The person standing outside the door was none other than Matthias, who still came in the end. He was wearing a calm expression, as if he really had nothing to do with the incident.
He entered the room under the gazes of those three people before he looked at Heather with a shadow of a smile on his face.
“I didn’t expect that you would prefer having a discussion at the publisher’s office, Miss Langston,” he casually said as he stared unblinkingly at her.
The editor-in-chief of The Apple Gazette darted a tentative look at Matthias while Alexander openly appraised the editor-in-chief. The atmosphere was a little awkward and it was quite obvious that Matthias was pretending to appear relaxed.
“Alexander, give the newspaper to Director Locke,” Heather said to Alexander, who then solemnly took out two newspapers from his briefcase—they were news that made the headlines today and yesterday. After that, he passed them to Matthias with a serious expression. He made everything seem so formal that the people around him unconsciously felt nervous.
“Director Locke, please have a look at them.” Alexander handed him the newspaper with both hands.
Matthias took the newspaper and skimmed through them. Then, he folded the papers and kept them away before he raised his eyes to look at Heather. He seemed unfazed by the incident reported in the news.
“Miss Langston, you didn’t call me over just to show me the two newspapers, right?” His expression made it obvious that he was unperturbed by the incident reported in the news.
“Hmph!” she coldly snorted. “Looks like the content in the news doesn’t concern you, Director Locke.” The fact that he seemed fine with it upset her, which made her lose the intention to even put up a show.
“This kind of gossip is never real in the first place, so why should I be concerned about it? Getting worked up over it is a waste of energy.” Matthias indeed did not expect Heather to care about the gossip so much. It appeared that she cared very much about her private life.
After he said that, the editor-in-chief anxiously glanced at him. The editor-in-chief did not expect Matthias to say that the news was fake right in front of him, which made him wonder whether Matthias was actually here to help or stir up more trouble.
“This is an act of violation to my reputation. I will definitely take this publisher to court.” As she was speaking, she looked at the editor-in-chief and it was obvious that she was threatening them.
Matthias cast an indifferent glance at Heather, as if he was saying that the news had nothing to do with him. His actions completely illustrated that he did not take the matter seriously at all.
“This is my lawyer. I hope that you can testify for me in court,” she uttered in a serious manner, but her eyes revealed her aggressive attitude.
Upon hearing that, the editor-in-chief was flustered. He wanted to interrupt them, but any words from him now would only further upset Heather and the more he spoke, the more mistakes he could make. Therefore, he had no choice but to keep quiet and look at Matthias pleadingly.
Matthias politely smiled and uttered, “Miss Langston, appearing in court will bring bad luck to us businessmen.” It was obvious that he implied he disagreed with taking things to court.
As a matter of fact, Heather had thought that he would not agree to her request, so she wasn’t disappointed. On top of that, she did not have any evidence to prove that he had colluded with The Apple Gazette in secret.
The reason why she had called for this meeting today was solely to give The Apple Gazette a warning. Since The Apple Gazette had the courage to offend the Langston Family by tarnishing their reputation, she had never intended to let things slide easily.
“Director Locke, it is fine if you refuse to appear in court. Someone will seek the evidence from you. You will only need to tell the truth and you’ll be considered as doing our Miss Langston a favor,” Alexander quickly chimed in. With a smile on his face, he cunningly described it in a way that forced Matthias to agree to his request.
“That’s for sure. I’m a decent citizen who obeys the law, so I won’t fake my testimony. I will tell the truth.” Matthias wore a stern expression as well while he said righteous statements.
After the discussion, the two parties arrived at a consensus—at least on the surface—while the editor-in-chief, who had been listening to them from one side, felt edgy. Although Matthias had darted a look to comfort him, his mouth had said otherwise. The editor-in-chief was worried that Matthias would abandon him to save himself.
It was at this moment that he regretted his action of colluding with Matthias. The Langston Family was extremely influential in Bradfort City, so it was not worthwhile to offend them for Matthias’ sake.
Upon seeing Heather’s determination to get to the bottom of it, the editor-in-chief was worried that they would lose in court and he would definitely be fired then.
“Miss Langston, if there are no other matters, I will have to take my leave to attend a meeting,” Matthias responded as he glanced at his watch to feign that he was busy.
Heather wore a polite smile. “Director Locke, you sure are a busy man. Apologies for taking your time. You should get going if you have other matters to attend to.” In fact, other than to let him know that she was not an easy target, there were no further reasons for intentionally asking him to meet up with her.
After he had left, her gaze turned to the editor-in-chief, who had been ignored this whole time. Looking at his expression, she inwardly thought, This time, I will make sure to give you a good scare!
“Editor-in-chief, even Director Locke thought that what you reported wasn’t real, but he was being a gentleman by letting trivial matters like this slide. However, I’m not like him; I’m a female and women are never easy to deal with. I have all the time in the world to sort things out with you.” She even mocked herself and the sarcasm in her tone made him realize how difficult she could make things for him.
After that, she left with Alexander without even giving the editor-in-chief a glance. No matter how hard the editor-in-chief tried to explain the matter, she refused to stay any longer to listen.
Since she had already achieved her goal of coming here, continuing to stay back would not only be a waste of time, but pointless as well. The next step would be to see what actions the editor-in-chief and Matthias would take. After today’s incident, they would certainly feel restless, especially when the show had just begun.
Sure enough, right after Heather had left, the editor-in-chief immediately dialed Matthias’ number. When Matthias saw the incoming call, he unwillingly picked up the call with his brows knitted.
“Director Locke, you have to help me! Heather is a ruthless woman and she definitely won’t let me off the hook,” the editor-in-chief wailed. As soon as Matthias heard that, a look of disgust spread across his face. He is frightened by a small matter like this. Such an incompetent man!
Nonetheless, the more pressing matter now was to comfort the editor-in-chief for fear that he couldn’t handle Heather’s intimidation and ended up selling him out to her instead.
“Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal. Even if we lose the court case, we will only have to pay compensation and make a public apology,” Matthias comforted the editor-in-chief. That sort of matter should be common to a publisher, so he was puzzled by the editor-in-chief’s fluster.
“My boss will surely fire me,” the editor-in-chief lamented miserably. He panicked when he thought that it could happen.
“No matter how much you lose, I will compensate you with double that amount,” Matthias calmly replied. These days, there was nothing that money couldn’t solve because all he worried about in the end was his own benefits.
When the editor-in-chief heard Matthias’ promise, he felt relieved. Since Matthias had already said so, he would still gain financially since the Locke Group had the reputation of being rich and generous, which made him feel much at ease. It doesn’t matter even if I’m bound to lose or get fired.
That was the power of money—it provided people with a sense of security and it put the editor-in-chief at ease almost instantly.
“Thank you, Director Locke. Thank you.” The chief editor was grateful to Matthias, but the latter was unwilling to continue speaking with him because his impression of an insatiable man like the editor-in-chief was not exactly pleasant. “I’m in a hurry to attend a meeting. I’m hanging up now and don’t ever call me again.”
Heather was extremely enraged this time, so someone had to suffer the consequences of her wrath and The Apple Gazette would naturally have to pay a price for it. Nevertheless, with Matthias’ wealth, he was able to comfort the abandoned canon fodder with money, which would allow him to have the last laugh.
Matthias was in high spirits when he hung up the call. This time, rumors about his romantic relationship with Heather had made the headlines. From now on, she would be romantically associated with him. When a feisty woman like her was rumored to be his woman, she would definitely feel frustrated.
A cold, sinister sneer played by his lips. The show has just begun. I will have to hype it up and make sure that the news spreads throughout the city like wildfire to become a trending topic on Twitter. Myra would only know about this if I resort to this method.
He thought that it was a smart move to approach Myra through Heather. It was only after the fact that he knew feelings were never predictable. When he thought that he was at an upper hand, he was, in fact, losing.
Meanwhile, Heather and Alexander were leisurely tasting new desserts in a dessert shop. Although he was an elderly man, he had a sweet tooth and a connoisseur of desserts.
“Alexander, this dessert shop is not bad, right?” Heather, who was sitting opposite Alexander, asked as she grinned. She was behaving like an innocent young lady in front of him.
“Yes, it is good indeed. You are the only one who is able to locate such a fine dessert shop in a remote place.” He and Robert were friends and both of them liked her a lot.
As they ate while they chatted, Alexander’s expression suddenly changed before he spoke in a stern manner, “Heather, it’s better not to mess with Matthias.” He had caught wind of some of Matthias’ doings, so he was worried that Heather would be at a disadvantage when she dealt with a manipulative man like Matthias.
Heather smiled, unfazed by his warning. “I didn’t mess with him, but he messed with me instead.” Dissatisfaction spread across her face.
“Sigh!” Alexander sighed. He believed in her innocence in this incident; in fact, his faith in her was more than that of Robert. However, nobody knew how things would progress after this.
“Let’s not talk about work. I still need you to teach me about law, Alexander. Do you still remember that when I was little, I said that I wanted to become a lawyer like you? However, it turns out that I have become a businesswoman who talks about money all the time.” Her grin was so wide that her eyes formed into two lines. She knew that he was sincere toward her and she needed him as well because a professional lawyer like him, who had strong networks, would be a great resource to her future company. Therefore, she treated him well and the person she respected the most apart from her grandfather was Alexander.
“Heather, are you really planning to set up your own company?” Alexander asked worriedly. He did not wish for Heather to be deeply involved in the business world. The business world was too complex and he did not wish for her to spend too much effort in it.
“Of course! I will need your help to register the company after this!” she adamantly uttered. She had been making preparations for a long time to start her business from scratch and now, she was just waiting for the right time.
Alexander peered at Heather and shook her head in resignation. “I’m old, but I will do my best if I’m able to help you.” He made himself clear that he would certainly help if he had the ability to do so.
At the same time, the person having a pleasant conversation with Robert at the Langston Residence was anxiously waiting for Heather to return!
