Chapter 30
"Of course I believe you!" Tamsin quickly reassured her. "But Briar's coming in hot, so we better be ready too."
Zoey knew Tamsin meant well, but how could her lawyer lose to someone hired by Briar?
Her lawyer was from Iron Vanguards, and they had never lost a case.
"Are the lawyers from Integrity Law Firm really that good?" Zoey asked, trying to sound casual.
Tamsin thought for a moment. "Not really, only one or two are decent. The rest are just there for the paycheck."
She thought of something amusing and laughed as she called Briar.
Briar answered quickly, her tone dripping with arrogance. "What? Getting cold feet now?"
"I'm really shaking in my boots," Tamsin said, barely holding back her laughter. "Who'd you hire? Spill the beans so I can be properly terrified."
"Hayes, a lawyer from Integrity Law Firm. Never lost a case."
Tamsin paused, not responding immediately.
Briar assumed Tamsin was genuinely scared into silence and boasted, "Scared, aren't you? Zoey's with you, right? Tell her to come over and apologize to me on her knees, compensate for all my losses, and drop the lawsuit. Then I won't let my brother take this case to court."
Integrity Law Firm was huge, but Tamsin had never heard of Hayes. She was still trying to figure it out when she heard that it was Briar's brother.
Tamsin sneered.
Zoey thought this Hayes must be someone formidable and asked Tamsin, "Is he really that good?"
"Not at all!" Tamsin snapped into the phone, sneering. "I know all the top names at Integrity Law Firm. Where did this Hayes come from?"
Briar, thinking they were scared, continued to taunt, "Afraid now? Hayes is the best new lawyer at Integrity Law Firm, ranked in their top ten. Zoey's lawyer, I checked, just returned to the country, hasn't handled any cases, and has no experience. She'll lose badly."
"I think you'll be the one losing badly," Tamsin retorted and hung up.
She was still a bit worried. If Zoey's lawyer were as inexperienced as Briar claimed, Zoey would definitely lose.
"Zoey..." Tamsin began, but Zoey already knew what she was going to say.
"Don't listen to her nonsense. My friend is very capable, just a bit less than I am."
Tamsin, initially panicked, felt a strange calm wash over her as she saw Zoey's confident eyes.
"Alright, but promise me, if things go south, you'll think of me and Alexander first."
"Okay."
Zoey knew if she didn't agree, Tamsin might go straight to Alexander. Honestly, she didn't want any ties with Alexander. She knew she was starting to have feelings, so she had to nip it in the bud.
Men would only slow her down.
In the afternoon's practical class, as soon as the group assignments were announced, several group members' faces changed.
"Professor, I don't want to be in Zoey's group!" A boy raised his hand first, his tone disdainful. "She messed with Briar. What if our experiment data gets targeted because of her?"
"Yeah, Briar's got a powerful background. We don't want to get involved," a girl whispered, avoiding Zoey's gaze.
She hadn't forgotten that Dash got a rib broken by Zoey's kick. Briar lost three front teeth from a slap and was still speaking with a lisp. How terrifying!
Zoey remained indifferent, playing with a scalpel, as if she hadn't noticed.
Honestly, she could handle the data on her own, but they assigned these people to drag her down, and she didn't even complain.
Tamsin was furious. "Are you guys nuts? Briar kidnapped me and threatened Zoey, bringing half a dozen guys to mess with her."
"Instead of blaming the perpetrator, you're bullying the victim. Are you all idiots?"
Before Zoey came along, Tamsin was the type to stay out of trouble. But after Zoey saved her once, Tamsin would repay her tenfold.
She now idolized Zoey. Anyone who disrespected her idol would get an earful from her.
"Why are you so mad? If you ask me, this is all your fault. Why did you get involved in Briar and Zoey's conflict?"
"Yeah, you should apologize to Briar with Zoey. Then we'll be in the same group again."
"And Briar said if Zoey apologizes, she'll let it go. She won't really bring a top lawyer against you."
Their words infuriated Tamsin. She wanted to complain, but the practical class professor was avoiding her gaze, not wanting to get involved.
She stepped aside, waiting for them to finish arguing.
"If Zoey got hurt by Briar's men, would you still tell her to suck it up and say it wasn't Briar's fault?" Tamsin sneered.
"That's different. Briar didn't really hurt anyone this time. Zoey hit Briar, so she should apologize..." someone muttered.
Tamsin was livid.
Zoey grabbed her with one hand, a cold glint in her eye. The scalpel in her other hand flew past the boy's cheek, who had just spoken.
The room fell silent.
Zoey looked up, her gaze icy. "Anyone else want to suggest apologizing? Try it."
If Tamsin didn't care about this, Zoey wouldn't have bothered. She found it troublesome.
Tamsin looked at Zoey, thinking she was so cool!
Maybe she should change her orientation and marry Zoey. She didn't want to let Zoey go to Alexander.
The news quickly reached Briar.
She had signed a leave form at the medical school and was resting at home, deciding to fix her teeth before returning. She didn't want to look ugly.
Someone called her to tattle.
"Zoey's still acting tough?" She smashed a cup, gritting her teeth. "Let's see how tough she is in court!"
Just as she hung up, a servant came in to announce, "Ms. Ember, Ms. Cleo King is here."
"Why is she here? To speak for Zoey?" Briar was suspicious.
But remembering that Dash said Cleo also hated Zoey, she had the servant bring her in.
Cleo entered with a delicate gift box, smiling gently. "Briar, I heard you were wronged. I came to check on you."
Briar snorted. "I thought you were here to speak for Zoey."
"How could I?" Cleo sighed, looking pained. "Zoey's been like this since she was a kid, arrogant, always bullying me too."
"So I understand how you feel. I have a friend who's a top dentist. You should try him. I'll cover the cost."
Briar was tempted. "Can he make it look exactly like before? No issues eating?"
"Of course," Cleo nodded. "This is all my fault. I should've stopped Zoey from joining the Nexus School of Medicine. If I had, she wouldn't have stolen your boyfriend or hurt you."
"And Dash wouldn't be recovering at home now. It's all my fault. So if you're angry, take it out on me. I can handle it."