“I admire your candor, Ms. Stanhope. Since you insist, I’ll cut straight to the chase. My client, Ms. Ziegler, hopes you can persuade Mr. Queen to drop the lawsuit and settle things privately. As for the compensation, Ms. Ziegler said that she can pay the full amount of two hundred million.”
I was mystified by what he said. They refused to entertain Bryson before, but all of a sudden, they want to settle things privately? What are these people really up to?
When I remained silent, Zander took in a deep breath and continued explaining, “Both the Zieglers and the Queens are prominent families in K City. There’s no need to go head to head with each other for merely two hundred million. Ms. Ziegler has also expressed that Mr. Queen’s investment will reap the most profits in the future. So, do we have a deal, Ms. Stanhope?”
“You’re asking me?” I feigned cluelessness. “Mr. Hoffman, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. The plaintiff in this lawsuit is Bryson. I’m just the assistant of the lawyer representing him and don’t have much of say in such this. Sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t help you.”
Probably never expecting that I would be so uncooperative, a frown formed on Zander’s face, obviously displeased about the outcome. “Ms. Stanhope, don’t fool around with me. No law firm in the entire city dared to accept this lawsuit; all except yours. It’s easy to see that everything about this has very little to do with Mr. Queen.”
A small intern couldn’t possibly have the authority to make his own decisions when two hundred million was involved. Needless to say, he must be acting under Thora’s instructions.
Before the lawsuit was officially filed, Thora behaved very arrogantly. Seeing that Bryson had no connections or status in K City, even though she knew she was in the wrong, she still abused her power and bullied him, forcing him to suffer a loss. Now that things weren’t in her favor, she wanted to make peace to preserve her company’s reputation. Businessmen were indeed cunning little b*stards.
Alas, just like Zander had expected, both Bryson and I weren’t doing it for the money.
I lowered my head and chuckled softly, intentionally avoiding giving him a direct answer. “Mr. Hoffman, both of us were in the same batch before. I really never thought that my first lawsuit would be against you as well. This must be fate, don’t you agree?”
Zander’s face darkened subtly, but he refused to give up and tried to convince me again. “Ms. Stanhope, let’s not discuss personal matters during work hours. Perhaps you’re not satisfied with the conditions I stated? Could you be more forthright, so that it’d be easier for both sides to continue cooperating? What do you say?”
Zander was as rigid as ever.
Pressing my lips together, I walked past him toward the exit. “If it’s a truce you want, show some sincerity. Get your client to come and see us personally, or you can forget about this.”
Worried that something might happen to me, Brooklyn and Bryson both waited by the corridor. When they saw me coming out, they immediately came up to me.
“How did it go, Ms. Stanhope? Did he make things difficult for you?” Bryson asked with concern.
Before I could answer, Zander emerged from the pantry with a gloomy face. As he passed by us, he nodded expressionlessly and left without looking back.
“He’s definitely bad news since he’s defending that woman,” Bryson spat while staring after his retreating figure.
My mouth curved into a helpless smile. “Well, then. It’s a good thing I rejected that bad man’s request to settle things peacefully for you. Mr. Queen, you won’t accuse me of overstepping my boundaries, will you?”
“Of course not!” Bryson exclaimed with a grin. “I can’t even thank you both enough for helping me. Naturally, everything else is for the two of you to decide.”
“Great.” I nodded and told the truth. “The defense attorney said that they can pay two hundred million in full with the condition that we drop the lawsuit. I’ve rejected the offer on your behalf and expressed that unless Thora personally comes forward to apologize, we will not settle it peacefully.”
“That’s an additional forty million. How generous of Thora,” Brooklyn joked.
“Forty million is nothing! It’s won’t bring me the same satisfaction as winning this lawsuit! You really do understand me well, Ms. Stanhope.” Bryson beamed with joy. “Today’s such a happy day. This calls for a celebration and it’s my treat. Both of you don’t have a say in this!”
Having said that, he took out his gilded phone and called his subordinate and instructed, “Book the largest private room in The Jade and get the manager to open their most expensive bottle of red wine. I’ll be there with my guests in fifteen minutes…”
I mentally rolled my eyes. This man was constantly flaunting his wealth, but unlike those truly filthy nouveau riche, he treated others with sincerity and knew when to show gratitude. Hence, it was impossible to dislike him.
Pitcoin continued trending, but the Queens and the Zieglers’ court case had become a piping hot topic and everyone was waiting for the final verdict.
Some people looked forward to seeing the nouveau riche cum business legend emerge to victory miraculously, while others envisioned K City’s number one career woman bowing in apology. They had different reasons for wanting to see her fall, but ultimately, everyone was eager to push Thora and her investment company into the eye of the storm.
However, before Thora announced her response, it was Bryson’s father, William’s birthday.
Bryson had already sent an invitation to the Stanhope residence, stating that the entire Stanhope family was invited. Due to Louis’ status, he found an excuse to politely refuse. Hence, only John, Emma and I attended the banquet.
The Queen family managed to knock Ziegler Corporation down a notch because of the lawsuit. Once word got out, businessmen all over K City no longer treated Bryson coldly. On the day of the banquet, the scene was surprisingly lively. When we arrived, there were already a few rarely-seen owners of listed companies chatting away happily with Bryson.
“Oh, Ms. Stanhope!” Bryson instantly spotted us when we passed through the doors, leaving his guests to come over and greet us. “I don’t know why the staff didn’t announce the arrival of my distinguished guests. I’m so sorry for my poor hospitality.”
“This must be Mr. Stanhope. I’ve heard a lot about you from Brooklyn and I have to say, your reputation precedes you!”
Then, turning a blind eye to John’s stoic expression, Bryson grabbed his hand with both hands and flashed a flattering smile at him.
John wasn’t a snob. Moreover, he had heard that Bryson was a decent person from me. Thus, he wasn’t angry and instead, spoke in an amicable tone. “You’re too kind, Mr. Queen. It’s your father’s birthday today. My uncle wanted to drop by to see him, but he’s just too busy with his official duties and really couldn’t step away, so he wanted me to wish your father a blessed birthday and a long life on his behalf. However, I’ll have to trouble you to relay this message, Mr. Queen. There are too many guests, so we won’t be going over.”
“Thank you, Mr. Stanhope. I’ll definitely pass on your message. Please, enjoy yourselves tonight!” Bryson smiled from ear to ear and quietly surveyed his surroundings. Then, he leaned closer to us and whispered, “Socializing is exhausting. If you guys get tired, go out from the side door and walk all the way to the end. I’ve specially prepared a private room for you to rest. When the banquet is almost over, you can come on out again. Nobody would know.”
We were dumbfounded by the degree of Bryson’s double standards. I never thought that such a burly and rough-looking man would be so thoughtful.
However, the Queen family was the star of the night after all. As soon as he finished speaking, more guests poured in.
“Mr. Queen!” A man came over with his family and shook hands with Bryson. Subsequently, his gaze landed on John and I. “This must be Mr. Stanhope and Ms. Stanhope. I’ve heard so much about you both.”
“You flatter us.” I smiled lightly and nodded in greeting before smoothly steering the topic back to Bryson. “Mr. Queen, we’ll leave you to attend to your guests.”
Before he could respond, I exchanged glances with John and Emma before walking toward a corner.
As soon as we left, many guests crowded around Bryson, sandwiching him in the middle as they engaged in a merry conversation.
John stopped a waiter who was passing by to ask for three glasses of champagne, then handed Emma and me one each. “I never expected Bryson Queen to be so well-known in K City. It’s a shame we didn’t get acquainted sooner.”
“The Queen family only made a fortune in the past few years.” Emma lifted her champagne flute to her lips and took a sip before calmly analyzing, “I find it rather peculiar though. All three generations won the lottery one after another. Then, they relied on other capitalists to become capitalists themselves. Ordinary people can only dream of having such luck.”
“Relying on luck isn’t realistic. Sooner or later, that luck would run out and their entire fortune with it,” John commented disapprovingly.
Emma rolled her eyes at him. “Does Bryson look like an idiot to you?”
“Stop being so cryptic. Just say whatever it is you want to say.” John’s face instantly clouded over.
I noticed that this was a frequent occurrence lately. Whenever Emma started talking, he would immediately get defensive.
Emma didn’t feel like arguing, deliberately turning her gaze to me, as though she could avoid him this way. “Don’t be fooled. Although the Queens’ older generation weren’t that refined or cultured, they had an eye for investment. Whatever they invested in would surge. Stocks, private equity funds, corporate bonds… They even have investments abroad. After so many years, they didn’t suffer any losses, and their assets even doubled!”
I didn’t really listen to the details, but I got the whole picture.
Bryson wasn’t some kind of rich idiot who had more money than sense. On the contrary, he seemed to have the Midas touch when it came to business and investments. Thinking of this, I turned to look at Bryson. Indeed, he had the look of an honest man. Right then, an inexplicable emotion rose in my chest.
He was an accurate example of how the idiom “never judge a book by its cover” came about, and it was the first time I felt this way about the same person twice.
A seemingly gentle person turned out to be a nouveau riche, and just when you thought he was naive and easily deceived, he proved you wrong by being a legend who had talent in making money. Who would’ve expected such a turn of events?
While I was lost in thought, there was some noise at the door. It seemed like a prominent figure had arrived. Glancing over, I saw Thora in a blue tube top dress. Appearing together with her was Anthony, who was clad in a well-tailored black tuxedo. Due to his height, he was particularly eye-catching among the crowd.
As far as I knew, Bryson did not send an invitation to the Zieglers. It seemed like Thora had listened to Zander’s advice and made the right choice.
Ziegler Corporation had been in close contact with the Trivetts lately. Rumor had it that the matter regarding Pitcoin was final. Those who desperately wanted a piece of the pie were already slowly making their way toward Thora.
Anthony stood expressionlessly beside her, his impatience showing. After whispering something to Thora, he strode toward the washroom.
Emma’s eyes lit up all of a sudden and she raised her skirt slightly to walk somewhere to our left. “I saw a few friends. I’m going over to say hi. You guys go ahead without me.”
“Hey, what friends? Hey…” John was clearly anxious, but he couldn’t put down his ego to go after her. Seeing that she didn’t respond after calling out to her twice, his face darkened and he looked like he wanted to punch someone at that moment. I could even hear him murmuring through gritted teeth, “She’s only been Mrs. Stanhope for a few days, but look at her, she has become a social butterfly.”
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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