Ex-Lover as My Divorce Lawyer? This Train Wreck Just Got Scorching! - Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Back at her studio, she made a cup of coffee, downing it in one go before feeling her anger subside a little.
She picked up her coat, which she had carelessly thrown over the chair, straightened it, and hung it on the rack.
Just as she hung it up, her assistant knocked on her office door.
"Come in."
"Ms. Reed, the lawyer we hired for the infringement case is here. Mr. Taylor asks you to join them in the conference room."
"I'll be right there."
Six months ago, a longtime exclusive model for the studio suddenly resigned. Shortly after, a batch of unreleased designs from the studio appeared on the market.
She had someone contact the model, who claimed the designs were original. Sophia immediately had her team collect evidence, and they had recently contacted a lawyer to sue the model.
Through the transparent glass door of the conference room, Sophia saw the person who didn't belong to the studio and her expression instantly darkened.
Liam, still unaware, greeted her cheerfully and introduced the lawyer.
"This is..." Liam suddenly blanked on the name, "Why don't you introduce yourself again?"
The lawyer quickly stood up, handing business cards to both of them.
"Stellar Law Firm, Byron Shaw."
"Right, right, Byron Shaw." Liam picked up the conversation, looking at the card, "The name of this firm sounds familiar."
Sophia gave him an irritated glance, shifting her gaze to meet Byron's.
Byron's face was full of smiles: "What a coincidence."
Sophia couldn't smile back: "Not that much of a coincidence."
Sensing her strange mood, Liam steered the conversation to business matters.
Byron asked them numerous questions, and Sophia provided him with a folder of organized evidence.
Before leaving, Byron asked Sophia: "Can we exchange contact information? It'll be easier to reach you if we need additional evidence."
Sophia hesitated briefly but still took out her phone and added his contact.
After Byron left, Liam was puzzled: "What's gotten into you, princess?"
Even when the model suddenly breached contract and stole designs, he hadn't seen such an expression on Sophia's face.
Sophia waved her hand, looking somewhat defeated: "Did you even research the law firm before hiring a lawyer?"
Liam took out his phone, searching while asking: "I didn't find the lawyer, but I heard he's pretty good. What's wrong?"
That Stellar had expanded to Chicago indicated they had solid capabilities. Sophia had also researched Byron previously and knew he was indeed excellent.
Sophia wasn't questioning Byron's abilities; she just felt that Ethan seemed a bit like a haunting ghost lately.
She didn't elaborate further, but Liam had already seen Stellar Law Firm's information.
He looked up at Sophia, his face horrified: "I honestly didn't know before."
Since accompanying Sophia from Manhattan, many things from Manhattan had become just the past for him.
But now, he couldn't let Sophia doubt his loyalty!
"I'm definitely on your side. Just say the word, and I'll switch lawyers immediately."
He hadn't expected his assistant's casual contact would connect them to someone so close yet problematic.
No one feared Sophia's unhappiness more than he did.
Liam's deliberately playful manner made Sophia smile despite herself.
She raised a hand to push him: "Enough from you."
Although Ethan had just irritated her, in this situation she felt she could trust Byron.
After all, he was somewhat of an acquaintance.
"I've seen his previous cases. He really is very capable."
Intellectual property lawsuits involving stolen originals were the hardest to win, especially since some of her manuscripts had been stolen.
If they lost, they might even face a countersuit for defamation.
So they had to win this case.
"Don't stress too much. Everyone knows they plagiarized—we'll definitely win."
Liam reassured her, then asked: "Marcus is here. Lunch together?"
Sophia immediately waved her hand: "No thanks, I don't want to intrude."
At noon, Sophia went downstairs to buy a coffee and grabbed a sandwich.
As she was returning to her office with her coffee and sandwich, she spotted Ethan walking out from the elevator in the lobby.
He was carrying a briefcase, with another man in a suit beside him, apparently on business.
The Chicago branch of Stellar had been established for a year already, but in that entire year, Sophia hadn't run into Ethan once.
These past two days, however, made her feel like Chicago was impossibly small.
She froze for two seconds, then quickly turned to hug the wall, planning to take another elevator up.
However, although Ethan was talking to someone else, he seemed to have some sort of tracking device for her. Despite her deliberate detour, he was getting closer and closer.
It was the lunch rush hour, with many people coming down from upstairs. The path to the other elevator was crowded.
She struggled through the crowd, and just as she was about to squeeze through, a hand suddenly grabbed her arm.