The Charade of Us

Back to business

Interns crouched around, inspecting Freya's screen, too focused to ask questions. A dark-haired girl is still studying in law school, and the two guys were referenced internally.

She's been restlessly working on Farewell's case. Anxiety kicked in. A meeting with Mastercom was approaching, and she was still unsure what would convince them to agree without court.

Suddenly, a new email pops up on her screen. It's Isaac. The message reads: 'I'm glad you came around. We need to set ground rules before things get complicated. See me in my office ;)"

Damn it.

Freya slams her laptop shut, feeling her stomach drop. She is unsure if interns are fast enough to read too much. She grabs her laptop and pushes back with her chair. Interns exchange glances, failing to look innocent.

"I... forgot that I had a meeting with Mr. Ashford." She announced. "Here." She handed each of them a folder of minor cases: breach of work contract, possible defamation case and landlord-tenant dispute.

"Start reviewing these. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask any of us, I'm sure they will be glad to help." She quickly instructs, avoiding eye contact, cheeks burning with shame. At least this might keep them busy instead of wondering about her and Isaac.

***

She pushes doors open without knocking first. A floor-length window opens a panoramic view of the business center. Every building on the horizon is a similarly shaped glass office. Isaac's desk is neat and organized. A small stack of black files in the corner. Company's calendar on another. Nothing else. She thinks of her desk, which barely has space for her laptop, as tiny pots of cactus, photo frames, and randomly placed sticky notes occupy most of the area.

"First rule - don't send me emails that suggest we are having an affair."

"Good morning to you too," Isaac says, offering her chair.

"Thanks, I will stand." She says. "Because of you, the interns will think something is happening between us."

Isaac leans back with a devilish smile. "But something is going on."

"Did you do this on purpose?" Freya squints her eyes. Isaac crosses his arms.

"Call it soft-launching our relationship."

Relationship...

Even the word sounds wrong. She imagines herself lying to everyone, pretending to be in love. That alone causes her to regret agreeing to this.

But there was no other choice. She told Isaac that the Gala made her make up her mind, not the whole interrogation about her being blank and lost without a guy.

"Some people have work to do." Freya reminds. "Start laying out your rules."

"Talking business, I like that." He smirks. "First rule - no unnecessary interactions during office hours. We need to remain professional."

"Done."

"Second - no discussion of our pact in work communication channels."

"Which you already broke."

Isaac's voice becomes dry. "Noted."

"What's next?"

"When people ask, we tell them the story of our blind date accident, which made us see each other with other eyes. And that spark between us was undeniable. But, we are keeping things personal."

Freya rolls her eyes. "Anything else?"

Isaac stands up and walks to the window.

"If this somehow starts to interfere with work, we call it quits at the same moment. Understood?" His tone reminds her that he is the boss after all. She feels caught off hard by this shift. Is he already planning their plan to go south?

"You already planned a termination strategy?"

"A habit."

Here - a reminder, that this is not real and never will be.

"Good. I will enjoy watching you explain to everyone why we broke up. You seem good at creating stories."

"And it will come in handy. We obviously need to practice acting. This weekend you will need to spend it with me." He announces more like an order, rather than an offer.

Freya's eyebrows rose. "Is this a command?"

"Suggestion without an option to refuse."

"Fine. We need to learn each other's favorite colors and allergies," She admits.

"Favorite colors?"

"That's what couples do!" Freya says. "And you will have to prepare to answer if I'm sunrise or sunset."

She enjoys the confusion on Isaac's face. At least this way she will get back to his orders. If he want a weekend together, she will make sure they are stuck analyzing their birth charts.

"Good talk, I need to go to prepare for our 3 o'clock meeting, boss."

"One more thing," he called her out before she could turn to the door. Frey pauses.

"If you are planning to storm into my office like that ever again, at least pretend that you aren't happy to see me."

Freya gives him a dead look and leaves.

***

The large conference room feels bigger than usual. A big round table can seat twelve people. And almost all seats are taken. Freya walks in and stands in front of a huge TV hanging on the wall. The room is filled with the strong ascent of aftershave.

Elias was seated next to his client's representatives, all men wearing the same shade of blue suits. His gaze flickers towards Freya as she shuffles through her notes, eyebrows pressed together in concentration. She feels his stare but pretends not to notice. Not this time.

At the head of the table sits Isaac. Sticking out with a light brown suit and cream-colored tie.

Freya clears her throat to introduce herself as Farewell's representative. Before she can get to the introduction, Elias beats her.

"Let me save us all precious time," he says, fingers lazily tapping on his pad. "Will you tell us my client is the bad guy, and you demand a remorseful apology?"

"Elia's please," Isaac scolds him. "We respect all our clients, no matter how small or big. The law should not pick sides."

One of Mastercom representatives chuckles. She wanted to approach this nicely, but that reaction boils her blood. She slowly turns to the TV and opens a slide with a pointer.

"Our client doesn’t need me to call them a villain. Their latest summer collection speaks for itself."

The slide shows picture-by-picture examples of both of the items. Freya conveniently hid the names of websites, so it is almost impossible to tell which picture belongs to which shop. Clothes look almost identical - the same material, color, cut, and design. And even one of the promotional pictures is the same.

Men in the room stiffen. Elias quickly flips pages of his notes, searching for something.

"Let's cut to the point and do not pretend that we don't know what happened here," Freya continues. "The evidence is undeniable. But instead of a full-scale scandal in court, I offer you to settle this matter behind closed doors."

She feels Isaac's gaze on her. As he was evaluating her.

Elias stops skimming through his notes. "In a trial, my client can outspend yours until Farewell has nothing left. You realize that. But what can you offer that would look more appealing than that?"

"A chance to come clean and with zero brand damage." Elias cannot help himself but look intrigued.

"We both know this story will leak, no matter how much we try to hide it. It always does. Sooner or later," Freya explains. "Small struggling designer ripped off by a large corporation? Imagine the article's title. Customers hate it. The new generation is already opting for sustainable and ecological items. But imagine they find out that their favorite small creator got his ideas stolen by a corporation. The internet will this up. And once that label is out, it will be impossible to take it off."

A wave of mumbles spread across the table.

"But if we win in court, the public will be proven that we ain't guilty," Says the man, sitting next to Elias. "Why consider other options? That is a clear answer to me.

"I understand your concern, Albert." Isaac intervened. "But let's think —taking this to trial? That wouldn't be just a legal matter. I see it as only an advertisement, that is not a good one. You will spend months' worth of time and a lot of money. That will still be nothing compared to the reputation cost. Why would you even throw a suggestion out there that your brand could have stolen intellectual property at all? Freya’s offer is not only about eliminating risk—she is offering you a way to control your story before anyone else."

The room goes quiet again. Isaac leans back confidently.

"Of course, you can reject this offer. You can bet on outing us on money, bet on us at last giving up. But I've seen the case, and I would bet on Freya instead." He glances at her. "And trust me—you don’t want to be on the other side of that bet."

Freya feels her blood rush to her face. She tried not to smile and to hide that Isaac's words amused her a lot.

"Let's hear the offer first," Guy, who Isaac called Albert, says. Now Freya begins to worry. It will be a miracle that they will agree to all the conditions. She changes a slide, so they can see all the proposals themselves too.

"I propose a settlement. There are many ways we can approach this. One of them is - you pull the stolen design from production, compensate my client, and swear about never doing it again." Freya pauses. Expressions around the table were just as she expected.

"Another proposal is a bit... different. You credit this work of my client on your website. And with the help of my client, you open a new type of collection - a small brand."

"This is ridiculous," another man says. Freya stutters, but continues.

"He gets an advertisement, a platform to sell. And in return - he will create some designs for your mass production, so you don't have to steal anymore."

Freya regrets ending her speech with accusations, but it is too late. Before the client begins to protest, Elias stops them.

"It is worth considering the offer, I'll admit."

"I assume I can cancel Friday's trial, giving time for you to make the right decision." Isaac stands up first. Everyone gives a hand to each other and begins to leave. Freya finally starts breathing again. She could feel her shirt sticking to her sweaty back.

Isaac also leaves with clients, chatting about their current business needs. Before she can follow, Elias stops her.

"I don't know how you convinced him to even think of negotiations," He almost whispers. "But do not think you can trust him. People like me and him do not get where they are by being nice."