Chapter 367 Conspiracy (9) The Villain's Triumph
When the results dropped, Rose was totally floored.
She was visibly freaking out.
Logically, the Lockhart Group's bid for this project should've been a slam dunk.
Both the proposal and the pricing were spot on.
If they still bombed, it could only mean something fishy was going on.
Right then, Cecilia got up from her seat and respectfully asked, "You just said the Lockhart Group lost to the Kingsley family by 5 points. I'm curious, where did the Lockhart Group mess up?"
Everyone in the room turned to look at Cecilia.
No one saw that coming from her.
Most folks would be too embarrassed to say anything in such a situation, but Cecilia kept her cool.
Penelope sneered and shot back, "What, you're not buying it?"
"Not really." Cecilia turned to look at Penelope. "I'm cool with losing, just curious to know where The Lockhart Group shines. I'd like to learn from that."
Penelope's smile was dripping with disdain.
She knew Dominic couldn't lose to someone like Cecilia.
This chick would eventually get crushed by the Kingsley family!
"Is that okay?" Cecilia asked the staff.
The staff huddled up for a quick chat.
A person in charge stood up and said, "To be fair, we're willing to spill the specific scores of the project bids. Since the Lockhart Group wants to know where they lost points, I'll lay it out. Actually, we found both the Lockhart Group and the Kingsley family's proposals to be top-notch. Both had unique and similar creative points, making it tough to pick a winner. The reason the Lockhart Group scored 95 points and the Kingsley family scored 100 points ultimately came down to the pricing."
Cecilia knew Dominic had played with the pricing.
"The Lockhart Group's bid was 2 billion dollars, while the Kingsley Group's bid was 1.9 billion dollars. The one hundred million dollar difference resulted in a 5-point deduction," the person in charge explained bluntly.
Cecilia nodded slightly.
At that moment, she couldn't help but look at the Kingsley Group and said to Nathaniel, "When the Lockhart Group made its bid, we had already slashed the profit to the bone, aiming to support public welfare and not intending to make bank from this project. I didn't expect the Kingsley family's bid to be even lower."
"If you have such an idea, why can't the Kingsley family have the same idea?" Nathaniel stood up from his seat. "We also didn't plan to make money from this project, so we offered the lowest cost for construction! As residents of Serenovia City, it's only natural to build our own home." Cecilia smiled, acknowledging Nathaniel's response, and didn't say anything more.
The bidding meeting wrapped up.
Cecilia left with Rose and Andrew.
She could clearly see Andrew's secret delight, but Cecilia pretended not to notice anything.
They walked out of the planning hall.
When they walked out of the planning hall, the Kingsley family was swarmed by reporters at the entrance.
Apparently, the results of the bidding project had already hit the media, and everyone wanted the latest scoop.
As Cecilia passed by, she heard Nathaniel telling the reporters, "The Kingsley family winning the Innovation Arc project is indeed a pleasant surprise for us. We didn't expect to beat the Lockhart Group and win this project. The Lockhart Group is a benchmark in the construction industry, so this success is truly overwhelming."
Nathaniel's words sounded all sincere, but he was totally throwing shade at the Lockhart Group, making it seem like they couldn't even beat a newbie like him and still had the nerve to call themselves top dogs.
"Yeah, it's a surprise, but not really. The Kingsley family has been busting their butts for this project, practically working around the clock. Our team even pulled all-nighters to nail the best design. So, hard work pays off, and we finally got what we wanted!"
He was basically saying the Lockhart Group didn't hustle hard enough, which was why they lost.
"Our bid was super low. The Kingsley Group has always been about public welfare and building our home. We really feel it's our duty..."
Cecilia walked past them, stone-faced.
Even Rose, who usually kept her cool, couldn't hold back after hearing Nathaniel's trash talk.
He was just kicking them while they were down.
But seeing Cecilia's poker face, Rose just followed her and left.
In the car, Rose couldn't hold it in anymore and blurted out, "What's wrong with him?! It's just a bid, what's there to brag about? His comments to the media were just plain arrogant. Even if he won, he shouldn't be stomping on others like that!"
Cecilia stayed silent.
Andrew, sitting next to them, was secretly thrilled.
Everything went smoother than he had hoped.
At first, he was kinda scared of Cecilia, worried that things might blow up.
But now it seemed, Cecilia was just meh.
Rose grumbled a bit more, but seeing Cecilia's lack of response, she eventually went quiet.
She knew Cecilia must be feeling crappy, so she didn't want to pile on.
When they got to the company, Cecilia headed straight to her office.
Andrew also went back to his office.
As soon as he got back, he couldn't contain his excitement and quickly called Dominic, "We did it!"
Dominic had already heard the news and was in a great mood.
"You're the smart one. If it weren't for your idea, Cecilia would've nailed it again! Just thinking about her strutting around makes me mad! Now, let's see how Cecilia explains this to the board. Everyone in the Lockhart Group was sure they'd win this time. Now that they've bombed, just thinking about it makes me so happy!" Andrew couldn't hide his joy.
"Is that all you aim for?" Dominic said with a bit of sarcasm. "This is just a small win. If you keep working with me, I'll hand you the entire Lockhart Group."
"Really!" Andrew was already over the moon.
Dominic showed a hint of disdain.
It was his natural sense of superiority, looking down on everyone.
Lately, with Cecilia's pressure and Alaric's sudden rise, he had lost some confidence. But now, he was back in full swing!
"Of course, it's true," Dominic said calmly. "I have other things to do. Be careful not to show too much excitement and let anyone catch on."
"Got it."
Dominic hung up the phone.
His face was full of undisguised pride.
Just thinking about Cecilia's defeat today made him super happy.
He thought for a moment and then called Cecilia.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
