Laura leaned in forward, placed her lower arms on the desk and in a whisper, spoke to Jeremy, “…the goods are quite precious to its owner and Mr. James Donovan would not want anything happening to his items.”
Jeremy looked up at her in surprise. “Did you say James Donovan?”
She smirked. “Glad that got your attention, now think of it Mr. Xiu.”
He focused on her for a while, she had a serious look on her face despite the fact that she smiled and he knew she was not bluffing, Ortho Speare would be importing goods belonging to James Donovan, he could only imagine the money they had to settle with for the deal.
“You are playing a dangerous game here, Miss Jones. It could lead to Ortho Speare being ruined.”
“Now don’t you worry about that, young darling, that is my business. You just do yours.” she stretched out her hand to him. “Do we have a deal?"
He looked at her outstretched hand as he contemplated, it indeed would catapult his company into the lame light and Ortho Speare would be dead behind but somehow still, it didn’t feel quite right.
"I am curious, what do you have against Ortho Speare?"
Laura retreated her hand and the smile on her face vanished, but not completely. She looked away from Jeremy, taking her attention to the windows, looking outside at the city and sky.
"What do I have against Ortho Speare?" She repeated the question, more to herself, and then she shook her head, bringing her attention back to Jeremy, "Nothing, I have nothing against Ortho Speare."
"I cannot believe that, I do not trust that you are doing this simply just because. If I cannot trust your words then I cannot trust you, and if I cannot trust you, I cannot strike a deal with you."
Laura chuckled, "I understand that you are cautious Mr. Jeremy Xiu, especially given that you have not done business with me before and this... thing," she circled a finger on his desk, "May sound risky to you."
"I am a business man after all," Jeremy replied to her, "I have to take everything, every possibility and every outcome into consideration."
"As you should," she nodded her head, "Then also take this into consideration, The Aviary as number one, above Ortho Speare."
Jeremy leaned forward, "And what you stand to gain in all this? You still haven't told me what you have against Ortho Speare."
"I answered you truthfully, I have nothing against Ortho Speare as a company, my grudge is more on a personal level," she answered him.
"Personal level?" His eye brows furrowed, "Don't tell me it's with Keith Preston."
She chuckled, "Alright, I won't."
Jeremy let out a breath and fell back against the chair. He kept his eyes on Laura who only smiled back at him sinisterly. He was not sure about accepting her offer but if it would be worth it...
"So Mr. Jeremy Xiu," she said and stretched out her hand again for a handshake, "Do we now have a deal?"
Jeremy hesitated, “If you are coming to me with a proposal as dangerous as this, at least I should be given some time to think about it.”
She smiled and withdrew her hand. “Alright.” she stood and grabbed her purse then made for the door. “You know Mr. Xiu, there is not a lot of time left and so many other companies I could go to but I chose to come here."
"Why?" Came his immediate question.
"Why?" Laura repeated and turned to face him, "Because of all the other companies, yours is the most capable of handling this. It is as I said, we would not want Mr. James Donovan to suffer any loss on account of Ortho Speare's incompetence. I would appreciate if you be quick with a reply. I have left my card on the desk, do reach out to me by tonight.”
"One more question," he said , stopping her at the door.
"Yes, Jeremy?"
Jeremy frowned, he didn't exactly like her calling him by his name. Somehow, she reminded him of Cheryl. It was the first time for them meeting but she was already oozing bad vibes, everything off. He reasoned she was the type that would turn around to bite back in the blink of an eye if things were to go wrong. She would deny her involvement with him in a heartbeat.
"If I am to go through with this, I will need it to be written down in black and white. A contract, if you know what I mean."
She chuckled, "You do not trust me Mr. Xiu, I understand that. I dropped my contact with your secretary, give me a call when you change your mind and I'll have my lawyers draft up a contract."
He breathed out, "Good."
"Any more worries Mr. Xiu?"
He looked at her. Yes he had a lot of worries, but he also knew those could be tackled at another time. But he needed to know one thing before she left, "Are you really an associate of Freddy Cassian?"
She smiled, twisted the door knob and pulled the door open, "Never met the man in my life."
Jeremy nodded, he could have guessed that one. Freddy Cassian was ruthless sometimes and a very very detailed man, but he would not, for the love of it, plan to sabotage another. He was the type to come out front and deal with situations.
He took in a deep breath and let it out with a sigh the second she was out the door. A large part of him wanted to wash his hands off this, but a larger part of him relished the prospect of topping Ortho Speare. He need someone else's opinion on the matter but he also knew this was something he could not tell another.
Except...
Ebeneezer Xiu.
He reasoned to talk to his father about it, even though he could also guess what the old greedy man would say - go for it.
But then, lately a lot of surprising things had been happening, maybe he might be in for another surprise. He would know tonight when he got home.