Too Late for Regret novel Chapter 29

I Don’t Feel Safe without Them

Chapter 29

Analise’s POV

“Your mother–in–law basically stuck to saying you committed fraud by selling a house that didn’t belong to you, but that is already cleared up. It’s what Roger’s wife said that is causing the biggest stir,” Gwen hesitantly said.

“Go ahead and tell me what happened. You already know that I’m going to see it online anyway. Just rip off the band–aid and tell me,” I replied.

We stopped speaking when the server returned with our drinks. We sat at a table in the back corner so Charlie and Drew could see anyone who entered. We sat with our backs to the wall. I sat between Charlie and Drew, and I wasn’t worried about anything that Joyce and Sasha had done. I wanted them to come at me. I wanted them to be completely ridiculous with their allegations. That way, when the bottom drops out, they won’t see it coming.

“I already have my team working on it, Ana. Sasha alleged that you were fired from your job as Director of Design for plagiarism. She graduated with Roger, which means she graduated a year before you. She believes that being your senior might make people more likely to believe her claims, assuming she is more experienced than you. It’s a desperate move to try to keep production moving. We can prove she was lying. She just wants the company to continue to make money. From what I hear, she is going through Roger’s money very quickly. She also claimed that her latest creations had been stolen by you. That was the main

reason you were terminated. She implied that if anyone hires you, or ends up using ‘her‘ designs, they will

sue,” Rodney said with a sparkle in his eye.

“Good,” I replied. Both Drew and Charlie jerked in surprise at my response. They were clearly not expecting me to say that.

“We had my designs copyrighted last week, right, Gwen?” I asked.

“You know I did. The first production is ready to hit our stores at your say so. We were going to be shooting the ad for them this week. Do you want us to hold off on shooting the ad for the moment?” Gwen asked.

“No, let’s move forward. I would like the first print ads to be ready by this Friday, if possible. See if Emily can

shoot them tomorrow. I tweaked the design before I left Cook’s. I made the design I left behind look bad,

intentionally. It’s unusable, but I’ve left an Easter egg in it. My initials are intertwined in it. So if they allege | stole it, I can prove their lying. I can prove that all my designs are copyrighted. I can prove that my designs are the best sellers, and I can prove their mine from concept to production. I’m not worried about anything she said. I wasn’t an employee there; I was the co–owner. Everything I designed was always my intellectual

property. She only got away with saying that because Roger wasn’t there to stop her. He didn’t follow us here because he has a bigger issue now. Sasha just lied, and we can prove it. I’m glad you already have the video evidence, Rodney. I want this to go to court quickly. All of it, from the contract violations to this slanderous

accusation. I want Sasha to have to provide proof of her own work in court,” I coldly stated.

A knock sounded at the door before it was opened, and our server entered with two people following her, all

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carrying trays. She made sure everything was in order before refilling our drinks. I made a mental note to tip her even more. She was great, and the food was delicious. I was really hungry.

I had already hit Roger with a company–ending strike by notifying the investors that I was officially leaving the company. He just didn’t know it yet. I happen to know that as soon as people see what happened today, they will all be selling. With the scent of blood in the water, their stocks will be hard to sell, and with word of what happened, things will go downhill even faster. Now that Roger is dealt with, it wouldn’t hurt to aim my sights on Joyce, Regina, and Sasha now. They deserved it. We ate our meal quietly, and I made several decisions as we ate. When we finished, I started outlining where I wanted to move forward.

“Gwen, I want to work with Emily tomorrow, as a second model. I will need hair and makeup, too. I will wear

the dress from the auction. I’m going to push Sasha into making more slanderous statements. She’s going to

lose it when she sees me in the ad. I want it up and on billboards by next Monday. I want them to react, it

makes this so much more interesting,” I said with a smile.

“You don’t have to wear the same dress. I have one in mind for you, very similar to the style Emily is going to

wear. I’ll make sure that it’s ready in the morning for you,” Gwen said, and her eyes sparkled. I can see that

she is loving this, and that makes me suspicious.

“What is it? Why are you smiling like that?” I asked.

“I’m just happy that you are completely out of your shell. I don’t even care that it was the douche canoe that

got you here,” Gwen responded, and Drew started to choke on his drink. He was taking a sip when she said

that, and I guess it was unexpected. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you choke. But you’ll see that I’m totally

correct the more time you spend around him.”

“Seems an accurate description. We got that impression when we saw him earlier. We are used to getting up

to speed quickly; we have to have the ability to read people quickly. I just wasn’t expecting you to say that. No need for apologies,” Drew said after he caught his breath.

“I’m glad that Ana has you with her now. I saw you protecting her when it went down,” Gwen told them.

They both nodded at her. They were always trying to be ‘on duty‘, but they didn’t get to eat as I told them to earlier. They followed me to the police station and stayed there until I could leave. I haven’t known them long,

but I trust them more than I do Seth and Holden at the moment. I had to insist that they join us to eat,

instead of standing at attention. My father won’t allow them to eat with us tonight. I noticed that they worked well together. One would take a bite, while the other watched the door, and vice versa. They were still ready

and able to take action at the drop of a hat.

I smiled as I opened my phone and sent a text to my father. “Please add two more to the reservations for

dinner tonight.”

We took our time driving over, as we were just ten minutes away. It was already close to the six p.m.

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“Can you elaborate on that?” Drew asked, before turning to face me.

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agreed.

We headed in and arrived at the hostess stand. “Three?” she asked.

“No, there should be a reservation for Caldwell in the system,” I replied. I saw her stand straighter at my

words.

“I’m sorry, there’s no reservation for Caldwell tonight,” she replied. Her attitude was much less respectful than

it was moments ago.

“Tanya, it’s under my name,” came a voice from behind me. I turned to see Holden standing there. He was

looking at Charlie and Drew like he already wanted to ask them to leave. That was not going to happen. “I’l

escort them, just hand me menus for nine.”

“Nine? Whose supposed to be here tonight?” I asked. That number didn’t work out, no matter how I tried to

figure it out.

“My parents and sister will be here along with Gretchen and your family. That’s nine,” Holden replied.

“Well, I need two more chairs to be added. I texted Dad that information earlier. I didn’t know that you were the one making the reservation,” I responded.

“I’m sorry, but all security personnel will be staying outside the room. There will be confidential subjects

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being discussed tonight,” Holden replied, but kept looking at them, instead of me.

“Well, they happen to be my friends, and I want them here. If they’re not welcome, I won’t be staying here

either. I don’t feel safe without them,” I replied.