Too Late for Regret novel Chapter 97

Sasha’s Turn on the Stand

Chapter 97

Joyce’s POV

I fell back in my chair as I watched a video of me talking to Roger and Sasha. I looked like a shrew. Yelling at

Roger and telling him what he needed to do. How did they even have this? I glanced over at Roger, who was

glaring at me in anger. He’s blaming me for this? I was only trying to help him. She had been a threat to him

and his company. He needed to get rid of her while he still could.

I looked over at Ana, and she was watching the monitor. She showed no surprise at what was playing at all. I

guess she was the one who provided the video. I forced myself to look back at it. Roger and Sasha were

huddled together on the sofa. I made sure that it was just us. That way no one else knew what we were about

to do. This video is going to make me look like a monster. I nudged my attorney and whispered, “Can we get

this thrown out?”

He just looked at me, and gave a barely perceptible shake of his head before turning back to the video. He was making a few notes, but my words were ruining everything. Not just for Sasha, but for me as well.

Doesn’t he even realize that he is making everything harder by allowing it? He can’t tell me that there’s

nothing he can do.

“Mom, I already agreed to marry Sasha. I will take responsibility for my actions, but kicking Elizbeth out of

the company is too harsh. She was the only one who believed in me. She’s the reason that the company is

where it is today,” Roger answered me in the video.

“Then give her some money to assuage your guilt if you must. But you need to get her designs first. Just ask her to sign them over to you as a wedding present. Why would she even need them? It’s not like she can sell them herself. I don’t want you to marry her, even to keep her in line, Roger. She isn’t the best designer in the

city, and losing her won’t hurt you very much. Sasha’s a designer, too. Let your wife help you continue to grow your company. Elizabeth did fine, but she doesn’t have the pull you need to get to the next level. I know you were planning to string her along, and frankly, she deserved it for forcing you to propose to her. But I changed my mind about that. I’m telling you, Roger, you need to distance yourself from her. She’s a jinx. She would be an embarrassment to our family,” I announced.

I winced at that. I looked like an i***t for even saying it now. She was a Caldwell. The very daughter I wanted Roger to marry. I’m going to be a laughing stock over that comment. I could feel someone staring at me, and turned to see Alicia Caldwell’s furious face looking back at me. I already knew I was in trouble when this

video began, but things just keep getting worse.

“Baby, you don’t need her. It isn’t like she can do anything to you. Didn’t you say that the contract you had signed before had expired? She won’t piss you off by causing a fight. If she hasn’t mentioned the expired contracts by now, you’re home free. Just keep production up. What can she do? She is all alone, and you’ve been producing her designs for years. If she says something she will end up looking petty. All you need is a good attorney, and she won’t have a leg to stand on. Didn’t you say that her new line looks promising? You told me that when you officially made me the new Director of Design, you would let me claim her designs. Are you thinking of changing your mind?” Sasha asked as she climbed onto his lap.

She gave him a pout, and he caved. “I promised you that you could claim them. But she didn’t upload them on

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her computer. She did the latest design all on her tablet. I don’t have possession of them yet. I asked about them, but she said that she was still tweaking them. I saw the original printouts of the new designs, and they were already good. But the changes she told me that she was making to them would be over the top. I think that these pieces could be the best work that Ana’s ever done, and that’s saying something. They are going. to sell very well,” Roger’s voice was clear as he spoke.

The video was paused and her attorney looked at me and said, “Didn’t you say that Ana stole your–designs earlier? So who do the designs actually belong to, Mrs. Cook. You, or Ana Billingsley?”

I could tell that Sasha was panicked as he asked the question. I knew Sasha had the printouts. A copy of the original designs, but that was all we had. I know Sasha was trying to think of a reason why she no longer had the designs. It was going to come down to who the jury would believe, Sasha, or Ana?

“The designs were mine. I started to design them when I first arrived here a few months ago. Ana stole my tablet when she was cleaning out her office. That was how she got her hands on them,” Sasha answered confidently.

“You’re under oath Mrs. Cook. Is that the answer that you want to go with?” he asked. It was like he knew she was lying. But even if he did. Could he prove it? Because Sahsa wasn’t going to admit that she lied. We both saw what happened to Regina, and we weren’t going to let the same thing happen to us.

“Mrs. Billingsley cleared her office out while you were on your honeymoon. Before you were even allowed into her office. You hadn’t even been hired yet. Mr. Cook was still trying to figure out how to get her previous designs away from her. So I ask you again, Mrs. Cook. When could she have possibly stolen your tablet?” he asked.

“She had keys to our house. She probably took it when we were away in Paris. Who knows when she took it, but the designs are mine; they belong to me. She could have snuck in there at any time to take it. She owned it after all,” Sasha snapped back.

“So, you did know about Ana, as you knew it was her house. Yet I have you, and your former mother–in–law, on video claiming it belongs to Roger. So which is it? It seems that you two can’t get your stories straight when confronted with your own words. Are you sure you want us to review the videos we have? The cameras were on motion sensors and activated whenever anyone entered the room. I can assure you that we have over 200 videos. But, we could go ahead and check them all to see when Ana broke in to take your table,” He offered.

“That is an invasion of our privacy. You expect a certain level of privacy in your own home. It’s disgusting for someone to watch us together like that,” Sasha ground out.

“No, the home always belonged to Mrs. Billingley. We’ve already established that. It was to be her marital home with Mr. Cook. She had no idea at all that you two were playing house, leaving her in the dark. She had several high–dollar pieces of art that she had paid for in the house. I have another video where you and Roger told everyone that it was your home, that you two prepared together. So, it’s no wonder your mother–in–law thought that it belonged to you two. At least, at the beginning. You had plenty of time to tell her the truth, yet you never did. But you did encourage her to go after Elizabeth, didn’t you? Getting her so worked up that she ended up going after my client,” he replied.

“I don’t remember that happening,” Sasha replied carefully.

“We will come back around to that. You’re a designer, Mrs. Cook. Do you have any designs we’re aware of? Could you show us some examples of your work? You must have saved your designs as you worked on them. Could you show us any of those, so we can see the proof for ourselves? Even without your tablet, it should be

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attached to your cloud. That way, you can always prove the designs were yours,” he asked. It was clear to everyone that he wasn’t trying to help Sasha.

I hate this. If I had known they had any of this footage, we wouldn’t be in this situation. They had proof, and we were sitting here looking guilty as hell. Why didn’t she warn us? I ignored all the times she told us to stop, because I wanted to get her back. For what she did to Roger, and for making us all look stupid in front fo the whole city the day of the wedding. I had the upper hand, or so I thought, and I wasn’t going to let her go. My pride wouldn’t allow it, and now look at us. No wonder she wasn’t phased when I had her arrested. She

already knew what I was going to do.

I just wanted to humiliate her. There was no reason for any of us to go to jail over this. Why couldn’t Ana just let us go? I heard the judge admit that she had asked him to be lenient with Regina. I already knew she

wouldn’t be doing that for me or Sasha. What in the hell does she want from us? Does she want Sasha to

give birth in prison? Why was she being such a b***h. I would apologize if she would let us go. But Regina

had perjured herself. She was still going to have to serve a year, no matter what we did. What am I going to do? Everything’s ruined, and it’s all Ana’s fault.

“I can’t remember if I saved my designs or not. I’m pregnant, and my memory isn’t what it was. But I have copies of the original sketches that I printed out. That should be good enough for proof, shouldn’t it?” Sasha

argued.

“I’ve seen the sketches, but they are nothing like the final drafts. So, how are you so certain that you can

prove they belong to you? Did you do like some designers do, and add a hidden design or name into the design itself? I’ve heard some designers doing that. I think it’s pretty impressive to be able to protect them

like that,” he replied.

“I didn’t think I needed to. It was my freaking design. How could I have possibly known that it would be

stolen? If I had suspected that it could happen, I promise you that I would have protected them much better

than I did. I was in love with Roger and enjoying our time together. I never for a moment thought that Ana

would be capable of doing something so vile. I’m sure that’s why Roger decided to end things between them.

He had known her for years and knew what she was capable of,” I stated.

“Your honor. I would like to call another witness to the stand. I will call Mrs. Cook back up after we speak to

my next witness. I believe she can clear a lot of this up fairly quickly.” Her attorney assured the judge.

“I’ll allow it. You may step down, Mrs. Cook,” the judge advised.

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