"What?" Theo thought he must have misheard.


    Glenn repeated himself. "Making technology essible to everyone-isn''t that the whole point of our research?"


    "Well, yes, but..." Theo struggled to find the right words. "Glenn, you know how important first impressions are. Once UME bes known as a low-end brand, that stigma will be almost impossible to shake."


    He borated, "When people think of Fawkes Enterprises, they think of luxury, exclusivity. If we cater to the low-end market, when people think of UME, they''ll think cheap. They''ll subconsciously see us as inferior." Seeing Glenn''s impassive expression, Theo pressed on. "It''s like an actor''s brand. If you be famous for ying the cool, aloof hero, that''s what directors will always see you as. But if you get famous ying the clown, no matter how many awards you winter, people will always associate you with thatbel. That''s the difference between Fawkes and us right now."


    "But reputations can be changed," Evangeline countered. "They can be rebuilt."


    "The difficulty is immense, though," Theo sighed. "Once that impression is set, it''s incredibly hard to reverse."


    "Butpared to an uncertain future, I think we need to focus on surviving the present," Evangeline reminded him gently. "If we don''t have a future, we won''t have a reputation to worry about."


    "Couldn''t we try something else?" Theo suggested, grasping at straws. "We could form alliances with other families in Serenity City. Isn''t one of our investors from the Lockridge family?"


    Evangeline shook her head. "It''s useless. Until we have a strong corepetency, no other family will take us seriously. And even if they did, there would be strings attached."


    "What about the Carlisles?" Theo asked, looking at Glenn. After all, Glenn was a Carlisle. If anyone could get help from them, it was him.


    Before he could even voice the question, Glenn spoke. "Evangeline is right. UME can''t constantly rely on outside help. Otherwise, we''ll always be at the mercy of others, just like what happened when we returned to the country."


    Glenn''s words brought back the memory of their difficult return. Their foreign investors had tried everything to stop them, ultimately forcing Glenn to sign a high-stakes performance agreement. And even then, they had been deliberately cutting their funding. Over a month had already passed. They had six months to outperform their overseas revenue, or Glenn would be forced to step down as CEO.