabashedly. “What did the magazine say?”
Bryson paused for a beat, then collected himself and put his glasses back on. Grinning cheerfully, he answered, “It said that the Stanhope family had a bone to pick with the Ziegler family and that you were always on the lookout to stir up trouble for them.
Going by this logic, it made sense to contact the Stanhope family. By the looks of it, the magazine had been spot on. I have already made it known since a month ago that money is not an issue as long as I can win the lawsuit against the Ziegler family and embarrass them. Up until now, you are the only one daring enough to take up my case.”
What Bryson talked about was probably the whole ruckus that John stirred up to deal with Mitchell. It was no longer a trending topic, but some small publications were still milking and sensationalizing this incident to sell their magazines.
Whoever gave Bryson the idea must have intended to land a blow on the Ziegler family by using the Stanhope family, and they could avoid landing themselves in hot water at the same time. Yet, Bryson told us everything up front. He was evidently quite frank and not a manipulative person.
This type of people was actually the easiest to deal with.
I smiled and courteously replied, “The Stanhope and Ziegler families did have a small misunderstanding. However, it’s not to the extent of having bad blood. Since both of our families are running businesses in K City, we are bound to have dealings with each other. It would be impossible to cut all ties. But let me clarify what I heard just now. You said that as long as we win the lawsuit, we can ask for any price. Did you really mean it?”
People who had dealings in the corporate world have to be cautious and versatile, especially those from prominent families. Even if two families could no longer tolerate each other, they would not make it obvious to the public. Saving face for one another is crucial because enemies could become friends under other circumstances. No one would opt to burn down all their bridges.
Still, no one was willing to take up Bryson’s case except for me. The message that I was sending out by doing this was clear as day.
Bryson may be a straightforward person, but he got my hint and guffawed. “Don’t worry about that for I have done my survey around for a bit. As long as we manage to win the lawsuit, even the worst outcome would call for Thora to pay a hundred million. You can have all of it by that time. What I want is just the thrill from seeing her atone for her wrongdoing!”
What Bryson said was very much to my liking.
“Here’s to working together.”
After shaking hands, this whole arrangement was thus confirmed.
As I sent Bryson downstairs, he kept holding on to my hand, saying a million thanks. “Ms. Stanhope, from today onwards, we are good friends. If you need anything in the future, do not hesitate to ask me!”
“I won’t hold back when the time comes, thank you.” I sent Bryson away with a huge smile. My mood lightened considerably.
Although he did not speak in a cultured and refined manner, he wore his heart on his sleeve. Socializing with a person like this was not taxing, as I didn’t need to beat around the bush.
“Shouldn’t we inform Mr. Stanhope about this matter first?” Brooklyn suddenly appeared by my side and reminded me.
I tilted my head toward him, then directed my gaze to Bryson’s conspicuous Cayenne. In a relaxed tone, I said, “There’s no hurry. I will inform him myself. He would be interested to know about this.”
In the evening, I purposely got off from work earlier. Before going home, I picked up Summer and went to the supermarket to get ingredients for cooking dinner.
Out of habit, I left Anthony a message to invite him to drop by for dinner prior to cooking. As for whether he could make it or not, it would depend on his schedule for the day. With Millie around, I could see him almost every day. Hence, it was not a must for him to come over.
Louis was temporarily staying at the hostel because of the Pitcoin issues. Because of that, there were only four of us at the dining table during dinner.
As soon as I sat down, I took an abalone and gave it to John. “Give it a taste. Let me know if my cooking skills have deteriorated.” I did my best to please him.
John peered at the abalone on his plate and raised a brow. “My my, this is a rarity. I didn’t think that you would be in the mood to cook when Anthony is not around.”
With his eyebrows scrunched, he narrowed his eyes at me. Then, he crossed his arms and lazily leaned against the back of his chair. “This is too good to be true. Spit it out! What the devil are you up to this time?” he queried.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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