<spanng="EN">Analise’s POV


    <spanng="EN">“Your mother–inw basically stuck to saying youmitted 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.


    <spanng="EN">“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.


    <spanng="EN">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 toe at me. I wanted them to bepletely ridiculous with their allegations. That way, when the bottom drops out, they won’t see iting.


    <spanng="EN">“I already have my team working on it, Ana. Sasha alleged that you were fired from your job as Director of Design for giarism. 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 ims, 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 thepany to continue to make money. From what I hear, she is going through Roger’s money very quickly. She also imed that hertest 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.


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


    <spanng="EN">“We had my designs copyrightedst week, right, Gwen?” I asked.


    <spanng="EN">“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.


    <spanng="EN">“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 I 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 d you already have the video evidence, Rodney. I want this to go to court quickly. All of it, from the contract vitions to this nderous usation. I want Sasha to have to provide proof of her own work in court,” I coldly stated.


    <spanng="EN">A knock sounded at the door before it was opened, and our server entered with two people following her, all 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.


    <spanng="EN">I had already hit Roger with apany–ending strike by notifying the investors that I was officially leaving thepany. 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.


    <spanng="EN">“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 nderous 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.


    <spanng="EN">“You don’t have to wear the same dress. I have one in mind for you, very simr 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.


    <spanng="EN">“What is it? Why are you smiling like that?” I asked.


    <spanng="EN">“I’m just happy that you arepletely 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.”


    <spanng="EN">“Seems an urate 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.


    <spanng="EN">“I’m d that Ana has you with her now. I saw you protecting her when it went down,” Gwen told them.


    <spanng="EN">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.


    <spanng="EN">I smiled as I opened my phone and sent a text to my father. “Please add two more to the reservations for dinner tonight.”


    <spanng="EN">They would assume it was Emily and Gwen, but they would be wrong. They can figure that outter on. I felt safe sitting between them, and that is what was going to happen tonight. If I had to sit through an insufferable meal, I would do it on my own terms. I made a mental note to tell them once we were back in the SUV. Christine left first, and then Rodney. Gwen left with us after I paid and gave our server double the tip I promised. I didn’t want to eat with the rest of them tonight. This was going to be my meal for the day, and our server did a great job.


    <spanng="EN">We took our time driving over, as we were just ten minutes away. It was already close to the six p.m. reservation time, so there was no point going anywhere else. We sat in silence in the parking lot before I finally cleared my throat. I needed to get them up to speed.


    <spanng="EN">“Tonight is not going to go smoothly,” I told them.


    <spanng="EN">“Can you borate on that?” Drew asked, before turning to face me.


    <spanng="EN">“You already know who my father is, so you know my parents will not show up alone. My brother, who started this mess, will also have security with him. I was the one who hadn’t had security since I graduated high school. I stayed to myself, and most people didn’t know who I was, as I used my mother’s maiden name instead of Caldwell. I moved things up because I had that meeting with Roger and dinner with my parents. There is one other thing I need to tell you. Holden Vaughn will also be here tonight. I’m d we got here early so I could see who they will bring with them. I don’t think it will end in a fight; I would leave before that happened. But you are going to hear things tonight that you wouldn’t normally be privy to. I’m going to give you the basic story, but not the whole story,” I told them.


    <spanng="EN">I then started from my crush, the arranged married, Holden’s sister, to the present day. I left out some things that were not important at this time. I wouldter learn that was a mistake. I just didn’t know it yet. They listened, but did not interrupt until I was done. Then started firing off questions. I answered as truthfully as I could.


    <spanng="EN">“Respectfully, Ms. Wade. I don’t think we should wait to see whoes. I think we need the first to be seated. If things are as bad as you told us, they won’t want us in the room. Plus, getting their first ensures that we take the best seating. I think you’re right. It sounds like you are going to be threatened again tonight. I think it’s best for you to save our numbers in your phone and make them a priority, in case you need us,” Charlie advised.


    <spanng="EN">“I’m good with that. They’re probably expecting me to arrivest. Let’s go ahead and go in to pick our seats,” I agreed.


    <spanng="EN">We headed in and arrived at the hostess stand. “Three?” she asked.


    <spanng="EN">“No, there should be a reservation for Caldwell in the system,” I replied. I saw her stand straighter at my words.


    <spanng="EN">“I’m sorry, there’s no reservation for Caldwell tonight,” she replied. Her attitude was much less respectful than it was moments ago.


    <spanng="EN">“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’ll escort them, just hand me menus for nine.”


    <spanng="EN">“Nine? Whose supposed to be here tonight?” I asked. That number didn’t work out, no matter how I tried to figure it out.


    <spanng="EN">“My parents and sister will be here along with Gretchen and your family. That’s nine,” Holden replied.


    <spanng="EN">“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.


    <spanng="EN">“I’m sorry, but all security personnel will be staying outside the room. There will be confidential subjects being discussed tonight,” Holden replied, but kept looking at them, instead of me.


    <spanng="EN">“Well, they happen to be my friends, and I want them here. If they’re not wee, I won’t be staying here either. I don’t feel safe without them,” I replied.