Too Late for Regret novel Chapter 106

Irrefutable Evidence

Chapter 106

Ana’s POV

“How dare you insult me, or my work?” Sasha roared out. She pushed her attorney’s hand off her shoulder and sprang up from her chair. “You don’t even know how to design. So how could you imply that my work isn’t sufficient? You’re not qualified to judge my work.” Sasha scoffed as if Rodney’s words didn’t make sense.

“I might not be qualified, but I can tell good designs from bad, and your work is clearly bad,” Rodney replied. Her shriek of frustration and anger made him give a small grin. The judge hadn’t stopped her outburst this time, and she took full advantage of it.

“None of you know anything about art or design. If my old tablet hadn’t broken, I could have shown you my work. The problem was that I had to come up with these two designs quickly. I needed to submit them along with my other design, which was sent in first, before my tablet suddenly stopped working. You’re trying to judge me on this, but you have no idea what happened or what kind of pressure I was under. I had just uploaded my award–winning design when my tablet crashed. That’s why those designs were flawed. I received a few emails from the committee regarding the alleged theft, but how can you side with this person? You don’t have any proof of who’s actually telling the truth. How dare you take my award away from me like that?” Sasha shrieked out.

A bailiff stepped forward, but the judge motioned for him to stop. I guess he’s going to let this play out.

“So each competitor sends in a total of three designs, Mr. Anderson?” Rodney asked as if Sasha hadn’t spoken at all. He was facing the screen and ignoring Sasha. She’s proven herself to be a liar several times over. No one would blame him for not listening to a word she says.

“Yes, each designer submits three designs. A panel of three judges decides which one is the best of the three submitted. They then submit that design for review by another panel of three. The top ten designs then get sent to a panel of five. Then they get funneled down to the top three submissions. Then, I, along with four others, rate the three on a grading system. One being the lowest, and ten being the highest. The winning design received a score of 48.8 from committee voting and was deemed the winner. Second place had a 47.9 score. He now has the award. That is why it wasn’t initially detected. They must have believed her when she said she had scrambled to create two new designs because her tablet was not working. The difference between the winning design and the two she submitted with it is as clear as night and day,” Jerald answered.

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“Just one more question, Mr. Anderson. Can you tell me why the Committee voted in favor of Ingrid, rather than Sasha? There has to be a reason for it. I believe the jury would also like to know the answer to that as well,” Rodney asked.

“Ms. Allard was able to show us her tablet. We had it checked right off the bat, and it had not been tampered with. After that, we were able to see the bracelet take shape over the period of a week. We saw how she tweaked the design, making it more fluid, and then the gold a touch wider, and the hinges more secure, so they would not easily break. The updates were clear, and everything was there and showing the entire design process. Mrs. Cook was contacted, but she refused to send anything to us. Her broken tablet excuse didn’t work out, as we could clearly see what happened. There was also some really damning evidence that we were shown after we verified that the bracelet had been designed by Ingrid,” he replied.

“Could you tell us what that was?” Rodney asked, building up everyone’s curiosity as to what it could possibly be. I knew what it was, but I was just as caught up in the drama as everyone

else in the room.

“There were two pieces of evidence that confirmed everything. Her designs over the years looked like the bracelet that won the award. Graceful, delicate, and showing the creator’s talent and flair for her craft. The second piece of evidence was what made everyone who participated in the investigation realize that the design belonged to Ingrid. Ingrid still had possession of the email she sent. The email included the link with the bracelet in question, as well as the IP address to where it was sent. The recipient? Jerrod Bellamy. Ingrid sent her design to Mr. Bellamy, but Mrs. Cook was the one who actually submitted it. How could that happen, unless what Ms. Allard was alleging was true? With that kind of absolute proof, what other conclusion could we have come to?” he answered.

No one spoke. It was a shocking revelation. No one could wrap their minds around the bombshell that had just been dropped. I looked over at Sasha, and seeing her stunned expression almost made me laugh. I could see the wheels in her mind already turning. She was trying to work through everything to try to find a way to slide out of this unscathed. There wasn’t a way out, not for her. The evidence was irrefutable.

Sasha looked like she was going to be sick. I know that she no longer wanted to continue the charade, that much was obvious. But I wasn’t going to stop, not now. I asked them several times to stop on their own. Since they didn’t want to stop then, I won’t be stopping now. They would just come back at me after they made up something else if I let them off the hook.

Joyce and their attorney were also looking at Sasha in shock. There is no way to sugar–coat or twist this in their favor. I looked towards Dixon, still seated on the stand. I watched as he tried to figure out a way that didn’t make him appear to be a complete liar. He knows that the minute Rodney is done with Ingrid and Jerald, he’s coming for him.

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“Can you forward that email to us? I would like it to be admitted into evidence. Counselor Blake, do you have any questions for Ms. Allard or Mr. Anderson at this time?” Rodney asked.

Attorney Blake was still in shock at being hit with irrefutable evidence. “I have no questions for them,” he answered. He sat down and started to think about what he could do moving forward. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to quit. He is probably stunned that he wasn’t warned about this. He shouldn’t be; his clients are horrid people. The judge thanked them for their assistance and looked at Rodney. He already knew that Rodney was ready to move forward quickly.

“So, Mr. Chandler, your opinion on Sasha Cook’s designs is incorrect. Her designs are subpar. She would never have been able to save the company after Ana left. I believe your recommendations on who would be the better fit were based on personal preference rather than actual talent. The fact of the matter is, you liked Sasha, but you didn’t like Ana. You allowed your personal bias against Ana to influence your decision. You’ve already admitted that you felt she was above others. You also inferred that her confidence in her designs was unwarranted,” Rodney asked.

“Roger said that she was the director of Design. He didn’t give her any other title. I have her pay stubs with me. I handed them over to Attorney William Blake upon my arrival today. They’re in evidence now. She didn’t make that much, but I guess being a Caldwell, she didn’t have to. She could live off their money for the rest of her life, and still have plenty left,” Dixon replied with mockery in this tone.

“Are you implying that Ana didn’t work hard while she was with the company? Or was she paid too little for all her contributions to the company? Perhaps you just meant that since she had wealth, she didn’t need to be paid at all?” Rodney asked.

Rodney’s rapid–fire questions caught Dixon by surprise. He actually stopped to think before he spoke this time. “Ana worked hard. Her designs were always top of the line. Much better than the ones that the design team was coming up with. Roger once told me that any good design from the team had been adjusted by Ana to improve it. He mentioned that she really liked designing. She was always doodling in the monthly meetings,” he finally replied.

“Which meetings are you talking about? Manager’s meetings?” Rodney asked.

“No, the shareholders‘ meetings,” Dixon snapped out as if Rodney were an i***t. As soon as the words left his mouth, it suddenly hit him. I knew without having to see it that Rodney was giving one of his slow smiles to Dixon, letting him know that he had him.

“Now, refresh my memory, Mr. Chandler. Why would Ana be included in the shareholders‘ meetings? Could it be because she was actually one of the shareholders?” Rodney quickly asked.

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Dixon was caught by surprise. He had never considered that to be the truth. He always. assumed I was there because Roger liked to run things by me. Not because I was the co–owner of the company, or because I was qualified to be there in my own right. I almost laughed at the deer–in–the–headlights look he had on his face. He was thinking back, like he was trying to find another reason for me to be there over the years, but failing miserably.

“I don’t actually know. Roger never told us that. If she were, I would have obviously given her more respect as a co–owner. I just thought that she was there because she had good ideas. The shareholders seemed to always agree with her, regardless of the matter. Always going along with the exact pieces she recommended for production. I always thought it was weird that they listened to her like that. I guess I just allowed my thoughts about her to distort my opinion. I was not aware of her having any other title than Director of Design,” Dixon replied.

He seemed to be thrown off by this realization. He hadn’t even considered the fact that I was basically running the show. There was a reason that the shareholders listened to and respected me. The shareholders knew I was the one in charge. They knew that Roger was just a figurehead. He didn’t know the first thing about what his job entailed. I will commend him. He’s doing much better now, but at the time, he only cared about how he was perceived by others. He wanted to be respected and admired for his successful business acumen. Despite not knowing what he was doing.

“I don’t understand. Are you telling me that Ana was actually the co–owner? But how could she possibly know how to run a business? No, it isn’t possible. I can’t believe that she would stay quiet after how I treated her. No, there’s no way. She wouldn’t have just given me a pass on my attitude towards her. She would have come after me,” Dixon finally replied.

“I think you need to reflect on your own words, Mr. Chandler. Isn’t it possible that you perceived Ana as haughty based on what Roger, Regina, and his mother Joyce had implied about her? Rather than coming to your own conclusions?” Rodney asked.

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