Chapter 346

Chapter 346

"Paula, what are we going to do?" I asked anxiously, grabbing her arm.

Marlowe had never been friendly with either of us. Now that Bobby wanted her as a witness, there was nothing stopping her from siding with him and throwing us under the bus.

Paula remained remarkably calm, patting my hand reassuringly. "Relax. We've got Jason as our lawyer—what is there to worry about?"

Her composure immediately calmed my nerves. She was right; I was overreacting. With Jason representing us, we had little to fear. After all, Jason knew about Paula's rare blood type, and they had an agreement. He wouldn't let anything happen to us.

Soon enough, Jason arrived. Bobby's lawyer had seemed confident until he saw who was representing us. His face fell instantly.

Bobby was initially irritated with his own legal counsel. "My family pays you a fortune, and you turn out to be useless. What are you afraid of? I'm telling the truth—all you need to do is present the facts. Is that so difficult?"

The lawyer moved his lips but couldn't bring himself to say it wasn't difficult.

"Worthless," Bobby muttered under his breath.

But when he spotted Jason walking in, he fell silent. Jason had been pursuing the Owens family for years, looking for any slip-up. Lyric had specifically warned Bobby to steer clear of Jason—even their family connections couldn't help if Jason got involved.

Bobby never imagined his luck would be this bad. His past indiscretions wouldn't hold up under scrutiny, and while he wasn't sure exactly how formidable Jason was, anyone who made someone as powerful as Lyric nervous wasn't someone to gamble with.

"Go tell Paula and her friend I'm willing to negotiate," Bobby instructed his lawyer.

The attorney had already been looking for an exit strategy after seeing Jason. He was just figuring out how to convince Bobby to back down when his client surprisingly offered to compromise first.

Bobby's willingness to settle was one thing, but today's humiliation was real. Unable to direct his anger at Jason, he turned on his lawyer instead.

"Why are you standing there like a statue? Get moving! I don't understand how you can be so incompetent when Jason wins case after case."

The lawyer nearly snapped back but held his tongue. The Owens family paid well, after all.

"Please calm down, Mr. Owens. I'll contact them right away," he said before leaving.

While we waited impatiently, Paula seemed oddly confident, as if she knew Bobby would cave and send someone over.

I couldn't help but look at her admiringly. "Paula, you're practically psychic. I'm impressed."

"Keep it down," she said modestly, though her smile gave away her satisfaction.

"Ms. Ellis, Ms. Turner," the lawyer greeted us politely.

Paula's demeanor changed instantly from casual to serious.

"What is it?" she responded coolly.

"Mr. Owens has expressed his willingness to sit down and discuss the matter with you both."

"Discuss? How generous of him," Paula scoffed. "Acting like he's doing us a favor."

The lawyer grew anxious. "No, you misunderstand. Mr. Owens is very sincere about reaching a settlement."

"Sincere? I'd like to know exactly how sincere. Enough to restore my face to its perfect condition? Do you know how valuable this face is? Worth millions, at least."

I nearly burst out laughing. Paula's statement was brilliantly double-edged—demanding substantial compensation while simultaneously mocking Bobby's shamelessness.

Though outmatched by Jason, Bobby's lawyer was still skilled enough to catch Paula's meaning. He maintained his composure.

"Ms. Ellis, what exactly would you consider sincere? Name your terms, and I'll relay them to Mr. Owens verbatim."

"Fine, since you asked. Two conditions: First, he personally apologizes to Melinda and me—with a bow. Second, he stops harassing and stalking Melinda completely."

Paula stated her terms and waited for the lawyer's response.

He was just the messenger, so he had no reason to object. Despite Paula's fierce tone, her demands weren't actually excessive.

Bobby, however, felt wronged and frustrated. Unable to speak freely about what really happened, even these reasonable demands felt like deliberate humiliation.

"Melinda, you don't think I'm being unreasonable, do you?" Paula whispered to me.

I quickly shook my head.

Paula leaned closer to my ear. "I'm deliberately pushing Bobby's buttons. With Jason here, he has no choice but to comply. When he can't take his anger out on us, guess who he'll target? Marlowe. She's his only option since I'm potentially the only one who could help her. She'll have no choice but to cooperate, which means crossing Bobby. 

She added, "I suspect those two have some secret arrangement, and once Bobby lashes out at Marlowe, whatever they're hiding will likely come to light."

I was amazed at how quickly Paula had thought this through. This strategic thinking was exactly why she was so successful.

I couldn't help but admire her like a starstruck fan.

Paula remained composed, apparently satisfied with her plan.

Suddenly changing the subject, she asked, "How long has Bobby been harassing you? Does Christopher know about this?"

I thought back to when Christopher had first witnessed me receiving flowers from Bobby, and got lost in the memory.

Seeing my expression and my failure to answer, Paula guessed the truth. "So he does know. And he hasn't done anything about it?"

I realized Paula was trying once again to nudge me toward Christopher. Even though I knew she was aware of his feelings for me and was deliberately trying to bring us together, I was still afraid. I felt unworthy of him and instinctively pushed back.

"What could he possibly do? Don't be ridiculous," I blurted out, immediately regretting my tone.

Paula was already responding. "How am I being ridiculous? You're his employee. Isn't it a boss's responsibility to protect his secretary? Besides, being harassed because of your job is practically a workplace injury."

She seemed genuinely confused why Christopher, who usually looked out for me, hadn't stepped in.

"It's just a minor issue. Why bother Mr. Collins when he's already so busy?" I said dismissively.

Paula started to say something else, but I cut her off, "Let's drop it, okay?"

Jason appeared to have finished handling the situation, and finally, Paula and I were free to go.