"Also, thanks for coming over to pay your respects to my father even if that wasn't your true motive to come here." Bruce's voice truly did not have any disgust or hatred as he conveyed his true feelings to Barry who was earnestly observing his reaction throughout.
"Thankfully, he is not one of those stubborn ones." Barry thought in his heart as he observed Bruce who had no prejudice against his approach at least on the surface.
"It seems like you have me figured out already. But still, some things need to be expressed clearly. Even if you understand our position, you should know that we are apologetic about not helping your family when you were in need." Barry was unwilling to budge from his position despite the fact that Bruce told him that it was no big deal. The reason was that Barry believed in wholehearted cooperation and this kind of thing could become the first crack in a business relationship at a later stage.
"Don't make me repeat myself so many times; it's tiring. The elders of our family had no relationship with your family in the past so it is only natural for you to not care about us. Even I might have done the same thing in your position. There are some things that you learn after losing your legs. Being able to protect those close to you should be the utmost priority. If I were in your place, I would never jeopardize my family to help you out." Bruce refused to accept his apology.
Barry wanted to take control of the conversation once again but Bruce cut him short mid sentence.
"We both know that apologizing to me is not your true agenda in following me. Tell me then; what do you truly want with me? Or rather, what does the Elizabeth family want with my family? Let's get straight to the point without wasting time on what has already happened." Bruce asked with a hint of annoyance at being forced to repeat the same sentence for some time.
"Fuuuh" Barry let out a deep breath as if the preparations that he had made were poured down the drain by Bruce who had already seen through him.
"We of the Elizabeth family acknowledge the potential of the Luther family that is bound to increase in the future. We are hoping to establish cooperation between the two families before any other family takes the initiative from us. Although we don't want to reveal our cooperation in front of the general public and we might even reject and oppose your family due to obvious reasons, we will still do our best to compensate you in terms of the amount of business provided. This way you will be able to establish yourselves in the high society and we will be able to get a potential business collaborator. It is a win win for both of our families. This is my true purpose in seeking you out like this." Barry stated his true intentions on behalf of the Elizabeth family. He had already observed Bruce and found him to be a cynical person who questioned everything in sight. There was no way he would have believed Barry if he kept hiding the truth. So he did what he could to make this cooperation a success.
Bruce smiled slightly but it was in no way a heartwarming smile that was full of warmth and understanding. Rather it was one that symbolized that he had perfectly understood the scheme being planned by the Elizabeth family.
"Tsk…looks like you and your family went to quite a bit of trouble to keep yourself clean from the mud balls that might come your way when your association with my family comes to light." said Bruce with an incredulous expression which stated his doubt regarding Elizabeth family's sincerity in their cooperation.
"It is only a slight reassurance on our part. We can't let our family name get ruined just because of poor decision making on our part." Barry replied in a calm manner as if Bruce finding out their true intentions wasn't a big deal and was only a part of his web of schemes.
"Don't you think that is an understatement considering that you have eliminated any risk to your family by using this method? You came bearing the flag of sincerity but the division of risk in your so called cooperation shows me how much sincerity your offer has." Bruce grunted as if in disgust at Barry's earlier mention of sincerity.
"Please don't misunderstand. It is only that we are very cautious when it comes to our family name. We won't let the slightest bit of dirt besmirch our family name especially due to our incompetence. However, my earlier words stand true. I came bearing nothing but goodwill for the Luther family." Barry countered shamelessly. He was a businessman alright. His negotiation skills and the ability to hide his shameless acts behind sugar coated words were truly astounding.
"Well, if your so called goodwill refers to putting all the risk of a business onto your business partner and paving a solid road out of the partnership before the agreement, then I am sorry we might have different views on the meaning of goodwill. The Luther family might be a rising family but we aren't na?ve enough to fall for such 'sincerity'. If this cooperation is to succeed, I will need a suitable form of compensation since I am basically handling all risk of the cooperation. And I am sure you wouldn't want your reputation spoiled in the event that this secret of ours leaks to the general public."
Bruce's light threat seemed to have worked as Barry nodded and didn't refuse his 'request' outright. It could only mean that Barry was willing to listen to this demand of his. From the beginning, Bruce hadn't wanted to demand anything too grand from the Elizabeth family. The reason was that he knew his own worth more than anyone else. The Luther family wasn't at a level where Elizabeth family would do anything to do business with them.
Therefore he had to make a demand that would not take them much effort to fulfill and would also convey his point that the Luther family wasn't na?ve enough to not notice their little maneuverings.
Barry on the other hand was a little flustered. He hadn't known the Luther family head to be this sharp. The things he had heard didn't do this person justice. He was not only sharp minded and assertive but also had the foresight to look at the long term objective of the Elizabeth family.
In fact, the information that Barry had wasn't wrong at all. Because that had been the way that Bruce had been acting in front of the other families until the appearance of Zach. He had to prove himself to be no threat to them and had to lower his head just to keep his family and his sister safe. But now that his family had a helper like Zach, and he had regained his mobility, he could be a bit bolder in front of outsiders and could show his teeth that he had been hiding for so long.
Barry knew that Bruce's accusations were true so he decided to wait and hear his demand before thinking about going forward or backing out of this deal.
Knowing that Barry was waiting for him to make his demand, Bruce said, "I just need one thing from the Elizabeth family; the safety of my sister. I want you to keep my sister safe no matter what kind of situation arises in the future, even if the whole city is against her. Of course I don't want you to take on the world for her. Just ensure her safety is all I am asking. After all from what I can see, you are quite proficient in conducting clandestine operations. This is something I will never compromise upon. So if you can't ensure this, there can be no deal between the two of us."
Barry hadn't expected the request to be something like this. He had half expected Bruce to secure some benefits for the Luther family in terms of trade benefits, rebates or finances to strengthen the growing Luther family. But instead the family head asked them to save his sister in any kind of situation in the future. Truthfully, Barry felt that this was not too difficult for them to do. As Bruce had implied, he didn't ask the Elizabeth family specifically to keep her safe. Therefore, just like their business deal, this was something to be carried out from the shadows without revealing our identity. This was not difficult for Barry to agree to at all.
"I agree to your demand on behalf of my family. We will not fail to keep your sister safe as long as she stays within the Elizabeth city. If the situation does not demand us to dirty our family name to save her, we will shelter her in the name of Elizabeth family. But if a day comes, when she is danger from the city itself and the public and we can no longer keep her safe without besmirching our family name, we will take responsibility to securely escort her to safety. That is the most what I can offer you in this regard." Barry stated his position clearly so that Bruce understood the things he wasn't willing to compromise on. He could have just agreed to it all in a straight forward manner but he was sure that Bruce wasn't a sheep as he had thought of him until now. He was an injured lion who would strike if cornered.
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