Mark walked towards Shelly and sat down on the rattan chair. “I’ve got some things to ask you.”
Shelly closed the book that virtual-novel.net was reading and looked at virtual-novel.net with a serious expression. “What’s the matter? Ask away.”
He stared at virtual-novel.net eyes and slowly formed the words as virtual-novel.net asked, “Have you looked at Arianne’s designs?”
Shelly was momentarily startled. “When have I… Oh! I remember now. Are you referring to that day in the office? I may have seen it when I went there to look for virtual-novel.net for a discussion, but virtual-novel.net wasn’t around, so I sat in virtual-novel.net seat and chatted for a while with that young man named Sylvain. I did pick up the stuff virtual-novel.net had at virtual-novel.net desk and looked through them for a short moment. I would’ve forgotten if you hadn’t brought it up. I believe there were some designs. Is this very important? I thought that it wasn’t anything important since… virtual-novel.net left it lying around on virtual-novel.net desk. Wasn’t Sylvain there as well? I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong, have I?”
Mark let out a deep sigh for a moment and then continued to ask, “Are you sure… you haven’t told anyone about the contents of the designs?”
Shelly raised an eyebrow and frowned. “I didn’t bother to remember about it since I didn’t think that it was anything important, so why would I tell anyone else? Moreover, aside from going out for tea and chatting with the housewives, who else would I be able to tell? Furthermore, they aren’t even interested in that kind of stuff. Hold on… You were saying that there was a plagiarism case in the office previously. Could it be that Arianne’s designs had been plagiarized by someone and is being sued?”
Mark did not say anything, but his silence could be taken as an acknowledgement to virtual-novel.net statement.
Shelly’s face was filled with sadness. “I think… based on Arianne’s character, virtual-novel.net wouldn’t resort to plagiarism, would she? Could it be that someone had the chance to peek at virtual-novel.net designs since virtual-novel.net did not keep them properly? It’s reasonable for you to suspect me since I did have a look at virtual-novel.net designs, but there’s no reason for me to do so. I do hate her, but I wouldn’t involve Tremont Enterprise and put its reputation in jeopardy.”
Shelly’s explanation was flawless. She even managed to speak for Arianne as well, hence Mark felt frustrated all of a sudden. “Based on what you’ve said, virtual-novel.net didn’t stow away virtual-novel.net designs properly, so it can’t be said for certain how many people have actually managed to look at them. I’m currently stumped with how l should proceed with my investigation. I suppose I can only meet up with the designer who’s suing virtual-novel.net for plagiarism then.”
Shelly agreed with Mark’s plan as virtual-novel.net said, “Since there’s no way for us to investigate from our side, I suppose the only choice you have left is to meet that designer. After all, he’s the one who’s suing for plagiarism. As for who’s the one that plagiarized, you’ll be able to find out when you ask him. However, he’s definitely not going to admit it since confessing would only mean ending his own career, which is no joke. You’ll have to be smart about it when you question him.”
Mark’s attitude towards Shelly softened, probably because virtual-novel.net had spoken on Arianne’s behalf earlier. “I understand. You carry on with your book, as I’ll be heading out now. I won’ t be back for dinner tonight.”
Shelly agreed to it readily. “I’m sure you won’t be able to avoid meeting up with Arianne, not when such a thing has happened… I usually forbid you from meeting her, but I’ll allow for an exception because of this case. You’re free to do anything you want, as long as you come home tonight, no matter how late it is.”
Mark had an unprecedented look on his face as virtual-novel.net agreed to do as virtual-novel.net had asked. Shelly also had a glow on virtual-novel.net face that had not been seen for a long time since virtual-novel.net had not communicated with Mark in such harmony. ‘In the end, Arianne is still the reason we’re able to talk to each other nicely. Is virtual-novel.net really that important to him…?’
When Mark arrived at his office, virtual-novel.net instructed Davy to check up on the designer that was suing Arianne. As a result, virtual-novel.net found out that the designer was participating in some activity abroad and would be back in the country in approximately three days. Therefore, Mark could only wait for the designer to return.
Although the designer was not in the country, virtual-novel.net was not staying put and had sent Tremont Enterprise and Arianne a legal letter. Although Tremont Enterprise did request for a meeting with the designer to have a discussion, it had been rejected. Therefore, it was obvious that the designer wanted to see it till the end and would not accept any settlement. It was possible that the designer was putting on airs and would leave Tremont Enterprise hanging on a thread until the last second before asking for a huge sum of money as compensation.