Chapter 16 Go Hard or Go Home
1167 Words
When Charlotte arrived at the office in the morning, she noticed the atmosphere was not quite the same as usual.
Her colleagues told her that everyone had just discovered Gerald's takeover. Now everyone talked about the young boss.
Bruce hadn't been going to the office much since he retired. He was happy to have time to spend with Mia finally. He felt pretty confident with Gerald, and he was not concerned at all. Bruce knew that Gerald had wanted to run the company for a long time.
The only thing Bruce and Mia were concerned about was Gerald and Charlotte's marriage.
"Charlotte, sorry to bother, but you must go to Wesley Group today and get this contract done."
"What do you mean?"
Thomas smiled and explained, "Our contract with Wesley Group expired. We already talked to them a few days ago about the renewal. But I'm busy today, so can you get this done?"
Charlotte didn't answer but just kept staring at him. Thomas started fidgeting, for he was only doing as told. Moreover, Gerald had specifically told Thomas that he wanted Charlotte to do it.
Even if Thomas wanted to help her, there was still nothing he could do about it.
"In case you don't know. Bruce said I can skip meeting up with clients."
All the colleagues had once suspected Charlotte's relations with Bruce. Now, hearing her words, they felt their suspicions had finally been confirmed.
"Sorry, Charlotte. This was Gerald's order."
Bruce was no longer in charge of the company. He had handed over all the company's decisions to Gerald, so Gerald was the one who made the call!
Charlotte took the business card Thomas handed her and said, "Fine. I'll go right now."
Gerald had wanted to give Charlotte another challenge for a long time. He was so busy with all the work around the clock, but he still made sure he could give Charlotte a hard time.
Thomas patted Charlotte on the shoulder and said, "Good luck! You know there is nothing I can do."
"I know that. And totally understand," Charlotte said.
Charlotte wondered how much this new place would be different from Carson Group last time.
Wesley Group was not too far. It only took a half-hour. When Charlotte arrived, she found that their office building was much more impressive than Carson Group's.
The receptionist was very polite. She invited Charlotte to the meeting room and brought her coffee.
Then, their sales representative, Max Brown, came to talk to Charlotte.
Max was an extremely tactful man and relatively straightforward. He was not as creepy as Francis Moore but very shrewd.
"It was Thomas who signed the contract with me before. Well, I don't know why he sent you here, but here's the gist. We'll renew the contract, only with a better price---A ten-percent rise."
"Seriously?" Charlotte exclaimed.
"Yes. I've mentioned this to Thomas. Didn't he tell you about this?"
Charlotte pursed her lips. She realized that Thomas did this on purpose. He had asked her to meet with challenging clients twice a row, but he did not tell her the details!
He only said it was a contract renewal but didn't mention the price part!
"Ten percent rise on everything? "
"Correct."
Wesley Group did business with Miller Group for almost every decorating material used in interior design. The cooperation scale was massive! It would be too much to raise the price by ten percent for each item.
Charlotte knew that she could not decide this.
"Did Thomas agree to this?"
"Of course not. He can't make the call."
Charlotte finally understood how Gerald tried to make her quit with a stalemate like this.
She then started feeling Gerald was being too cruel. He had already kicked her out of sight by throwing her in the sales department, and he wouldn't go home at night. He didn't have to keep pressing even more.
"The price is too high. Besides, we have cooperated for so many years. I don't think you need to do this."
Max shook his head and said, "Sorry, but it's the market. Things are all on the rise, and we'll go broke if we keep supplying material at such a price. I'm sorry. We can't do anything about it."
"But this is outrageous. We will have to spend several extra millions each run for the size of our orders. Five percent can be somewhat acceptable."
"I'm sorry, but that ain't my call. This is what the market has to offer. Then about our contract…"
Charlotte realized that she couldn't make the call, either. She had no choice but to go back to Miller Group.
When Thomas saw her, he said it was the boss's idea to renew the contract at the original price, and he had to leave the matter to her.
"I'm not trying to be mean, but, you know, the boss makes the rules."
Charlotte realized that it was the dirty work for her.
Wesley Group had to raise the price, but Miller Group wouldn't allow it. So this contract was meant to be a stalemate.
She went to the chairman's office in a rage. Gerald was still in his old office, but the plaque on the door had been changed to "Chairman Office."
"Are you stressed? Oh, let me do some massage for you."
As soon as Charlotte entered the door, she saw Natalie and Gerald talking intimately. Natalie stood behind Gerald and put her hands on his shoulders.
"Get out!" Gerald was mad.
Charlotte ignored Gerald and walked straight in. She walked up to his desk, raised the file in her hand, and asked, "I heard that you made them do this, didn't you?"
He glanced at the file and replied, "Yeah, but so what?"
"Are you playing some game with me? Why are you trying to make things difficult for me, even risking your own business?" Charlotte asked.
Then, Gerald patted Natalie's hand and told her to back off. Natalie withdrew her hand and stood aside.
"Charlotte, is this the way you talk to your boss?"
"My attitude depends on whether my boss is someone who likes to take personal revenge in the workplace."
"Then, that's the kind of person I am. What are you going to do about it?" Gerald admitted. Charlotte turned green.
"Don't think you can be arrogant because my dad likes you. If you can't do it, don't blame others for giving you a hard time. I'm your boss."
Gerald and Charlotte stared each other down. Charlotte was the righteous one, but she was only an intern working for Gerald.
"Two choices. Go hard or go home!"
That was the harsh truth and the rules of the workplace. She had no choices.
Charlotte pursed her lips and did not speak after a long time. Finally, she glanced indifferently at Natalie and made her choice. "I'll get it done, but watch yourself!"
Natalie looked away and said, "She seems pissed."
"I don't care!" Gerald said with an indifferent tone.
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