Chapter 288 Confrontation on the Spot
Lauren was floored, totally caught off guard by Quentin popping up out of nowhere.
Ethan spotted Quentin and then checked out Lauren's reaction, his face going all serious.
Clara, looking icy, strutted over in her sky-high heels. "Come on in. Mr. Jones has some personal stuff to handle, so hang tight inside for a bit."
Lauren nodded politely. "Sure thing."
The three of them headed to the table, picking seats as far from Quentin as possible, and sat down.
Nobody said a word; everyone was lost in their own thoughts.
Ethan saw Quentin as the enemy, convinced the plagiarism mess was Quentin's doing, but he had no proof.
Lauren took a sip of water, suddenly feeling super uneasy. Her eyes wandered around the room before she focused on the cup in her hands.
Right then, Clara spoke up, "Gentlemen, you probably know why Mr. Jones called you here. He wants you to hash things out face-to-face. You can start talking now."
Quentin sneered, "Mr. Jones has some nerve. He doesn't even show up and expects to fix this? My time's valuable too. I'm out," and with that, Quentin got up to leave.
Clara looked a bit flustered. "Mr. Robinson, you've got it wrong. Mr. Jones really has something urgent. Please be patient."
Quentin shot Clara a cold look, saying, "If Mr. Jones is too busy, then I'm not sticking around. Later!"
A cold glint flashed in Clara's eyes. She knew Quentin was a big deal in City A, so she couldn't stop him.
Lauren felt uneasy. She knew Dylan wanted them to clash with Quentin, but the awkward vibe made it hard to start talking.
She admired Quentin's confidence, something she wished she had. He lived so freely, something she could only dream of.
Ethan watched the scene with a smirk. He had no faith in this confrontation. Despite seeing Lauren making an effort, he had no plans to help, even though it was his company's problem.
Just as Quentin was about to leave, the door swung open. A guy with curly hair and a big smile walked in.
Seeing Quentin, he laughed and held out his hand. "Mr. Robinson, don't be mad. I have a lot to discuss with you. Why leave now?"
Quentin squinted. "Mr. Jones, your schedule's too tight. I have no choice."
"Come on!" Dylan enthusiastically pulled Quentin towards the table. "I know you value good hospitality. I'll make it up to you later."
As soon as Dylan showed up, Lauren and Ethan stood up politely. Dylan walked over, glanced at them, and his smile got even bigger.
"Hello, Mr. White! And this must be Ms. Walker!" Dylan's tone was playful, not noticing the tension between the two men.
Lauren extended her hand with a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Jones."
"Pleasure to meet you all! Grab a seat, folks!" After shaking hands with Lauren, Dylan settled in and remarked.
Lauren didn't expect Dylan to be so pumped. The tense vibe in the room shifted to something more lively thanks to him.
As soon as Dylan sat down, his smile disappeared, replaced by a serious look.
"The reason I called everyone here today is to give both sides a chance to explain. Mr. White, your side is accused of plagiarism. Clara told me you feel wronged. I believe Mr. Robinson doesn't want to be misunderstood either, so let's clear things up face-to-face. Mr. White, what's the deal with your company's design?" Dylan's tone was icy, a total 180 from his earlier warmth.
Lauren knew Dylan wasn't someone to mess with. Seeing his shift in attitude made her even more curious about his game plan.
Ethan squeezed Lauren's hand under the table, giving her a reassuring smile, trying to comfort her and show he had this under control. Quentin noticed.
"Mr. Jones, the plagiarism accusation is really unfair to us. I don't know why you're so convinced we're at fault. I'm not trying to accuse anyone, it's possible that Robinson Conglomerate copied us. Of course, this is just my speculation. I now have evidence to prove our innocence, regardless of who copied whom," Ethan said, pulling out documents from a folder and handing them to Dylan, who took them without a word.
Although Dylan didn't plan to dig too deep, he figured this was a good chance to give both Robinson Conglomerate and the White Group a heads-up.
Dylan pretended to look over the documents. "What's this?"
Ethan, a bit smug, replied, "This is our company's design concept for the so-called plagiarized parts. Mr. Robinson, you claimed our design is copied from your company. Where did your design concept come from? We can compare them."
Quentin looked at Ethan with disdain, like he was watching a clown.
Dylan nodded with a smile, showing he was impressed with the design concept. "Mr. Robinson, what do you have to say?"
Quentin looked at Ethan with contempt. "I have nothing to say because all of this should belong to Robinson Conglomerate."
Quentin's words shocked everyone. Lauren was puzzled by his certainty.
What did Quentin mean? What did he mean by "belong to Robinson Conglomerate"?
Seeing Quentin's smugness, Ethan couldn't help but stand up. "Mr. Robinson, you need to be responsible for your words. These designs were completed by my company's designers. What does it have to do with Robinson Conglomerate?"
Quentin calmly replied, "You should know very well where your designers came from."
Ethan's face turned even darker. He clenched his fists, feeling extremely frustrated. He realized Quentin was here to stir the pot.
Lauren gently tugged Ethan's sleeve, signaling him to stay calm. They couldn't afford to lose their cool now, or all their prep would go down the drain.
