James was a little shocked by Mark’s sudden intimidating demeanor, and his anger dropped by half; he did not even dare to keep his chin raised anymore. “About that… It’d have to depend on your sincerity. You’re the CEO of Tremont Enterprise, so how would you like to settle this? Furthermore, it’s your ex-wife that’s plagiarised my work, not the other way around. I was wondering whether your ex-wife had accidentally seen my design, as I published it first, and ended up plagiarising my work. Most importantly, I have never had the chance to interact with her, nor could I possibly have been able to plagiarise her designs. Therefore, based on all the evidence, I’m the one who’s the victim here.”
This was exactly why Mark was in a dilemma. No matter what angle he tried to use to look at the situation, James had no chance of plagiarising Arianne, and it was instead Arianne who could have plagiarised his work after he had already published it. Mark took a deep breath before he said, “How much do you want? Name your price.”
A hint of greed swiftly flashed through James’s eyes. “Mr. Tremont, are you trying to tell me… you want me to keep this matter under wraps?”
Mark squinted his eyes as he looked at James. “Yes, I want you to tell everyone that this was all just a misunderstanding. Also, you’re going to have to cancel your lawsuit and ensure that neither Tremont Enterprise nor my wife are affected.”
James was slightly startled. “Your wife? Isn’t Arianne your ex-wife?”
Mark’s eyes darkened, causing James to go silent immediately. It wasn’t till after a moment that James raised his hand and gestured a one, five, and zero before he said, “I think this wouldn’t be a large sum for you.”
‘This will be made much easier as long as the matter is resolvable with money.’ Mark faintly sighed with relief. “$150,000? Fine, that won’t be an issue. I’ll pay you half the amount now and will pay you the other half when you’ve declared what I said to everyone. Also, you’re the only one who can know that we’ve met today, and the same goes for the contents of our discussion. If you so much as dare to mention a word to anyone, I guarantee that you won’t ever be able to make a living in the Capital anymore. But not just within the Capital, you won’t be able to have a place in this industry ever again.”
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