Chapter 289 Clearing the Clouds
Lauren finally got it—Quentin was out for revenge because Ethan had swiped his employees. Honestly, she couldn't really blame Quentin; Ethan had been pretty cutthroat.
With a grin, Dylan chimed in, "What are you guys chatting about? I can't follow a thing."
Dylan knew exactly what was up but played dumb. When Noah first spilled the beans, Dylan had already dug into it. But he didn't want to get tangled up in the White Group vs. Robinson Conglomerate drama, so he acted clueless.
Quentin smirked. "Just a little spat between Mr. White and me, nothing major."
Ethan, though, felt Quentin was trying to make himself look good while putting him down. The more he thought about it, the madder he got.
Ignoring Lauren's attempt to calm him, he yelled, "Quentin, cut the act. You planned the plagiarism to get back at me, didn't you?"
Dylan watched the showdown with a big smile, secretly loving the chaos.
Lauren was super disappointed in Ethan. She grabbed her wine glass, stood up, and said to Quentin, "Mr. Robinson, the plagiarism thing is really fishy. You've always been fair, and I believe you wouldn't stoop to that. You want the truth out, right?"
Quentin kept a mildly amused smile as he looked at Lauren. He'd seen her sharp tongue before, but now it was aimed at him. "How can you be so sure I wouldn't want that?"
Lauren was momentarily speechless, a bit embarrassed, but she didn't let it get to her. She'd grown tougher and wouldn't let herself get upset over things that weren't true.
Ethan couldn't hold back. "Quentin, don't push it!"
"Alright, enough. I want to hear about the plagiarism, not your bickering," Dylan cut in coldly.
Quentin shrugged, not interested in arguing.
Lauren stood there awkwardly and continued, "Mr. Robinson, I know we messed up, and I sincerely apologize."
With that, Lauren downed her drink in one go. Quentin squinted at her; it seemed her drinking skills had improved over the past three years.
Quentin also picked up his glass and drank it in one go. He usually didn't hold grudges against women, but this time he wasn't sure what had gotten into him.
Seeing Quentin's expression soften, Lauren asked, "Mr. Robinson, can you please tell the truth? Even though the design was done by designers who left your company, they're our employees now. Can you let it go?"
"What I want is just an apology from Mr. White. He barged into my office, yelled at me, and today called me a schemer in front of Mr. Jones. Mr. White poached my employees, and instead of feeling guilty, he tried to walk all over me. Don't you think that's ridiculous, Mr. White?" Quentin mocked.
Ethan wanted to charge at him again, feeling humiliated, especially in front of Dylan.
Lauren pulled him back and whispered in his ear, "Ethan, calm down. Do you want to leave our designers with no way out because of your temper?"
Ethan realized Lauren had been sticking up for him the whole time, and he wasn't totally ungrateful, so he nodded.
He picked up his wine glass and said to Quentin, "Mr. Robinson, I've only been in the business world for a bit and have made a lot of mistakes. I hope you won't hold it against me. About the designers who left your company, I'm really sorry. If you want them back, I won't stop you. I'm asking Dylan to be a witness here, hoping we can squash this beef."
Quentin smirked, "Didn't expect you to be so upfront, Mr. White. Alright, I accept your apology. As for those designers, you can keep them. I don't give second chances to people who betray me. Hope you're their last boss," he said, clearly enjoying his little victory, then gestured for Ethan to drink.
Ethan felt a burning anger inside, silently vowing to get back at Quentin for today's humiliation. He downed three glasses of wine in one go.
Quentin was thrilled with how things turned out. In a good mood, he finally teamed up with Lauren to explain things to Dylan. "Mr. Jones, it's understandable that Mr. White's company's plan has similarities with mine. Those designers originally worked for my company but later moved to Mr. White's company. However, the three design elements were completed while they were with my company, so they rightfully belong to my company."
Quentin wasn't dumb. He knew that revealing the full truth would hurt his company and Noah, so he came up with this story. Whether Dylan bought it or not, this was his story, and he was sticking to it.
Lauren felt she couldn't read Quentin. She couldn't tell which of his words were true and which were BS.
Quentin looked at Dylan and continued, "Those designers thought that by switching companies, their designs would no longer belong to Robinson Conglomerate, which led to this misunderstanding. Mr. Jones, you get that, right?"
"How interesting, I didn't expect there to be so much behind this," Dylan said, nodding. Since there was a reasonable explanation, he had to accept it.
Lauren looked at Quentin with a mix of admiration and wariness. He was indeed a shrewd guy. His explanation completely absolved his company of responsibility and cleared up the plagiarism issue.
Ethan held back his anger. As long as the plagiarism issue could be explained, he could endure Quentin's nonsense.
To avoid more awkwardness, Lauren smiled and said, "Mr. Robinson's explanation clears up my confusion. Now I finally get why the design, which was clearly the work of Miles and his team, was similar to Robinson Conglomerate's. It wasn't a coincidence. We are grateful to Mr. Robinson for revealing the truth; otherwise, we might have carried the stigma of plagiarism for life."
Quentin raised an eyebrow but didn't respond, though he couldn't help but admire Lauren's smarts. She knew when to play dumb and when to be sharp.
Smiling at everyone, Dylan said, "Mr. Robinson is indeed a stand-up guy, and I respect that. Since everything's clear now, we're all still friends. Let's not dwell on the unpleasant stuff. Enjoy our meal and relax."
Lauren and Ethan forced smiles. Quentin got to play the good guy. Although they cleared their name of plagiarism, they were left with a bad image in front of Dylan for poaching Quentin's employees.
