CHAPTER 117: CHAPTER 116: SWEETIE SHERIDAN

Simon Forrester gave a helpless smile, raised his hand, and indicated the end of the topic: "To avoid any hidden dangers, I refuse to answer this question."

"That’s fine, it’s your right," Sienna Thornton was always democratic, "but accepting it is my right."

Just when Simon thought the result would be the same as before, she stood up, picked up her bag, and pointed a finger at him, "Probation period, one month."

This seemed to be the first time in recent days that a result was mutually satisfying for both parties.

Simon was greatly surprised, but could also largely decipher from her attitude and emotions tonight what kind of relationship she wanted.

Fair and just, evenly matched, staying true to oneself.

He had never put so much effort into understanding a woman before.

"Let’s go," she said, "it’s been a long day, I need to go home and sleep."

"Alright."

The two left the private room together. While Simon was settling the bill, Sienna quietly stood not far away waiting for him. When he finished, he walked over and naturally took her hand. She looked up at him, her eyes crinkling into a smile.

They left the cruise ship restaurant hand in hand. He drove behind her mini and only returned to his own apartment near the restaurant after ensuring her safety at her apartment.

The first thing he did after entering was to send her a WeChat message saying "Good night."

The note in the chat was "Sweetie Sheridan."

Sugar Sugar.

The three words subtly expressed his suppressed desires.

The following afternoon, Simon sent a message to Sienna, inviting her to dinner, but Sienna replied that it was inconvenient to meet privately at the moment and scheduled a meeting at the design firm the next morning.

He didn’t press further, vaguely guessing something in his mind.

...

"SY’s in trouble this time," Rochelle Linwood said regretfully, "’DK Creative’ has a terrible reputation in the industry, and since they’re planning to enter the domestic market, they will surely make a big deal out of this case."

Sienna didn’t speak on the matter, and instructed her assistant, "Once we’re out of the car, don’t let me hear you talk about this again."

Rochelle replied, "Yes."

Sienna, with a serious expression, parked the car downstairs at the SY Design Firm and went up with Rochelle.

Though she had been here many times before, her mood today was exceptionally heavy compared to the past.

She arrived ten minutes earlier than the appointed time. Simon was still in a meeting, and the front desk asked them to wait on the third floor.

This scenario was exactly like her first visit to SY. Once again, she’s here for a case.

Simon soon exited the conference room and, upon seeing her waiting on the sofa, gave an amiable smile and said, "Come in and we can talk."

Indeed, everything was the same as the first visit, except for Simon’s attitude, which had changed.

Sienna carried her bag inside and sat in the sofa area.

Harrison Rowe also came in, sitting next to Simon. When discussing business, Simon always brought him along. Sienna then guessed that Simon was mentally prepared, so she didn’t beat around the bush.

She handed over the written materials she prepared after working overtime last night, placing them in front of him.

On the top was the "Power of Attorney."

Harrison glanced at it, and his previously smiling face turned serious immediately. He lowered his voice and said to Simon, "I’ll call Attorney Lowe to come over."

Simon lifted his hand slightly, indicating it was unnecessary.

He glanced at Sienna, expressionless, picked up the materials and flipped through them, his gaze fixating on her lawyer certificate copy.

Sienna remained calm, showing no laxity in her demeanor just because she knew Simon.

She said, "Your company’s website has a comment function where users can register as members to use this feature. Members can freely choose avatars from the system’s avatar library. One particular avatar is used frequently, please see Exhibit One."

She accepted the material handed over by Rochelle, and Simon followed her prompt to turn to that page.

"Currently, the ’DK (United States) Advertising Creative Company’ holding the copyright to this image is holding your company accountable for infringement. Your company must cease all use of this image starting today, and a public apology lasting no less than ten minutes must be made by your company’s legal representative, Mr. Simon Forrester. The apology must be in the form of a video and be uploaded simultaneously to your company’s website, company’s official Weibo, and Mr. Forrester’s work Weibo." Sienna clearly stated the case details and the terms of the settlement agreement in one breath.

Simon frowned and perused the documents in his hand without making any comments.

Sitting next to him, Harrison couldn’t remain calm at hearing these outrageous settlement terms and suggested again, "Mr. Forrester, I still suggest we call Attorney Lowe over. Before Attorney Lowe arrives, please don’t agree to anything!"

Compared to Harrison’s tension, Simon appeared overly calm: "Which company did we hire to design the website back then?"

Harrison: "President Langford was in charge of that."

"Have President Langford wait for me in the conference room."

"Yes." Harrison went out.

Simon closed the materials, looked at Sienna, and slightly curled his lips, asking, "It’s Friday, are you going to South Bay tonight or tomorrow?"

Sienna didn’t expect him to ask such a question, was momentarily stunned, and just as she was about to answer, Rochelle, sitting next to her, softly said, "I’ll go to the restroom."

Sienna snapped back to attention, replying coldly, "If it’s not urgent, wait until we’ve finished talking about business."

Rochelle then did not get up.

Simon understood the implication, smiled without speaking.

Sienna’s expression was somewhat uneasy, and she replied, "Before this case concludes, I won’t be going to South Bay." The implication was very clear, she didn’t want any private interactions with Simon.

Simon nodded, not asking further.

A few words exchanged, Harrison returned, softly whispering a few words into Simon’s ear, prompting Simon to get up and head to the conference room.

Only Sienna and Rochelle remained in the office.

Rochelle asked, "Lawyer Thornton, does this case make it difficult for you?"

Sienna sighed, "I shouldn’t have taken this case."

Rochelle quietly comforted, "Your reputation in the field of non-litigation foreign affairs is too big, even after your relationship with Director Forrester was disclosed, those from DK still wanted you to take this case, you really had no choice."

Sienna felt depressed inside.

How could Simon possibly agree to DK’s almost unreasonable settlement terms? If he doesn’t agree, the case would have to go to trial, which could drag on for a year.

Would she really not have any private meetings with Simon for a whole year?

Thinking about how Thomas Reed forced this case on her, she couldn’t help but wonder, did Thomas still have hopes, and was using this method to impede her and Simon’s progress?

In another room, Simon sat expressionlessly at the head of the conference long table.

Sitting next to him, Logan Lockwood was very emotional, standing up and banging the table: "No one expected a random picture downloaded online to blow up into such a big deal! If you ask me, DK is just using the opportunity as they’re entering the domestic market to create trouble!"

Simon remained silent, his hand placed rhythmically tapping on the armrest, seemingly lost in thought.

Harrison quickly said, "Mr. Forrester, I’ll immediately contact the web design company to remove all images from the avatar library and replace them with those our company has copyrights for."

Only then did Simon nod, got up and took a few steps, then stopped, and said, "Have Attorney Lowe come this afternoon."

After saying that, he turned around, a look of relief unexpectedly appearing on his face.

Fortunately, it wasn’t another incident like the previous sexual assault case.

Otherwise, not even ten mouths would be enough to explain this time.