My Flawless Lady Boss

Chapter 6 - A Very Lucrative Project

This Tarshian man, who approached me and introduced himself as Sanderson, must have met Wendy before. That was why he started a conversation with me.

I cupped my hands together politely again and introduced myself to him. "I'm Richard. I used to be Wendy's assistant, but I've just been let go from the position today because of my conflict with her."

Sanderson looked a little embarrassed and quickly apologized to me. "I'm so sorry. It makes sense that you tossed your employee badge away then. I was curious after I saw the position that was stated on the employee badge, so I decided to approach you."

"It's no big deal."

Sanderson was very courteous. "Mr. Richard, would you mind if I asked you another question?"

"Go ahead."

"May I know the nature of your conflict with Miss Wendy?"

Once I heard the question, I could not help but frown as I studied the average-looking Tarshian man in front of me.

Could he possibly have something going on with Wendy?

Sanderson must have noticed my suspicion because he quickly cupped his hands together and bowed to me. "I'm very sorry for asking such an intrusive question. I just wanted to understand a little more about Miss Wendy and her company. My company is currently in talks with them about a business project. Do forgive me."

"Don't worry, I get it." I mimicked his actions and returned his bow, but this Tarshian custom did feel a little tiring.

"I am moved by your magnanimity."

Sanderson was not only courteous, but he was also a people person and never treated anyone with disrespect. A person like him would do very well in society, and I suspected that he had to be holding a fairly important position in Baytex.

I chuckled but did not respond to his praise. Instead, I took a swig of beer and slowly asked, "Mr. Sanderson, I believe you've met Miss Wendy. What kind of a person do you think she is? Both inside and outside?"

Sanderson was taken aback by my question, but he gave a hearty laugh and replied, "She's a very beautiful woman. As for the kind of person she is on the inside… I have not interacted with her very much. My impression of her is that she is a rational and intelligent woman who is honest and has integrity. She never meets with our company executives for matters outside of work, and even rejected our offer to throw her a welcome party. She's different from most of the women here in Tarshium. Our culture is open, so you can see women dressing less conservatively, and it's easy to get female companionships in bars. Perhaps this is so because of our vibrant tourism industry. By the way, Mr. Richard, if you're keen for some female companionship, there are a few women here at the bar who have been eyeing you for quite some time now."

I was surprised by his comment and looked over at the table of four women that Sanderson had pointed out. One of them caught my gaze and quickly looked away shyly. They were pretty, but…

Sanderson noticed my hesitation and he offered, "Would you like to get to know them? I could introduce you to them if you'd like."

"They're very pretty, but I don't think I'm up for it today." I rejected his offer and decided to change the subject. After hearing Sanderson's assessment of Wendy, I decided to tell him about my dealings with her. "Miss Wendy might appear to be like how you have described her, but I think she is an ungrateful person."

"How so?" Sanderson seemed very interested in what I had to say.

"I've been locked up before⁠—twice, actually⁠—and both times were because of her."

"What happened?" Sanderson's eyes grew wide.

I gave him a summary of what happened in both incidents. Either way, I had already been let go from the company, so it was none of my business whether Wendy got the project or not. In fact, I would prefer it if she failed to get it.

The project with Baytex Holdings was worth over 1.5 million, which made it a very lucrative project in the software development industry. Wendy would be thrilled if her company won the bid, but even if I did not stab her in the back like this, it would still be hard for her company to be awarded this project.

There were a lot of other companies bidding for it as well. In Caruna alone, there were four companies that were still part of the selection. Furthermore, other competitors included Inlanvia's Henderson Enterprise and even a fairly renowned company from Mercenia's Industrial Canyon as well.

If the bid hinged on the software's functionality and reliability, then Wendy's company trailed behind the company from Industrial Canyon in terms of technology. Her company was probably even further behind Henderson Enterprise in that aspect as well. As for pricing, her company might not even be able to outbid the other companies from Caruna.

Perhaps if Wendy was willing to sleep with Baytex executives, then she might just sway their votes, since none of the other companies had someone as beautiful as her on their teams. However, it was clear that this was not going to happen, since she had rejected their offers to join them for an evening of fun.

Even so, I only divulged my conflict with Wendy to Sanderson because I wanted a listening ear for my rants. Sanderson seemed like a decent guy, and I was still fuming about what happened, so it was nice to blow off some steam by talking to him.

At least, I felt a lot better after venting it all to him.

Sanderson remained quiet while I was sharing. He had an expression of disbelief at first, but he slowly fell deep in thought. After several moments, he suddenly said, "Mr. Richard, I think there must be some misunderstanding that caused both of those incidents between you and Miss Wendy."

"I know that there must have been a misunderstanding, but I did end up serving a prison sentence. For the first incident, it was a fact that she did not come forward as a witness to testify in my defense. It does not matter what her reason was," I stated plainly.

Back at the detention center, Wendy said she did not know about what happened three years ago. I may have acted like I did not believe her, but deep down inside, I knew she was telling the truth because of how she reacted when we first met at the company.

Once Sanderson heard my response, he nodded thoughtfully. "That's true. She was in the wrong in that matter."

He raised his glass and smiled as he said, "Mr. Richard, I'm in awe of your composure. I have never met a person like you, and it is my honor to have gotten to know you. Here, let's make a toast."

"Thank you for the compliment. I'm also very happy to have met you." I readily accepted his praise and joined him in a toast.

"Mr. Sanderson, I'm curious about something. Who does your company plan to award this project to?" I downed my glass and asked out of curiosity, but I quickly added, "If it hasn't been fixed or if it breaches confidentiality, then feel free to treat my question as a joke and ignore it."

"Haha, you are a very sincere person." Sanderson grinned and replied, "We have not decided yet, but it's not a big deal if I discuss it a little with you. Actually, my company executives are leaning toward the company from Mercenia's Industrial Canyon. As you know, they're very reliable in terms of technology."

After hearing what Sanderson said, I nodded understandingly but offered my opinion on the matter. "I think that your company should not be focusing on just technology. There are some things that are even more important than their advancements in software programming."

"Really? Mr. Richard, what are your thoughts on this?" Sanderson was once again very curious about what I had to say.

I took another mouthful of beer and gave it some thought. I did not want to help Wendy, but I also did not want to let a company from a different country win the bid. Therefore, I organized my thoughts and started explaining my perspective.

"Mr. Sanderson, all developers are using the same JAVA2 coding language to develop software, so there won't be too much difference in technology between the bidders. I think your company should be focusing on software maintenance and updates. All software programs are bound to have vulnerabilities in the code, and business information systems are prone to hacker attacks. It is best to have a team of specialists keeping an eye on it at all times. After all, if your system goes down and affects daily business operations, then it will be a huge financial loss for the company. This falls under maintenance.

As for updates… This project is about creating an office automation system that is meant to allow your company to operate more efficiently. Even if the program has been tailor-made for your company, there will still be processes that may seem overly complicated or illogical in practice. This means that the program needs to be improved and updated from time to time. Also, the company's operations will change over time, so the system must also change in order to meet the company's needs. I'm telling you this, Mr. Sanderson, because I think that in terms of technology, all companies are using the same coding language to build this software and therefore will not differ too greatly in this aspect.

However, in terms of work efficiency and customer service… Industrial Canyon companies are strict about working hours. They seldom work overtime and won't easily bend the rules for this. I believe that companies in Caruna will be able to meet your needs better. We are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, even if it means working consecutive late nights. In fact, I am sure that we'll be able to deliver the product within a shorter timeframe as well, and would provide far better service post-launch."

By the time I finished speaking, I was starting to feel a little thirsty, so I took another swig of beer.

Once again, Sanderson fell silent and into deep thought.