Heartstrings on Fire (Agnes and Jared)
Chapter 803

Jared spoke up, breaking the silence that had settled over the room, "I've reviewed the promotional script our teams worked on together for the TV spot. You know, the one we discussed last week." At the mention of the script, Yolanda stepped forward eagerly. She had already handed it over to The Tim Group, feeling a surge of pride in the document.

That script was the very same one that Agnes had originally drafted, only to be shot down by Yolanda herself. It was, in her view, flawless. Now, Agnes had fallen from grace, metaphorically kicked to the curb. No one would believe the script was Agnes' work, and Yolanda would be the one who benefits.

A glimmer of hope shone on her face as she anticipated Jared's approval. But Jared's next words shattered the silence like a glass dropped on concrete. "That script is a complete rip-off, Director Bowman. Do you expect me to believe that The Tim Group stumped up a hefty sum of money for a plagiarized piece of trash?"

A collective gasp echoed from the corridor, sending a chill through the room.

"Rip-off? No way, that script was penned by the director herself, wasn't it? How could it possibly be a rip-off?"

Yolanda's face mirrored the shock that rippled through the crowd. How could the script be plagiarized? It was Agnes' original work... unless Agnes herself had stolen it?

The Station head's brow furrowed in concern as he turned to address her. "Yolanda, what's going on here?"

But Yolanda was already recovering from the initial shock. She had handed over the script to The Tim Group without being certain of the current standing between Agnes and Jared.

After overhearing a conversation between Jared and Agnes the previous night, Yolanda had pieced together that they might have reconciled.

Jared's accusation of plagiarism could simply be a ploy to defend Agnes. Maybe Agnes had confided that she was the actual author of the script.

Yolanda couldn't afford to admit the truth now; her career hinged on it. As long as there was no evidence of her using Agnes' work, she couldn't be proven a plagiarist.

Based on what she knew of Agnes, plagiarism seemed out of character. Plus, Yolanda had scoured the internet and found nothing to suggest that Agnes' script was anything but original. Yolanda retorted, "Mr. Whitfield, let's not sling mud without proof. If you accuse me of plagiarism, you'll need to present evidence. Which company's script did I supposedly copy?"

Jared's voice was cool and unyielding. "You copied an internal script from our own marketing department."

Confusion spread like wildfire. The Station head sought clarification. "Mr. Whitfield, could you elaborate, please?"

Jared explained, "Before I handed this project to your station, our marketing team had drafted a script. I found it lacked originality, and it seemed too similar to what we had done in previous years. I wanted a fresh take, which is why I outsourced to you. But what I got back was identical to our original script, which had been completed three months prior. Every step of its creation is documented. If you have doubts, I can provide the records. The script Yolanda handed me days ago is a carbon copy of ours, word for word. It's astonishing. This promotional film is a confidential asset of our company. I might overlook plagiarism, but stealing our proprietary information is a serious offense. Rest assured, I won't let this slide. My lawyers will be in touch to press charges against Ms. Yolanda for corporate espionage." Yolanda's world spun. How did she get accused of corporate theft?