Chapter 15 Isabella Will Do No Such a Thing
"What did you say?" Laura stared at Isabella, "Aren’t you going to take responsibility?"
Isabella glanced at her dress, "It's not that I don't want to take responsibility. Firstly, I was standing here, and you bumped into me, so I'm not at fault. Secondly, even if I were at fault, I wouldn’t give you $7,800!"
Laura couldn't believe that the usually timid Isabella was defying her. Along with her shock, she felt more and more annoyed, "I was walking from here. You were blocking the way and didn’t me space, otherwise I wouldn't have bumped into you. Anyway, my dress is worth $7,800, and you need to compensate me in full, or you’ll face the consequences!"
Laura thought Isabella was timid and weak, and that scaring her a little would make her submit.
But Isabella said, "Your dress isn't worth $7,800!"
Laura widened her eyes. "You're talking nonsense! This dress is from an international brand, it’s not cheap. It doesn't matter if you don't recognize it, but please don't speak if you don’t know anything!"
"I'm not talking nonsense. Your dress is fake." Isabella's tone remained calm, but her words were shocking.
Laura's face changed, "You're talking nonsense! This dress is not fake, it's authentic! You just don't want to compensate me, Isabella so you're making up an excuse."
Isabella looked around. Their colleagues were watching, but it was clear that most people believed Laura's words.
Finally, Jack spoke up. "Show Isabella the receipt, Laura."
"I didn’t buy this dress, a friend gave it to me. How would I have the receipt?" Laura rolled her eyes and expressed her dissatisfaction. "Are you taking her side, Mr. Brown?"
Jack was the assistant to the CEO and the highest-ranking executive in the department apart from Sebastian. He couldn't be biased toward anyone.
Isabella didn't want to put him in a difficult position either, so she said to Laura, "We can find an expert to verify whether your dress is fake or not."
"Fine, I agree!"
The Landon Group had a clothing brand department, so it wasn’t difficult to find someone to come assess the dress. Jack made a phone call, and soon, someone from the brand department came up.
The assessment process was simple. She took a quick look at the sewn-in label and tag, checked two details, and then gave her conclusion. "Where did you buy this dress, Ms. Jones?"
"It was a gift from a friend," Laura casually replied. "Just tell them if there's anything wrong with my dress."
"Ms. Jones, this dress is a knockoff. It’s not authentic."
"What?!" Laura exploded in anger. "You must be mistaken! Did you examine it carefully?"
Jack scolded her softly, "Laura, that's enough. Are you questioning the director of the company's brand department?"
Laura fell silent for a moment.
The clothing department dealt with major brands all day long and was very professional. There was no way she would make a mistake in identifying the authenticity of a dress. But Laura still looked like she didn’t believe it and was furious, saying, "How dare she give me a fake!"
Isabella wasn’t concerned about that. She asked the director of the brand department, "May I ask how much this dress would typically sell for?"
After some thought, she replied, "Ordinary knockoffs can sell for thousands of dollars. The craftsmanship and fabric of this dress are pretty good, so the market price would be around two thousand dollars."
"You still owe me, even if it's two thousand dollars!" Laura fumed, feeling humiliated. She knew Isabella was from a financially struggling family, was still in college, and had just recently become a full-fledged employee. Two thousand dollars was not a small sum for Isabella.
Isabella knew that it was useless to say anything to her, so she turned to Jack and said, "I’d like to see the surveillance footage of the water cooler, Mr. Brown."
Laura's expression changed. "What do you mean?"
Ignoring her, Isabella looked at Jack and asked once more, "May I see the surveillance footage of the water cooler, Mr. Brown?"
Jack glanced at Laura. Laura was afraid the truth would be exposed, but she couldn't say anything in front of everyone, so she had to agree. "You can watch the surveillance footage, I don't mind."
Jack's phone was connected to the surveillance system, but he didn't have permission to view the footage. Only Sebastian had the authorization.
Jack called Sebastian, who asked what was going on.
Jack didn't hide anything from him and briefly explained the situation.
'Isabella wouldn’t do that,' was Sebastian's immediate thought after listening to Jack's words. He was almost surprised by his own reaction. After a pause, he added, "I’ll grant you access, Jack. You need to prove Isabella's innocence."
"Yes, Mr. Landon," Jack said, hanging up the phone and pondering for a while.
Was Sebastian so concerned about the affairs of his subordinates now? If he had called Sebastian in the past to ask for monitoring privileges, Sebastian would have scolded him.
Jack was always thorough in his work. Since that this was a private matter between Laura and Isabella, he called them into a small reception room. He closed the curtains, keeping prying eyes outside.
"Why do we have to come in here to talk about something that could be discussed outside?" Laura flicked her golden curls, looking disdainful. "I haven't done anything wrong. I'm not afraid to face everyone."
Jack glanced at her. "Don't be so confident, Laura. I'm doing this to save your reputation, you know."
Laura frowned, unwilling to accept that, but she didn't say anything more.
"I've retrieved the surveillance footage. You can take a look." Jack pushed the tablet toward them.
The company's surveillance was in high definition. They could even see the patterns on Laura's cup, let alone her deliberate bump into Isabella.
Laura probably hadn't expected the surveillance video to be so clear, and she fell silent.
"Have you finished watching?" Jack took the tablet back. "Do you have anything to say, Laura?"
"I have nothing to say. Maybe I was just too tired and accidentally bumped into her while passing by. After all, my clothes and shoes are more expensive than hers. If I intentionally bumped into her, I would be the one at a loss."
Isabella listened to her excuse expressionlessly.
Jack asked, "Isabella, do you have anything to say?"
Laura interrupted him. "Why does she have to say anything? It's just a set of clothes. I'll compensate her with money."
"I don't want money, and I don't need her to compensate me." Isabella shook her head. "I just want an apology."
"Are you crazy, Isabella? You want me to apologize to you?" Laura pointed at herself. "What are you thinking? Don’t be absurd."
Laura was usually the most popular person in the department, but she was now being asked to apologize to an intern she despised. Of course she wouldn't do it.
"You say you don't want compensation, but you actually want more! I can compensate you with ten sets of clothes, it won't cost much anyway," Laura said, taking out her phone and saying, "I'll transfer the money to you right now. It’ll be enough for ten sets of clothes as compensation!"
