Our Love Story: Hard to Guard Against the Sudden Love Strike-Chapter 374 - 355: Negotiation

Nolan poured her a cup of tea, looked at her indifferently, with a smile with an indefinable meaning on his lips: "I thought Mr. Thornton would still be at home in seclusion for a few days, but didn’t expect you to come today."

"Seclusion?" Sienna Thornton couldn’t help but chuckle coldly, "Mr. Jenner likes reading martial arts novels? Otherwise, why would you think I need to go into seclusion? I run a law firm, I’m a lawyer, not a practitioner, what seclusion?"

The implication was that Nolan was naive, just wanted to verbally joust to amuse her, but his wording was thoughtless.

Nolan caught on, his face changed, knowing Sienna Thornton was sharp-tongued, and realized he wouldn’t gain anything by continuing, so he quickly put on a smile again: "What’s the matter? Agreed to terminate the contract?"

Sienna Thornton placed the copy of the contract on the coffee table, smiling: "I want to know the reason why The Forresters plans to terminate the contract with our law firm."

Nolan sneered: "What else could it be? Naturally, it’s because of that incident with you, which tarnished Cognitas’s reputation and in turn affected The Forresters’ name. As the CEO of The Forresters, proposing the termination from a corporate image perspective, isn’t that quite normal?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Perhaps fearing that she might push the reason back, Nolan couldn’t wait for her reaction and immediately added: "Moreover, the contract clearly states that whenever The Forresters’ reputation is damaged or suffers any loss due to Cognitas Law, The Forresters have the right to unilaterally terminate, even claim compensation from Cognitas for the loss. After discussions among the company executives, considering the relationship between Mr. Thornton and Young Mr. Ford, they don’t plan to hold Cognitas accountable, just hope you can cooperate and terminate the contract."

After listening to it all, Sienna Thornton’s face showed no waves, just calmly said: "Don’t consider my relationship with Young Mr. Ford, let’s handle it as a business matter. After all, the law firm isn’t mine alone. You want to terminate the contract, sure, go through the legal process. Sue, provide evidence that due to our negligence, The Forresters suffered economic losses.

As The Forresters Group’s Legal Affairs President, I’ll remind you — proving the causal relationship between the two could likely involve having to bring many of The Forresters’ clients to court. Not to mention whether our side did cause The Forresters any losses, just assuming there is, I doubt your clients have the time to cooperate with various investigations and court testimonies, right?

Moreover, general civil infringement cases, from filing to conclusion, may take as long as six months, or as short as three months. By then, wouldn’t the contract between The Forresters and Cognitas already have expired?"

"Even if it’s expired, claims regarding the losses could still be pursued, right?"

Sienna Thornton smiled: "Of course you can, I just mentioned, provided you can prove the causal relationship between the two. Can you prove it, don’t you have any sense of that?"

After these words, Nolan’s face had turned from normal to pale.

He knew Sienna Thornton was sharp-tongued and had access to various internal financial reports of the group, leaving him with little chance of prevailing in termination discussions with her. Thus, he intended to take advantage of her internal and external turmoil to initiate termination. Yet, he didn’t anticipate that she was resolute in holding onto The Forresters Group’s legal business.

Nolan was inwardly resentful but wouldn’t show it on his face. He still maintained a smile, politely said: "I didn’t expect you to prioritize your own law firm’s interests over The Forresters’ wellbeing. I will report this matter to Mr. Forrester and see what he decides then."

At this point, Sienna Thornton’s anger had mostly dissipated. When Nolan mentioned Zane Forrester, Sienna Thornton calmed down.

She originally didn’t want to offend Zane Forrester, being Simon Forrester’s father, still a roadblock on her path to marrying Simon Forrester. Offending Zane Forrester would have no benefit for her at this time.

She slightly calmed her mood, calmly suggested: "Mr. Jenner, I have a compromise here, would you take it to Mr. Forrester for consideration?"

Nolan raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Please, Mr. Thornton."

He knew once Zane Forrester was brought up, Sienna Thornton would definitely have to relent.

Sienna Thornton said: "I’ve already planned to exit Cognitas myself, so you may consider continuing the partnership with Cognitas. Firstly, it could eliminate my influence on The Forresters; secondly, as the saying goes, better the devil you know. Once I leave, Cognitas will naturally attract other lawyers familiar with commercial legal cases to join as new partners. So, perhaps you could consider it."

Nolan’s mind was quick, while Sienna Thornton spoke, he already thought of finding someone secretly to replace Sienna Thornton’s position, thus returning the legal power to Zane Forrester’s hands.

He nodded imperceptibly, softening his stance: "Alright, I will report this matter to Mr. Forrester. Rest assured, as long as we can cooperate with Cognitas, we certainly won’t switch to another law firm. After all, The Forresters’ legal work is quite special in nature."

.

Sienna Thornton exited The Forresters, letting out a long sigh.

Negotiating with Nolan was harder than her past battles with Bianca Fordham and Steven Chapman. No wonder Zane Forrester brought Nolan in at great expense.

She said she wanted to exit Cognitas, partly as a delaying tactic, and partly as the result of several days of thought.

The Sinclair Family never ceased their online slander against her, which had already implicated the law firm. If she stayed any longer, Rhonda Wagner and Aurora Buckley’s careers would also be ruined by her.

The firm wasn’t hers alone; it belonged to everyone, and she couldn’t be so selfish. If she didn’t leave, she would only watch the firm gradually decline.

Having once experienced firsthand how important appearances and reputation are in this field.

Sienna Thornton returned to the firm and mentioned her decision to Rhonda Wagner and Aurora Buckley. Of course, the two were not on board, but having no way against Sienna Thornton’s determination, they could only respect her decision, with the condition that she might temporarily step out of the firm’s management but must retain her partnership status, to return when the right time comes after everything calms down.

Once she left, the firm would immediately announce it, not only on the official website and official blog but also purchase a prominent spot in the Brimfield Morning News to announce she resigned from the managing partner position at Cognitas Law, and would no longer take any cases under Cognitas’s name. This wouldn’t just ease Zane Forrester’s concerns, but once the announcement was published, should the Sinclair Family smear the firm again, the firm could immediately take legal action.

Once this matter was settled, Sienna Thornton felt relaxed. In the evening, she mentioned it to Simon Forrester when she got home. Simon Forrester comforted her and suggested other plans, but the outcomes were almost identical to what Old Master Forrester indicated.

Simon Forrester wanted to take over The Forresters himself, to oust all of Zane Forrester’s people from the group, aiming to run The Forresters together with Sienna Thornton. But business isn’t something sheer iron-willed tactics could handle; Sienna Thornton knew that this would plunge The Forresters into crisis and also affect her and Simon Forrester’s lives.

She held Simon Forrester gently, saying: "After everything, I’m tired. I want to rest, to stop living this constant battle every day."

By then, they had had dinner, taken a bath, and both were in comfortable, loose home clothes, squeezing together on a recliner in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, under the same blanket.

Simon Forrester cradled Sienna Thornton, allowing her to lie in his arms, her head resting on his chest. With the arm wrapped around her shoulders, he lightly caressed her arm, from time to time lowering his head to kiss her temple, then looking up together to gaze at the vast stars in the distance.