Chapter 56
Nola submitted the materials, and Jessa quickly received the lawyer's letter. She contacted Nola, saying she was willing to compensate and hoped she would drop the lawsuit.
Nola asked for my opinion. Originally, I thought this matter should definitely be handled seriously, not only making Jessa compensate, but also making her pay a legal price. This would serve as a warning to others in the industry.
Also, the company needed internal reorganization. This was a good opportunity to make it clear to employees not to betray the company's interests or to be the kind of person who would destroy business secrets.
However, Jessa was a public figure. If this matter were exposed, her reputation would be ruined, and the Morgan Group's investment in her would be affected.
That would mean Levi would suffer very serious losses.
After thinking it over, I decided not to push her to the edge.
Facing the huge compensation, I guessed Arabella and Chase wouldn't be much help. They were both selfish people who would even fuss over their daughter taking a little something, let alone needing to pay so much money this time.
We gave Jessa three days to gather the money - pay part of it first, and settle the rest within a month.
Jessa agreed.
Getting up early, I was exhausted by lunch break. Nola brought me food, then went home to catch up on sleep.
The failure of next quarter's new products had the design department running around like crazy. Previously rejected designs were being pulled out and reworked.
Heartstrings Jewelry always strived for perfection, but there really wasn't any other option in such a short time. The investment in new products had gone down the drain. Until Jessa's payment came through, our cash flow was barely holding on.
Personally, I was also at my wits' end. I had put most of my savings into this, only to have it completely ruined by Jessa.
I even had this feeling that if she needed money, I could have just given her some rather than have her destroy everything...
"She really is bad luck."
I muttered to myself. Jessa was driving me crazy - I wanted to punch her.
My phone vibrated. A message from Faye: "Come to Levi's company quickly, there's a good show to watch."
Faye had turned me into a gossip, too. Had she discovered some new drama at the Morgan Group?
I wasn't interested in joining in on childish fun, but soon she sent another message, asking me out for coffee and saying she was out of money and too embarrassed to tell Levi.
But I was almost out of money, too, and too embarrassed to tell Levi.
I arrived at the coffee shop, thinking we'd sit down for afternoon tea, but Faye insisted on dragging me to the company's break room.
Faye said she was new and unfamiliar with the company, hoping I could give her some pointers.
In other words, she was dragging me along to gossip. I was also curious about what kind of special guest had shown up at Levi's.
"Blair, you'll see soon enough. It's really interesting."
"Remember, they don't know about my relationship with your brother. Also, if you want to get through your internship easily, you'd better not let them know who you are either."
Faye giggled, "I heard them say that what I'm mainly doing now is your job."
"Who said that?"
"They said Blair's substitute - that's you, isn't it?"
Sure enough, Levi had no new ideas. He'd given Faye such a do-nothing position again. I thought he would train her properly, since new people should learn more.
Faye put her finger to her lips, "Shh, let's quietly go to Levi's office. He sent everyone away, so there's no one else there now."
"Then why are we sneaking around?"
"There's one other person. You'll see in a moment."
Faye was being all mysterious, leading me to lurk outside Levi's office door.
She quietly pushed the door open a crack. I saw Jessa and Levi facing each other, her crying her eyes out.
"Levi, please help me. You're the only one who can help me now."
"I was completely stunned when Blair came to see me this morning. For her sake, please help me."
"She and Nola are good friends. Have her put in a good word for me, give me some more time. My concert tour hasn't started yet, and all my money is invested in the new company."
I'd seen Jessa's registered capital - it wasn't much. She was lying.
Her previous concerts had made her a lot of money. The compensation Heartstrings Jewelry was asking for wasn't low, but it shouldn't be too difficult for her either.
"How much do you need?"
"Twenty million."
Jessa really had some nerve. Our contract required her to pay twenty million in compensation. Was she planning to have Levi pay all of it?
"Levi, I'm planning to do the concert tour for free, with all proceeds going to the Morgan Group."
Faye grabbed my hand, "Blair, she's treating Levi like an ATM. Just casually asking for twenty million."
Levi was thinking. Twenty million wasn't much for the Morgan Group, but this stupid thing Jessa did could have been avoided.
"Levi, look, this is the compensation agreement Nola's company proposed. Please help me through this crisis. I really have no other choice."
"Alright, the company's finance department will handle it."
Levi agreed to help her. Jessa's face broke into a smile.
Suddenly, Faye lost her footing and fell to the ground, spilling coffee everywhere. I couldn't catch her in time...
Levi frowned, looking at us.
Obviously, we'd been caught eavesdropping.
Jessa stood up and walked over to help Faye up. "Did you slip? Are you hurt?"
Sure enough, now that someone was paying, she'd become gentle and started caring about Faye.
"I'm fine."
"Let me help you go wash up."
Jessa glanced at me, looking somewhat smug. With just a few words, Levi had solved her big problem.
After they left, I closed the door.
I walked straight to the desk and picked up the agreement to look at it.
Originally, the first payment was supposed to be 18 million, with the remaining 2 million to be paid later. Now it had changed to paying 20 million first, then another 2 million.
"This agreement has been tampered with."
"How can you tell?"
I opened my phone and showed Levi the video I'd received of Chase secretly altering the agreement.
"The maid who used to take care of my mom at the Greer family sent it to me. I thought he just wanted to scam money from his daughter, but I didn't expect her to come to you."
"Maybe knowing she has such a 'good son-in-law' like you, he made fake accounts. But Heartstrings Jewelry won't take the blame. We have clear prices and won't ask for a penny more."
Levi's face darkened.
I took a deep breath. "I told you before that kind of person - once you've given him something, he'll push for more and more."
"They figured you'd help, so why not take what they can get?"
Jessa had a partnership with Levi. Chase had figured out there was money to be made here, and for money, he'd stop at nothing.
If it weren't for the Greer family's maid being fed up with their oppression and secretly recording this to send to me, this might never have come to light.
Levi's money didn't grow on trees. I just wanted to remind him not to let Chase see him as an ATM, or it would become a bottomless pit.
If he was using Jessa's name, that was one thing. But if he were using me, that would be a huge insult to me.