Nathaniel was surprised that the man was Lily's attorney and not who he had assumed.
"Lily, did you need to go to such extreme measures? Why can't we just sit and talk?" Nathaniel leaned forward and fixed his stare on Lily, waiting for a response.
Meanwhile, Lily kept her gaze on her phone and said inattentively, "Extreme? Didn't I agree to meet you? If this is extreme, what would you call your underhanded tactics? Besides, weren't you the one that sued me? Having a lawyer here as a witness would do more good than harm. Isn't that what you'd prefer?"
"I told you we'd drop the lawsuit. Why are you still being difficult? We were once schoolmates and friends. Even if we're not friends anymore, let’s not be enemies," Nathaniel was trying to talk sense into Lily, but she remained silent and continued using her phone.
Melanie pursed her lips and persuaded gently, "Lily, I know you're still mad about Nate and me, but this was a matter of the heart. We couldn't help it. You were always busy at the lab, and Nate needed someone who could be there for him. You shouldn't let your personal feelings affect your work. MN Inc. is a result of all our hard work. Do you want to destroy it just because of
some personal issues?
"Do you realize how many problems the company must face simply because you’re being unreasonable? Nate hasn't been eating or sleeping well lately. We don't know what kind of information Rebirth has been feeding you, but we're all still in the same industry. There might come a day when we'll have to work together, so why make this ugly?" Melanie pestered.
Lily continued to turn a deaf ear to Melanie. Instead, she turned toward James and said, "James, please take note of what they’ve said. We might be able to use it in court."
"Sure, don’t worry. I've noted them all down," James nodded in affirmation.
Lily’s uncooperative attitude and disregard for them finally angered Melanie.
She threw her teaspoon onto the table and stood abruptly. "Lily Christian! What's with your attitude? Are you here to show off? Do you think you’ve won? Just because you've done something to the original formula, you think we'd beg for your help?"
Melanie's outburst attracted the attention of other customers. Nathaniel did nothing but watch from the sidelines as he stirred his coffee.
Lily finally shifted her gaze from her phone to the two in front of her. She smirked mockingly and looked at Melanie. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that." "You! Stop acting like you know nothing!" Even making eye contact with Lily intimidated her for some reason, and Melanie's voice faltered.
"What do you mean? I'm confused now. If I remember correctly, MN Inc. filed a lawsuit against me, saying that I've stolen classified information and plagiarized them. Then, how could I possibly be able to do anything to the original formula that you created?"
Lily intentionally emphasized the word "you" and continued, "All right, let's say if I did something to the formula. Based on your amazing capabilities, wouldn’t you be able to solve it easily? Why would you need to come to me for help? You’re just so funny sometimes."
Lily put on a fake smile. Her gleaming eyes stared directly into Melanie’s. Melanie felt as if her entire facade were crumbling away at that very moment, and she had no lies left to offer. Melanie's face turned red, and there was nothing more she could say.
"Lily, that's enough of your insolence." Nathaniel held Melanie's hands gently and said, "I've told you today's meeting was to settle our issues once and for all.
There's no need for us to continue this unnecessarily heated argument."
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