When Emily heard the question, she took a deep breath. She was not sure what the Smith offered to him; she knew it was a risk to threaten him. "win the case; you have the needed evidence," Emily said.
"would you delete the thing in your hand after that?" Barrister Douglas asked.
"No, you would continue to work with Steam according to your contract; there are still three years before it ends. As long as you don't betray the company, your secret is safe," Emily replied. She wanted to keep him because he was good at his job.
Now that she had his weakness, he would not dare betray her again. Some people were loyal; others could only be reliable because of benefits and losses.
Mr Douglas paused, " What if I want to terminate the contract?" he asked. Nobody wanted their weakness held in the hands of others.
"You can pay for the Bridge of contract, and we go our separate ways, but I would hold on to this evidence for three years. Of course, I might not be able to sue you with it; it can still ruin your reputation," Emily replied. She knew not to push him too far.
She also knew that after he won the case in court today, the evidence would not deal a bow on him, but it was different for his reputation.
Barrister Douglas smiled; he knew that Emily was Smart, but she did not use the same method she used for Mr Adams. She gave him a way out.
Back then, Mr Adam was just a man full of himself. In his case, he could fight back. After winning the case today, the evidence would not block his carrier part so much, so she gave him a way out that would benefit them both.
"I will stay," Barrister Douglas made the decision. If he were under Steam, he would get paid, but if he left, he might encounter her as an opponent shortly. It would be better to go with a good name at the end of three years.
"Alright, I will wait for the good news," Emily said and ended the call. Amy, who was standing by the side, could not help but shivered. She kept consoling herself that she has never betrayed the company. Even if she was careless, her punishment should not be so big.
....
ABM top floor.
"Steam could not push the hearing forward?" Eric asked. Even if he heard every word Jin said, he still hoped he was wrong.
Somehow, he did not want to be a part of those who caused Emily to worry. Since she was at the hospital, she needed to rest to get better quickly.
" The Smiths were very smart; how can Steam dare to extend the hearing when there was no guaranty to get the needed evidence? It would be like raising a stone onto one's own feet," Jin answered.
"What is the situation at the court now?" Eric asked.
"Steam is sure to lose; although they have an outstanding lawyer, he lacks evidence. Moreover, he seems to have been bought over by miss Smith," Jin replied honestly.
"What?" Eric did not expect Annabel to take everything into consideration. If a lawyer were bought over, he would not do his best to defend his clients.
If the lawyer is sincere, he might even paint a picture of Smith bullying Steam because it was a small company with no backing. So even if Steam lost the case, the company would be tagged unlucky to have encountered the Smith.
This was also a way out for Steam, but now that the lawyer was insincere, it would be not easy to find solutions to save the public image of Steam.
"Do you have evidence of this?" Eric asked. After thinking of the situation. He wanted to give Emily a way out; after all, he felt uncomfortable seeing that she suffered so much.
"no, this has nothing to do with ABM, so I did not bother," Jin replied.
"What about the evidence against the Smith? Did you save a copy?" Eric asked. He wanted to help. For the first time in his life, he could not separate personal affairs from business.
"No, that kind of evidence is best destroyed. Besides, we already gave our words to Smith; we can not back out halfway." Jin did not know why Eric suddenly changed his mind but still reminded him.
"Then block Smith; the news should remain within the business circle," Eric replied after thinking for a moment.
"It would be too late for that; Miss Smith help reporters inside,". Jin replied. He had kept an eye on Annabel because he felt that Eric would later ask questions. He did not just expect him to want to help Steam.
Eric's gaze became deep; he did not expect Annabel to want to deal with Steam in one blow. Although they are the company the president has chosen to promote, the vice president could also compete for it.
"Is there a grudge between Miss Smith and Miss White?" Eric could only ask this question after thinking of the situation.
....
"What is it," Annabel asked, looking at her assistant, who was looking at her phone like she saw something that was terrifying.
"Barrister Douglas sent a message," The assistant answered. She felt that her throat was dry.
"What did he say?" Annabel was scared. She saw Amy handing something over to him, inside the court earlier. She could not help but worry that it was evident.
"I am sorry, we cannot continue the cooperation," The assistant read out the content of the message.
Annabel had a bad feeling when she heard this. They would be returning to the courtroom soon. This time, the defence would be given a chance. "Call him. Did Amy manage to find a new copy of the evidence?" Annabel wondered.
When the assistant dialled the number, there was a machine voice "The number you are trying to call can not be reached."
The assistant looked at Annabel, "I think he blocked my number," she said in a small voice.
"Call the lawyer and tell them to get ready; there are still a few minutes. Contact Miss Olivia and find out what kind of evidence was contained in the missing file. This way. We would be able to prepare better," Olivia said. No matter what happens, she could not lose the case.
If Steam were acquitted of the case, it would only mean that Smith supplied problematic materials. The company's reputation would be ruined.
The assistant did not waste time; she immediately called Olivia. It was during lunch time when Olivia saw the unknown number, she did not want to pick, but when the call came in the second time, she decided to pick up and find out who was calling.
"This is Allen, Miss Smith's assistant," Olivia heard the other person's introduction. She regretted picking up the call, but she could not end it.
"How may I help you?" She could only force herself to be polite.
"We heard you saw the evidence against the Smith company in the hands of Steam. Can you remember the content?" Allen asked.
"Yes, it was a video of when they received the matching to their first trial and the failure. Every minute and step was clearly detailed. There is also other evidence, but I did not pay attention at that time," Olivia answered. Since Eric has decided to help the Smiths, she could only follow suit.
" Thank you, " the assistant ended the call. Olivia rolled her eyes at their manner. Not far away, Peter heard the conversation of the call. He did not know if it was deliberate or not; he also heard the person from the other end.
In the past few days, he has been trying to convince himself that the missing file had nothing to do with him. He knew that he could not remember everything that happened that night correctly, especially after he joined her cab to send her home.
He wanted to help Olivia; he did not expect to become a betrayer instead. It happened that Olivia got up to leave the restaurant and when she turned around and saw Peter she felt a little guilty.
After all, she could tell that Peter indeed treated her like a friend. "Hello, Peter," Olivia smiled. She had no idea that her phone volume was a bit loud, and Peter heard the content of her call. More so, she thought he had just arrived.
"Hey," Peter replied. He wanted to question her, but all the words in his mind were stuck to his throat. He was a fool; this was the only thing ringing in his head. He could not help but think of how Amy trusted him and let him in on her plans to protect the evidence, but he betrayed the entire company.
If the company did not manage to buy time, it might face a lot of challenges. Not to think of the compensation they would have to pay, the delay of materials has also delayed their work. If they mess up the first big contract, would there be a chance for them to advance? "