Chapter 12: A Lawsuit Threat
The mood at Mr. Frost’s office was belligerent. The atmosphere in the office was as still as a graveyard. It was as though Ella and Denise had been jinxed to hold their breath. They gawked at him unsure of what to say.
Mr. Frost was seated on his executive desk, with his hands joined together. His head was resting on his hands like someone deeply meditating. His eyes were shut and he did not move when Denise and Ariella stepped into his office. He remained in the same position for a few minutes without speaking or even looking up at them.
His mobile phone beeped, jerking Ella and Denise out of their temporary spellbound trance.
The two ladies were slightly confused as they stood at the entrance, unsure of what to do. They decided to approach his desk but froze midway. Mr. Frost’s head was suddenly up and glaring ferociously at them. His icy cold eyes had a sinister glint and for a moment, Ella felt them almost popping out of his eyes sockets to strangle her.
Ella’s face turned white as sheet. it was as though her spirit had fled from her body. She remained motionless as she stood transfixed, staring into the eyes of a devil incarnate. She had never seen this side of Mr. Frost in her entire years of working in his company.
At the moment, Ella preferred Mr. Kyle’s stoned expression. At least, she was used to his craftiness, overbearing arrogance, and verbal insults. But this...this was a whole new level of weirdness, she thought. It was like watching a sinister movie where the fairly nice boss transforms into Cerberus.
Mr. Frost did not break eye contact with either of them. He continued to silently scowl at them as they stood, frightened before him. He had no intentions of offering them a seat. His blood was boiling. His hormones were raging. He was tempted to jump at them and devour them into shreds. ‘
.....
‘An assault and battery lawsuit with a compensation fee of one hundred million dollars,’ was what Mr. Robinson’s lawyer was demanding. It was obvious the Robinsons were seeking blood as the F&K fashion company not only humiliated the only priceless heir but dared to bruise her angelic face.
You would be considered an alien within the country if you claim not to know the Robinsons.
Albert Robinson was a billionaire real estate entrepreneur with a net worth of over ninety-six billion dollars. Aside from Rex Treshvier, who was also in the real estate business, Albert was known both locally and internationally for his class and luxurious lifestyle, with so many prestigious hotels and restaurants to his name.
When he married his beautiful wife, they were gifted with a precious gem. Albert idolized his daughter from the moment she came into the world and opened her enchanting eyes. There was nothing in the world that Chloe desired that she didn’t get in an instant. If Albert could, he would have brought down the moon and laid it at his daughter’s feet.
When Chloe called him and narrated her ordeal, he was so enraged. After he saw pictures of her cut lips and bleeding nose which she had sent to him, he smashed his wine glass on the floor. He was more furious because he was out of the country for a business trip.
He placed a call across to his lawyer and instructed him on what to do. While he canceled his meeting and made arrangements for a flight back home.
“Denise!” Mr. Frost’s voice was deep and raspy. His narrow glare penetrated Denise’s soul. “Do you know how Kyle and I formed this company?”
Denise stared back at him, pretending not to be affected by his gaze, although, she was trembling within. She shook her head and replied, “no Sir.”
“How about you Ariella?” He turns in her direction still maintaining his expression.
Ariella, who seemed to be on a different planet at the moment, jolted back to reality, at the mention of her name. “Sir!” She looked at Mr. Frost blankly. fr(e)ewebnovel
Denise quickly communicated through her eyes and shook her head slightly giving Ella a clue on what to say.
“No Sir.” She breathed, wishing she could disappear out of this office.
“Then let me tell you a story,” he smirked wickedly.
Mr. Frost started talking about the foundation and history of the F&K fashion home, to the point that Denise and Ariella felt very exhausted from standing.
“Sir,” Denise stepped a little bit closer to his desk, “about the incidence at the fashion show today, Ariella had nothing to do with...”
“Lady!” he suddenly stood up banging both hands loudly on his table. His booming voice reverberated in the office. “You will listen when I am talking! How dare you? Do you know the mess you’ve dragged this company into? Even if your whole generation were to work for us, they won’t be able to pay for the damages you have brought! You ignoramus!”
Denise was so offended by Mr. Frost’s words and was about to fire back at him when Ariella held her hand firmly and shook it before she spoke up.
“Sir, we are both sorry for whatever issue we may have caused. We would like to offer our sincere apologies and if we can help to remedy the situation, we would offer our services,” Ella’s eyes shimmered with imminent tears.
At this, Mr. Frost, looking a bit calmer, sat down and chuckled bitterly. “Your apologies...? Okay, how about you keep your bloody apologies to yourselves and get me the sum of one hundred million dollars as a way of remedying the problem at hand? Can you do that?”
Ariella and Denise looked at each other in incredulity.
‘What was he talking about?’ Ella wondered
‘This man must be a lunatic, no, he has gone insane,’ Denise gawked at him with an irked and curious expression.
“Let me enlighten you ladies” he crossed both hands on his chest. “The little game you both played back at the fashion show has attracted a lawsuit to the tune of a hundred million dollars. So, that brings us to my former question. Can you provide me with that sum of money?” He mockingly looked at them.
“Also, do you know the family that the beautiful Miss Chloe belongs to?” He didn’t wait for a response. “She is the only heir to Albert Robinson.”
When he saw their surprised faces, he added, “if you are thinking about the same real estate billionaire, then you are correct.”
Mr. Frost, having released some of the steam within, relaxed his back on his seat and stared at them intently. “You both had better pray hard that this lawsuit threat gets withdrawn or you’ll wish you were never born. He waved his hands dismissively and they left his office.
Ariella’s body twitched as cold precipitation beaded her face. She felt like crying but ended up stifling her tears.
“Why has this week been bad luck for me,” she thought out loud as they both walked back to their departmental office.
“Don’t talk like that Ella, some good things have happened and you know it. Moreover, this has nothing to do with you. If I go down, I go down alone.”
“No one is going down,” a new hope seemed to overshadow the dark cloud around her mind. “I am certain of it,” she tried to reassure herself and Denise.
During the debriefing session, Silvia spoke about the activities in the fashion show. She commended her team for the awesome work they put up. She criticized Denise and Ella; who seemed unperturbed at the moment, after undergoing a difficult grilling in Mr. Frost’s office. Silvia stated that their behavior was unprofessional, stressing that they should learn to manage people they work with in the future. With that, she ended the session and dismissed everyone.
Silvia was aware of the lawsuit charges. She kept calling and sending apology messages to Chloe. Ever since Chloe left the fashion show abruptly, she had not been taking Silvia’s calls or replying to her messages.
Her uncle, Mr. Kyle, had instructed her to get in touch with Chloe. He told her to settle the issue with Chloe calmly before it gets out of hand. He explained further that they had no chance against the Robinsons. He also spelt out the dangers of getting into a tussle with them.
On her way home, she decided to call Chloe again. Luckily, Chloe picked up her call this time.
“What do you want? Why can’t you stop bordering me?” Chloe screamed impatiently.
“Chloe, I’m so sorry, if there is anything I can do to make you happy, I’ll do it straight away,” Silvia begged as she nibbled on her little finger.”
“I can tell your company is in a deep fry, and they have sent you to try and convince me to change my mind, right?” Chloe barked at her.
Chloe paused for a minute as if she was contemplating Silvia’s words. “I want you and your bosses to meet with me first thing tomorrow morning at the mansion. Dad would also be there.” Chloe spoke slyly and ended the call.
Silvia excitedly passed the information to her uncle who thanked her and promised they would be there.
...
The Treshvire fashion brand won the Haze Design Award and Competition with a landslide. Leon was seen publicly granting interviews and posing for the camera with his committed designers smiling in the background.
After a long day, Leon was relaxing on his Sofa and going through some important documents when he got a call from Charles. Charles briefed him on his discussions with Ariella and the designs purchased from the F&K fashion brand. He even took some pictures of the designer dresses and forwarded them to Leon’s phone.
“Good one Charles, you can keep those dresses. Send me her number.” He ended the call and returned to his work.
His phone rang again.
“Leon, Chloe is suing F&K fashion company for assault and battery charges,” Tom said when Leon picked up.
“And guess who one of the culprits in the assault is?”
“Who?” Leon asked impatiently
“Your beautiful Ariella.”
“What!...”
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