When Amy heard her speak, her face darkened further. "Vice President, I don''t understand what you mean."
"Amy, why bother pretending in front of me? Thepany has been buzzing with rumorstely. Do you really think I know nothing? Just now, I spoke to those people in the restroom, and the moment I returned to my office, you showed up. iming to deliver a project proposal is just an excuse. You''re really here because you''re afraid I''ll say something to Orion."
Amy''s expression stiffened, but before she could respond, the Vice President
continued, her tone sharp. "I do appreciate the help you''ve given Orion, but perhaps I forgot to remind you of one thing."
"And what''s that?" Amy''s voice was now cold and distant, a far cry from the persona she presented when Orion was around.
"I''ve already decided to marry Orion. No one will tear us apart-not even you. Don''t think I''m blind to your intentions. If I wanted to, I could have you removed from thispany with just a single word. But I don''t stoop to such petty tricks. Instead, I''ll make sure you leave on your own-and willingly."
"Vice President, don''t overestimate yourself," Amy retorted sharply. "You may be clever enough to climb the ranks quickly, but business is not something you learn from books. It requires experience. No matter how gifted you think you are, you won''t seed with something asrge as a multi-million-dor project. Thepany''s projects aren''t toys for you to gamble with."
In Amy''s mind, this was just a tantrum. She believed the rumors had gotten to Aveline, pushing her to prove herself recklessly. As a former academic star herself, Amy knew that textbook knowledge was lifeless and useless in the real world. This gamble? It was hers to win.
"You''ll see soon enough whether or not I''m gambling," Aveline said, turning on her heel and walking away with a confident stride. She wouldn''t lose.
With the project files in hand, Aveline scrutinized the details. The project was a government-funded low-ie housing development, a modest endeavor with limited profit margins due to the lower-grade materials involved. Majorpanies weren''t interested-it simply wasn''t lucrative enough. Orion, however, saw the value in strengthening ties with the government, paving the way forrger opportunities in the future.
For Orion''s mid-sizedpany, a project worth several million dors was nothing to scoff at. The entirepany had its eyes on this bid. Thepetition was limited to a few smallerpanies, and the original n had been to acquire them, securing an easy win. But now, the responsibility fell to Aveline-a 16-year-old student. Did she even understand what this entailed?
Amy certainly didn''t think so. She was confident Aveline would fail. After all, this was now a direct bet between the two of them, and Orion couldn''t intervene without breaking the rules. Amy had close ties to the heads of these smallerpanies. Negotiating their acquisitions had been a simple task-but now, with Aveline in charge, Amy was sure the girl wouldn''t even know where to start.
Returning to her office, Amy wasted no time. She called the heads of the smallpanies, instructing them not to ept any offers from anyone else.
Meanwhile, Aveline reviewed all the project details. Thepany''s current odds of winning were fifty percent. To secure the bid, the safest approach was to acquire the qualifications of those smallerpanies, ensuring her dominance. This was something Julian had taught her: to leave no room for error. In construction, this was amon tactic.
Wasting no time, Aveline began contacting the heads of thepetingpanies. But to her surprise, the first negotiations failed, as did the second. By the third attempt, she realized this wasn''t a coincidence-it was sabotage.
Thesepanies had little incentive to hold onto their qualifications. Without a strong chance of winning, keeping them would only result in losses. Yet every conversation ended in rejection. Suspicion shed in Aveline''s eyes. Could Amy have preemptively warned them?
If Amy was ying dirty, then the only path forward would be for onepany to acquire the others. Even then, the end result would only level the ying field, giving both sides a fifty-percent chance of sess.
For the sake of winning this bet, Amy had gone so far as to jeopardize thepany''s interests. Aveline''s gaze turned icy. Getting rid of Amy was clearly the right decision.
At that moment, Amy was in her office, making her final call. "Brett, the otherpanies are all in agreement. As long as you give the go-ahead, you''ll control the qualifications of fivepanies."
"Amy, what brought this on? Last time wepeted for a project, you nearly went to war with me. This doesn''t seem like your usual style," Brett chuckled on the other end of the line.
Brett had been Orion''s biggestpetitor, and Amy had pulled out all the stops to help Orion win. Her loyalty to Orion had seemed unshakable. It was hard to believe she would now betray him for her own gain.
"Times change," Amy replied smoothly. "Consider this my way of making amends. There''s no downside for you, is there?"
"There''s no downside, sure. But not much upside, either. Even with fourpanies backing me, Posit Properties still has a fifty-percent chance of winning. If I lose, just acquiring those qualifications would cost a fortune," Brett calcted aloud.
"What if I told you I could secure one more deal?" Amy pressed. "Oh?" Brett''s interest was piqued.
"I''ve already acquired fourpanies. Adding our own, that makes five. But one of the owners only gave a verbal agreement due to personal issues. If I can secure his contract, your odds will rise to sixty percent."
Amy was leaving nothing to chance. She was determined to win this bet, no matter the
cost.
"Well, well," Brett said with augh. "I never thought I''d see the day you''d betray Orion.
I thought you werepletely under his spell."
Brett''sughter echoed through the phone. He knew Amy too well. She was the kind of woman who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals.