Chapter 16: An Impossible Contract
When Henry took over the company, he must have known that the company was not on good terms with Aprico Jewelry. Even so, he still told her to deal with this contract. It was obvious that he was trying to set her up.
Linda could see that something was wrong from Luz's expression. She said sympathetically, "Ms Boone, Mr Harper, the general manager from Aprico Jewelry, is not easy to deal with. If you are looking to collaborate with them, it might be a little... hard."
Luz had already read up on Aprico Jewelry, so she nodded in agreement. She felt like crying.
It wasn't just hard, it was almost impossible!
Unfortunately, Henry had told her to solve the problem within five days.
Tomorrow was the deadline.
Luz spent the rest of the day calling Aprico Jewelry.
However, they hung up as soon as they heard that she was calling from MR. She was even mocked by the employee over the phone. "Hey, are you new? You must not know what is going on yet. MR is on the brink of bankruptcy, why would we collaborate with you?"
"F*ck you!" she cursed silently.
If they didn't want a collaboration, they could have just said so. There was no need to be so smug.
She slumped against her chair dejectedly for a minute. Then, she pulled up Aprico Jewelry's website on her laptop and called them under the guise of a client. She managed to get the general manager's phone number after half an hour of careful persuasion.
Mr Harper, the general manager of Aprico Jewelry, was a well-spoken man. He did not hang up immediately after she introduced herself as a representative from MR. Instead, he told her politely that they had already found an ambassador for their new line of jewellery, so they did not have any room for collaboration. He also informed her that he was busy.
However, Luz overheard someone talking about attending a gala on the other end of the phone.
She noted down the time and place of the gala quickly and smiled. "Alright, Mr Harper, I'm sorry to bother you."
She would just go to the gala and meet him in person.
At the Glacier Hotel on Thursday night.
Luz arrived at the gala in a low cut navy blue gown, which accentuated her tall and slim figure. Her bare arms were pale and almost translucent. Her eyes were bright while her lips curved in a pleasant smile. She was surrounded by a hazy aura of brightness as if she was a goddess.
She attracted a lot of attention when she arrived at the banquet hall arm in arm with a man.
Unfortunately, Henry was also there!
He was standing in the crowd, elegant and calm.
When he heard the commotion at the door, he just glanced over. That single glance was so cold. Luz stumbled a little and almost tripped.
He averted his gaze and drank a toast with the entrepreneurs in front of him as if Luz's appearance was inconsequential to him.
Luz's partner helped her up and asked in concern, "Are you okay, Luz?"
Luz shook her head.
She managed to slip into this gala because this friend had an invitation. She wouldn't have been able to attend without him.
Luz calmed herself down and looked around. She caught sight of Mr Harper and whispered something to her friend before walking over. She grabbed a glass of wine from a waiter on the way. "Mr Harper."
After Mr Harper finished talking with the others, Luz put on a bright smile and walked over with the glass of wine in her hand. "I've been hearing a lot about Mr Harper. I didn't expect to see you here." Bobby Harpy was a middle-aged man in his 40s. He had a sturdy frame, and he wore a black suit that made him look less intimidating.
When he saw Luz, a hint of surprise flashed across Bobby's eyes. "Miss, who are you?"
"I called you twice earlier this afternoon."
Luz pursed her lips and smiled. She stretched out her hand gracefully and said, "Mr Harper, I'm honoured to make your acquaintance. I'm the head secretary of MR, Luz Boone." Bobby suddenly realized why this woman's voice sounded so familiar.
He reached out and shook hands with Luz. The soft and delicate hand made Mr. Harper's eyes darken for a moment, and then he smiled. "Ms. Boone, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to refuse you, but there are too many things going on recently."
Luz nodded to show that she understood. "I came to this party with my friend and wanted to see if I could find a collaborator. I didn't expect you to be here, Mr Harper."
After a pause, she asked, "Mr Harper, do you think it's convenient for us to talk about the collaboration now? You're an old friend of ours. We won't treat you shabbily when it comes to cooperation."☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐