Douglas would not stand for such indignation. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He stormed out of the company, got into the car, and had the driver drop him off at Huxham Corporation. Zane leaned into the couch and stared at the ceiling, counting down under his breath, "Three, two, one..."noveldrama

His phone rang as if on cue. He glanced at the screen, and sure enough, Carlisle's name was flashing on it. Indifference radiated off him as he picked up the call.

"Mr. Huxham, must you go to such lengths to make a point?" Carlisle was pacing frantically through his office.

His secretary had informed him earlier, with no small amount of trepidation, that Huxham Corporation had severed all ongoing and to-be-renewed collaborations between them out of the blue. Even the contracts that had not been fulfilled were terminated. It was only then that Carlisle realized Zane was well and truly angry with him. If anything, it deepened the grudge he held against Zane.

As far as Carlisle was concerned, Zane was overreacting. Why did he have to get so worked up over something so trivial?

Zane's tone was firm and dispassionate, "Our values don't align, Mr. Winslow. We're better off going our separate ways. You have your ideals and beliefs, none of which I agree with. So, I decided it's in our best interests that we stop all collaborations at once." There was a threatening edge to Carlisle's words as he growled, "Don't forget the astronomical profit our company brings you every year! If it weren't for us, Huxham Corporation wouldn't have expanded so quickly in such a short time."

He sounded like he had done Zane a great favor. And it was only then that Zane realized something: Carlisle's haughtiness before him was not an extension of his character. Rather, the man truly believed Huxham Corporation's revenue was riding on their collaborations. Zane suddenly wanted to scoff.

Thinking he had successfully

intimidated Zane, Carlisle pressed on, "You realize you're risking a huge loss of yearly profit by terminating our partnership, don't you? How will you explain that to the other shareholders?"

"You're not the only player in your industry, Mr. Winslow," Zane drawled unaffectedly. "I can always choose to work with someone else, so thanks for your concern over my company's well-being." With that, he hung up.

...

Carlisle stared at the phone and hissed, "I hope you won't regret doing this once I find another company to collaborate with!"

He immediately summoned his secretary and had him look for other collaborators. He would only be giving Zane the satisfaction if he yielded now. As things were, he was

าวน

determined to show Zane thwas

he

and his company would do just fine without Huxham Corporation!

When Zane heard the knocks on the door, he knew Douglas had arrived. "Come in," he said.

Douglas opened the door and entered. He stopped before Zane's desk and handed the evidence he'd gathered to the latter.

While Zane had some knowledge of

the law, he was no expert. As such, he reached out to the legal department and had them send up one of their members with the most outstanding portfolios. It took only three minutes for the lawyer to show up before Zane.

After Zane told him what they needed, he explained in the simplest terms how each piece of evidence could be used to rebut the arguments they anticipated Carlisle would bring up in a lawsuit. Zane, however, caught on to an important point and asked, "So, what you're saying is that our evidence can be used?"