Meeting

The day of the contract signing had arrived, and Charlotte prepared herself, determined to maintain professionalism. She waited in the meeting room with her assistant, Mr. Greg, as they went over the final details before Olivia and her team entered.

"Good morning, everyone," Greg greeted with a warm smile, shaking hands with the visitors. Charlotte stood up, extending her hand to welcome them as well. However, as Olivia's eyes fell on Charlotte, her movements became rigid, and a forced smile appeared on her face.

"I didn't know you were back," Olivia said, her tone laced with thinly veiled hostility.

"Yes, I just recently returned and will be taking over the new research project," Charlotte replied calmly, not allowing Olivia's cold demeanor to affect her.

An awkward silence filled the room, but Greg swiftly interjected to break it. "Shall we get the contract signed then?"

"Of course..." one of Olivia's teammates began, but Olivia interrupted, "I think we'll be asking for a higher price for the proposal. Recently, there has been an influx of demand, and suppliers have increased their prices."

Charlotte felt a surge of frustration at Olivia's attempt to complicate matters. "What will the price change be?" she inquired, trying to maintain her professional composure.

"10% higher," Olivia stated, her tone carrying a taunting undertone.

Charlotte took a deep breath, trying to keep the situation under control. "I think making such a high change is very unreasonable, Ms. Olivia. We can still negotiate it to at least 2%," she proposed, trying to find common ground.

"I assure you that we are the only company willing to sell the medical supplies at such a price," Olivia mocked, obviously not wanting any business to be done.

"I don't think we will be working with you, Ms. Evans." After a short back and forth, Olivia stated knowingly that she was just wasting Charlotte's time with worthless negotiations, leaving Charlotte disappointed by the outcome. She knew that Olivia's personal vendetta had influenced her business decisions, and it saddened her to see that the project was being affected because of her personal matters.

Greg attempted to mediate, but Charlotte stopped him. "It's alright, Greg. I did not think you would stoop so low as to do this, Olivia," Charlotte said, her voice firm as she looked directly at Olivia.

"I swear that no one in X City will ever work with your company!" Olivia spat venomously before storming out of the room, followed by her team.

The tension in the air dissipated, leaving Charlotte feeling disappointed by the outcome of the meeting.

As she reflected on the encounter, Charlotte knew they would need to look for a new supplier. Her main concern now was that Olivia was very influential in X City, and finding another supplier within the city would be challenging. While they could consider suppliers outside the city, it might add additional costs and logistics complexities to the project.

"Greg, can you compile a list of other suppliers within the city? We will look for another suitable partner," Charlotte instructed her assistant.

"Of course, Ms. Evans. I'll start working on it right away," Greg replied.

Despite the setback, Charlotte remained resolute in her determination to push the project forward.