Chapter 18

Chapter 18 End Of Negotiations Amanda was rendered speechless, and her expression turned cold as ice.

Corynn chuckled softly under her breath. “You keep demanding that I leave when you yourself refuse to do the same thing. You do realize how unreasonable you’re being, Miss Willis?”

“Corynn,” Daniela interjected. “We’re all smart people here, so let’s cut to the chase, shall we? Name your terms. We will meet them as long as you agree to leave for good.”

Amanda nodded. “My thoughts exactly.”

Corynn pushed the check back toward them. “Sorry, but I’m not leaving. How about you name your terms so that I can convince you to leave.”

Daniela frowned at that, but she persisted. “Miss Harper, you must understand that you are not in a position to go against us. Do you even realize that we can make you and your family disappear from Orelens?” 1 “You wouldn’t want to drag your entire family down just to prove a point, right?” Amanda chimed in. “Just think about the number of people who would lose their livelihood once your company goes bankrupt. Do you really want that on your conscience?”

Corynn let out a humorless laugh. She had to admit that it was quite amusing to see these two try their hand at the game of good cop, bad cop. “Of course, I don’t want that to happen. But the fault will all be yours, won’t it? You’re the one doing this. If Harper Group goes bankrupt, I will just be among your many victims.”

Amanda’s single–minded bullying had awakened Corynn’s rebellious streak. The more Amanda tried to oppress her, the more inclined she was to resist.

Corynn was no saint, of course, but she wasn’t a pushover, either.

Amanda narrowed her eyes.

“Does that mean that you’re declaring war against us?” Daniela asked. “I feel the need to reiterate this–do you understand the consequences of crossing the Willis family? A single word from Amanda can send Harper Group crumbling to the ground. If you keep this up, it might lead to even worse outcomes.”

Corynn ignored her questions and stood up. “It looks like we have nothing more to discuss.”

As she turned to leave, Amanda gave her one last taunt. “Don’t expect Elliot to help you, Corynn. He didn’t help you three years ago, he certainly wouldn’t do so now.”

Corynn looked back and gave her a serene smile. “I keep telling you, you don’t have to worry about me ever seeking him out.

That was never part of my plan.”

With that, their supposed negotiation ended in discord.

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16:39 Daniela watched Corynn’s retreating figure with obvious annoyance. “She’s dismissing your position, Amanda! You shouldn’t have been polite with her, she doesn’t deserve it! Just wait until her family goes down; she will definitely regret everything!”

Amanda stood up and began walking away. “Come on.”

“Wait!” Daniela rushed to catch up to her. “You’re not going to let her off just like that, are you?”

“The hell I am!”

Corynn was greeted by her father upon her return to the company. He had a hopeful look on his face, which made her feel a pang of guilt.

“How did it go?” Erick asked.

Corynn shook her head.

Erick sighed. It was regrettable, but he couldn’t really say he wasn’t expecting it.

He took Corynn’s hand, his brows furrowed in concern. “Did she give you a hard time? Did she ask you to do something in return for restoring the supply chain?”

“Don’t worry about it, Dad. She didn’t do anything. She just offered me five million in exchange for leaving Orelens. I refused and left.”

Erick was outraged. “You did the right thing! Our family doesn’t need her money, anyway! No matter how powerful her family is, they can’t just force us out of the city as they like!”

Corynn mustered a smile. She knew very well that Amanda would target her and her family, and she had more than enough power to drive them out of anywhere she liked.

Not that Corynn would ever admit that out loud.

Her parents failed to grasp the reach that the Willis family had, but she did.

“Dad, have we contacted all the suppliers in Orelens?”

Erick huffed in frustration. His so–called business partners were all unreliable. They avoided him like the plague, and would hang up as soon as he brought up his reason for calling. Some of them wouldn’t even pick up his calls now!

They hadn’t terminated their contracts outright, but they were stalling, and it would have just as negative an effect to the Harper Group.

Although furious, Eric also understood their position. It wasn’t worth it offending one of the most prominent families in the city for the sake of a small business, especially when the Willis family was openly issuing warnings and threats.

“Forget those bastards,” Erick said through gritted teeth. “The Willis family is intent on backing us into a corner!”

Corynn fell silent and pondered their options. Then an idea came to her.

If the suppliers in Orelens were unreliable, they could just look for alternatives in other cities. After all, the raw materials in question weren’t exclusive to Orelens.

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OO O 16:39 O [11 Chapter 18 End Of Negotiations If domestic resources failed them, they would just have to seek alternatives abroad.

Corynn shared her thoughts with her father. He had, in fact, already considered this route, but he was worried that the Willis family would again interfere with the logistics. The soonest a delivery was due was in the middle of June, living them very little room in case things went awry again.

Silence reigned once more as they racked their brains for other solutions.

“Corynn,” Erick said after a while. “There might be another way.”

“What is it?”

“We can ask Jason for help.”