Chapter 221 - Indigestion
Between the prestigious Presentation Room 1 and Room 2, there was no visual difference. Except, Room 1 was meant for chief executives and chairmen. The second was reserved for people lower than that. The technology was the same in the room, whether it was the bulletproof window or the state-of-the-art projectors.
Shortly after the two women arrived, the lawyers walked in. Estella had hired two legal representatives for Lina, whereas Krystal brought her own small team of three. There, a non-disclosure agreement was signed which stated that no matter what happened in the meeting, whether it regarded ideas or discussions, it wouldn't be leaked to the public. The ideas mentioned were written by Lina Yang herself.
"Elit Corporation is one of the leading companies for material manufacturing, whether it is glass, home goods, industrial equipment, and so forth in Ritan," Lina began. "As such, I've come up with a collaboration idea that can put your services to good use with us."
"I'm listening," Krystal commented, leaning closer into the table.
Lina directed their attention to the projector to the right of the room. There, her PowerPoint slides were being displayed. She had made this early in the morning.
"As you know, with the rising emphasis on aesthetically pleasing lives, the demand for scenery-changing windows is on the rise," Lina began. "But why don't we add a twist to it? Apartments nowadays all utilize windows, but none are extremely safe."
"Hmm…" Krystal's brows tugged together.
"Why don't we invent a bulletproof scenery-changing window? Protection and camouflage. With the scenery-changing window providing a glimpse of the outside world, the outside can't look in even if it's nightfall. And for the high-rise apartments, the bulletproof aspect will offer extreme, but eye-pleasing protection," Lina explained.
Lina clicked on a small device in her hand, changing the slide. "You'll partner with Yang Enterprise. We have many hotels and real estate that could be mutually beneficial, especially with the current construction of our apartment community."
"My father will be reluctant to partner with Yang Enterprise," Krystal finally said. "Your Uncle, William, accepted the contract of one of our competitors just because they went to college together… Elit Corporation is still upset about this."
Lina vaguely remembered the incident. It was a minor scandal within the company. Elit Corporation attempted to argue it was nepotism, but William shot it down, declaring Elit Corporation would've done the same, and that nepotism existed within their executive board of directors as well. It was a messy dispute, one that Yang Enterprise came out victorious from.
"This will be an opportunity for you," Lina reminded Krystal. "To show your father that you've beaten your competitor by getting Yang Enterprise onboard to purchase an extremely large supply of windows produced by your company."
Krystal slowly nodded her head.
"For the creation of the bulletproof scenery-changing window, you'll likely patent the technology and the patent will remain in value for at least five years before it depreciates," Lina stated. "If you proceed with this idea, you'll give exclusive rights to Yang Enterprise first, for the next five years. If we want first dibs, you'll give us first dibs."
This was an extremely difficult predicament for Krystal. Five years of exclusivity? It would practically make Elit Corporation reliant on Yang Enterprise. And who was to say Yang Enterprise would exclusively utilize Elit Corporation? However… if? a prominent company such as Yang Enterprise utilized Elit's glass, then other companies would demand the same supply.
"Two years," Krystal argued.
Lina's lips curled. Wealthy heiresses never understood the proper tactics of bargaining. She learned this small trick from one of her predecessors. To properly bargain, you give them a number too high to agree with. They'd be so shocked, they'd want a lower number. Only then, would you compromise to a "middle" ground, when in reality, the middle ground was what you were looking for.
"Four," Lina deadpanned.
"Two and a half," Krystal insisted.
"Four and a half," Lina shot back.
"Three years," Krystal pleaded, her voice wavering in realization that she should've settled when she could.
"Four and 75th," Lina said with a slight smile.
"Three and a half.." Krystal groaned.
"Three and a half it is," Lina agreed.
Krystal's eyes flashed. "You're just as sly as your family, you know that?"
Lina laughed under her breath. "Aren't you glad we finally put something we learned at Serendipity School to use?"
Krystal snorted. She crossed her arms and leaned back into her chair. "For the student that loved to nap in the back of the class, I'm surprised you learned."
"I napped in class because I was always busy studying at home," Lina explained in a humored voice. She remembered the exhausting days of studying until the sun came up, so far ahead of the class curriculum, that she did nothing but sleep in her lessons.
Lina noticed the lawyers had finished typing and drafting everything that was agreed upon. She straightened up in her seat just as the lawyers placed the draft copy of the contract? onto the table. The people Estella hired were some of the best. Though, none could ever beat Kaden's people. Specifically, the youngest senior attorney in Ritan, Anakin.
"Are you certain we won't lose out to our competitors?" Krystal said whilst twirling the black pen in her fingertips. She was worried Lina didn't have enough power to convince her uncle not to let the idea fall into the wrong hands.
Despite the drafting of the contract, neither of the women could utilize their families' company seals. Once their name was signed, they'd have to bring the contract to the respective Chairman and get it officially approved.
"I value utility over relation," Lina said. "It's hard to do business with friends and family where emotions get involved. Who'd scold their friends for not meeting the deadline? Who'd reprimand them?"
Krystal's brows shot up in agreement. "This is why you never work in teams with your friends on important projects."
"Exactly." Lina didn't have that many friends, so she rarely suffered this problem. Speaking of friends, her heart ached. It had been a while since she last spoke to Isabelle. How was her college friend doing?
University had already started. Lina was a bit behind on work, but planned on completing all of it today.
"In that case, I'll trust you to see to it that this contract doesn't fall in the wrong hands," Krystal told Lina.
"You have my word."
Krystal took the contract, signed her name on the dotted line, slid it back to Lina who also signed, and then, handed it to her lawyer. There, he placed the packet into a manilla envelope. She'd personally deliver it to her father. Krystal couldn't wait to see the expression on her younger brother's face.
They exchanged contracts one last time. Finally, the meeting came to an end. The two women stood, firmly shook hands, smiled, and excused themselves from the meeting room.
Once Krystal left, Lina let out a sigh of relief. It had been a while since she last participated in a slightly formal presentation. Rolling her shoulders, she glanced at the manilla envelope in her hands.
"Is my Uncle available?" Lina asked Estella.
"Unfortunately not," Estella pointed out. "The Chairman's next available time is two weeks from now."
"I see." Lina peered down at the tablet, noticing the fifteen-minute time slot. She smiled to herself.
"Let's give him indigestion and visit him during his lunch then," Lina decided. Afterward, she could go and see Kaden.. She was excited about the idea of seeing him again.
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