Chapter 387 Cecilia Pressured Dominic
Dominic eyed Cecilia like a hawk.
He got a tip-off from his inside guy in the planning department, saying Cecilia had shown up. Without missing a beat, he figured she was up to something and bolted straight there.
Barely five minutes after he sat down, in walked Cecilia.
He thought his timing was spot on, but now, thanks to Cecilia's chatter, Dominic was second-guessing himself.
Every little thing she did had him on edge like she might take him out any second!
Dominic clenched his fists under the table.
One day, when Cecilia was in his grasp, he'd make sure she paid big time!
Kai got up from his chair. "Alright, let's hash this out in the conference room. And get us some tea."
"Yes, sir," Kai's secretary said, all respectful.
They headed over to the planning department's conference room.
After some blah-blah opening remarks, Kai cut to the chase. "About the Innovation Arc project, I'll be blunt. This is my baby since I got to Serenovia City, and I can't let it tank. If it does, I'm toast. But now I hear the Lockhart Group's bid got swiped by the Kingsley Group, and they're using it for the Innovation Arc. That's a raw deal for the Lockhart Group."
Cecilia and Dominic kept quiet, just listening.
"If you hadn't come to me today, I would've come to you. I need to know how you plan to fix this," Kai said, dead serious. "Ms. Lockhart, since you're the one getting screwed over, why don't you start?"
Cecilia looked at Kai and could tell he was leaning towards sweeping this under the rug, like if the Lockhart Group had to suck it up, so be it.
She said, "I came to see Mr. Ward today because of the Innovation Arc project. The Lockhart Group's proposal got jacked by the Kingsley Group, which is a huge hit for us. Now that the Kingsley Group is running with our proposal, it's like all our hard work just got handed over to them for free. I get that Mr. Ward has his own issues, but as a business, we can't just roll over. I believe Mr. Ward wouldn't want the Lockhart Group to get screwed over like this."
Cecilia's message was crystal clear.
The Lockhart Group got shafted big time. As the head of the planning department, Kai couldn't just ignore it to save his own skin.
Kai got it too.
Right now, he had nothing to say back.
The Lockhart Group took a big hit, and he couldn't just let it slide.
The room got a bit tense.
Dominic jumped in, "About the Kingsley Group using the Lockhart Group's proposal, I'm sorry."
Cecilia shot a look at Dominic.
"Using" was a slick way to put it.
"But let me tell you, the Kingsley Group's got its own problems too. Sure, our staff messed up, and that's on us. But because of this, we're getting dragged through the mud. We never wanted this mess," Dominic said, trying to spin the story.
He stole her work and now he's playing the victim?
"We jumped into action right away, trying to fix this," Dominic added.
"Got a solution yet?" Cecilia asked.
Dominic squirmed a bit. "We're still working on it."
"The fix is simple," Cecilia said, staring him down. "You guys back out of the Innovation Arc project and end the contract with the planning department. The Lockhart Group should take over since it's our proposal and we can do it right. This way, the project goes smoothly, and Mr. Ward's worries are gone."
Dominic's face darkened.
He couldn't keep his cool. "Why can't the Lockhart Group just let it go? We're already rolling with the project, and keeping it that way is the real solution to Mr. Ward's concerns."
"Dominic, you think we should just eat this loss?" Cecilia's eyes narrowed. "No matter what you say, the Kingsley Group swiped our proposal. You were in the wrong first. How can you be so shameless to ask us to hand it over?"
Cecilia's words had a sharp edge, aimed not just at Dominic but at Kai too.
She wanted Kai to see that the Lockhart Group was in the right. If he kept backing the Kingsley Group, it would be unfair.
Kai's face showed he was feeling the heat.
He was stuck, torn between both companies, with neither willing to budge.
Backing down would mean a big loss.
The room got tense again.
Cecilia looked from Kai to Dominic.
Dominic felt her stare and met her eyes.
His face was tight with anger.
Cecilia said, "Is the Kingsley Group really not gonna back down? If this drags on, it'll mess up the Innovation Arc project, and Mr. Ward will have a tough time explaining it."
Dominic glared at Cecilia.
She was putting all the pressure on him.
From a fair standpoint, to keep the project on track, the Kingsley Group should step aside.
Dominic gritted his teeth. "Mr. Ward, the Kingsley Group has thought about stepping back and letting the Lockhart Group take over, but we've already sunk a lot of money into this. If we pull out, we're gonna take a huge hit. We have no choice but to keep going. We're working on a new plan, but it'll take time. We hope you understand."
Cecilia pushed, "The Lockhart Group can cover your investments. How about we pay you market value?"
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
