Garrett saw Deanna's lofty expression and his already irritated mood exploded.
"What, am I not allowed to come here?"
He snapped angrily and then sat down on the sofa, only to find there was no tea on the table. His face darkened further as he demanded, "Where's the tea? Get someone to pour me a cup!"
Earlier, he had been arguing with the security guards downstairs, and his throat was sore from all the shouting.
However, Deanna looked at his unceremonious manner and couldn't help but laugh in anger.
"First of all, I didn't invite you here. You came on your own, so what right do you have to ask for tea?"
Deanna raised her chin and sneered, "You'd better state your purpose directly. My time is limited; I'll give you ten minutes."
As expected, Garrett was infuriated by her words.
"Deanna, what kind of attitude is this?"
"Towards you, this is exactly my attitude. If you're not satisfied, you can leave right now!"
Deanna mocked him with a glance.
Garrett was speechless.
Leaving was not an option; after all, his purpose had not yet been achieved.
Seeing the silent man, Deanna snorted coldly, her patience wearing thin. She urged again, "Three minutes have passed. Are you sure you want to waste my time?"
Garrett took a deep breath, suppressing his rising anger.
"My purpose is simple: to settle the costs for the Honto System."
The Honto System was a new product developed by Deanna's team.
Hearing this, Deanna raised her eyebrows but wasn't surprised at all.
She and Lance had anticipated that Garrett wouldn't let go of the opportunity to get benefits from it when they decided to develop the Honto System.
With a sneer, she said, "You must be mistaken. The Honto System was developed by Vortex Technology. In what capacity are you here to settle its costs?"
"I'm not mistaken. The Honto System was developed by my technicians. When they left, they forgot to take it with them, and you took advantage of that."
Garrett argued with Deanna, barely containing his anger.
Deanna was infuriated by his shameless claim and laughed in disbelief. "Garrett, have you forgotten that you handed over Vortex Technology to me? This included the technicians and everything within the company. Now you're claiming the people and the product are yours? Why don't you just say the whole world belongs to you?"
Garrett was at a loss for words, his anger boiling over.
He realized that Deanna had no intention of acknowledging his claims, so he dropped the pretense of civility. "I have data proving that my team developed the Honto System. Either you pay up or have Lance arrange a project for me, and I'll let this go. Otherwise, don't blame me for suing you for theft. I know Mercer Group invested ten billion dollars in this project. If a scandal breaks out now, you know better than I do what kind of crisis Mercer Group will face. And think about your marriage to Lance."
"You know Mercer Group invested one billion dollars in this project. Do you think they'll allow any issues with the Honto System? Also, this company was legally transferred to me, including the patent for the Honto System under Vortex Technology. How confident are you in suing me? Threatening me is pointless!"
Deanna retorted sharply and glanced at her watch. "Your ten minutes are up. It's time for you to leave!"
Without giving Garrett a chance to respond, she called her assistant from outside to escort him out.
Garrett didn't want to leave and shoved the assistant away. "Don't touch me!"
The assistant stumbled backward and fell.
At this sight, Deanna's already angry face turned even darker.
She pressed the intercom button in her office and ordered, "Have all the security guards come to my office."
Garrett knew that Deanna was calling them to deal with him and didn't dare stay any longer. He threw out a parting shot as he turned to leave.
"I won't give up on this. Just wait!"
"I'll be waiting!"
Deanna sneered.
She was no longer the weak person she once was. It was time to settle accounts with Garrett!
That evening, Lance came as usual to pick Deanna up from work.
Seeing him, Deanna thought about Garrett's threats earlier and worried it might affect Mercer Group. She decided to bring it up.
"This morning, Garrett came to see me and threatened me to settle the costs for developing the Honto System. He said if I didn't comply, he'd sue us for theft."
"Don't worry; he doesn't have the guts."
Lance reassured Deanna, though his eyes burned with anger.
Garrett really had some nerve.
Knowing full well that Deanna was under his protection, Garrett still dared to threaten her. Clearly, he didn't take Lance seriously at all!