Chapter 217 - A Sensible Human Being

"But….." Benjamin tried to reason with her but she interrupted him again. 

"Like I said before. I don't care." Stella smiled at him. "Your company breached the contract and has to pay the penalty. The exact amount which is written in the contract." 

Her lips curled up in a smirk as she continued to sit in a relaxed manner, leaning her back against the back of her comfortable swiveling chair. 

Benjamin gritted his teeth as he tried to keep his temper in control which was building up inside him. The longer he looked at the smirk resting on her calm face, the more he felt the urge to teach her a lesson. He wanted to wipe that smirk off her face so badly. 'If only my stupid date hasn't messed with her that day, I would have easily managed to woo her over. Especially now that her man was no longer her by her side.' He thought to himself while cursing the woman before him.

"I know, but the penalty. It's just too much." Benjamin exhaled out a sigh and tried to change her mind, giving it his best. Even if he couldn't make her give his company another chance, he could at least try his best to make her lower down the penalty. He knew that the company was barely holding up and if they paid this penalty, they wouldn't be left with anything and the company would go bankrupt. 

"Mr. Benjamin, what do you think we are doing here?" Stella narrowed her eyes at him as her expressions became serious. "Are you playing some sort of game here where you can decide the rules as you please? Or are you actually running a company?" She continued, keeping her eyes fixed on his face which was losing its color after hearing her words. 

A low chuckle escaped her lips, sending shivers down the spine of every person who was in the room except for Bella. "Who made you the Vice President of a company when you don't even know the basics of business?" 

Benjamin stared at her in shock as she continued to take jabs at his ego by the use of some mere words. Getting humiliated by a woman and that too bekore the members of his legal team, didn't settle well with him. 

"Can you please refrain from making personal remarks, Miss?" He raised an eyebrow at her as he tried to save whatever dignity he had left after being reprimanded by her like teenage kid who was doing really bad at a subject. 

"When did I make a personal comment about you? I was just commenting on your lack of knowledge about business." Stella gave him a lopsided grin. "You don't think of it as a simple game, and even if you do, there are certain rules which you have to follow whether you like it or not. You can not go around breaching a contract with one of the biggest conglomerates of the country and then come knocking on their doors, demanding for a change in a signed contract. You don't get to do it."

Benjamin couldn't take it anymore after hearing her lecture and slammed his palms on the desk, taking everyone by surprise. "I know what you are doing, you wench. Is it about that other night when my date humiliated you before a whole lot of people? Is this your way of taking revenge on me?" He raised his voice a couple of notches and yelled at her, paying no attention to the glares and stares that his legal team was throwing his way. They knew that he was going to mess up the situation, making it much worse for them to handle. 

In response to his mindless yelling, Stella just smiled at him. "I am not that petty of a person, Mr. Benjamin. If it wasn't for you reminding me about it just now, I wouldn't have even remembered it. And secondly, it's not about me or you. It's about the company. What do think would have happened to the name of Levinson's Corp. if we would have used the defective material in our products. Do you know how badly it would have affected our reputation and the public's trust in the company's name?" She threw a series of questions his way, as she continued to keep her calm. 

Benjamin opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, but no words made their way out. He couldn't think of anything to retort against her words. He knew that every single word of what she had said was right. He pursed his lips as he shifted his eyes away from her face. "I-I am sorry. I shouldn't have used that tone with you." He tried to salvage the very situation he himself had ruined. 

"I can understand you, Mr. Benjamin. If my company was drowning in so much debt as yours, I would have lashed out just like you after hearing about a penalty." Stella added with a faint smile, not bothering to hide the mockery behind her words. 

"The most I can do for you is to give you some time to gather all that amount of money. I will ask my lawyer to get in contact with your legal team as I need some assurance that you will pay Levinson's Corp. every single penny of that penalty." Stella added as she stood up from her seat. This was getting too boring for her liking and she couldn't waste any more of her time on this buffoon. 

"I look forward to hearing from your lawyer." The man who spoke up this time was the head of the legal team of R&E Group of Companies. 

His voice caught her attention and she shifted his attention to him. 'Finally, a sensible human being.' She gave a professional smile and nodded her head. 

"Since everything has been cleared, the meeting is adjourned. If you have any more questions, you can ask my lawyer about it." She spoke up, but this time she didn't bother to even look at Benjamin who was sitting in his chair with an ashen face. 

She nodded towards his legal team as they stood up to show their respect when she began to head out. As she walked out of the conference room, she only had one thing on her mind. 'You took what rightfully belongs to me. There's no way that I am letting you keep it any longer under your claws. It belonged to a Martin, it will always belong to a Martin.' In contrast with her thoughts, a loving smile graced her lips as she continued to walk towards her office, nodding her head at times in return to the greetings of her staff members. 

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One month later,

A matte black Audi A6 Sedan, came to a stop before the tall building bearing the name of Levinson's Corp. in golden color. The driver hurried out of his seat and walked around the car hurriedly to open the door for his Boss, but he was too late as the backseat door was opened from the inside. A dainty but toned leg which was clad in a black skinny fit jeans, stepped out of the door and was soon followed by its partner. 

"Damn!" The driver cursed himself under his breath as he wasn't able to make it to the door in time. 

"You still didn't make it in time." Stella gave her driver, who was none other than Edward, a smirk. 

"I had to run all the way here. It's not my fault that you don't sit on the other side." Edward glared at her to which she just shrugged and stepped away from the car door so that he could close it. 

"I will see you later." Stella gave him a polite smile and made her way towards the entrance of the company where one of the security guards was already waiting for her, holding the glass door ajar. 

"Good morning." She greeted the guard with a bright smile as she stepped inside the building. "How's your daughter doing now?" She asked him with concern as his daughter was under the weather last week and he had asked the HR department for an off. 

"She's doing better now. Thank you for asking Boss." The security guard bowed his head lightly in gratitude. 

"Oh! It's no big deal. Let Bella know if you need any help or an off day to spend some time with your daughter." Stella gave him a polite smile before walking towards her personal elevator.

Back at the top floor, the entire floor was filled with the sounds of greetings as every employee who passed by her greeted their Boss with a wide smile. Stella replied to their greetings with them same zest and enthusiasm, giving each of them her signature smile. 

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