The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1342 No Compromise

The project manager of Tarsan Corporation was not one of the saints who viewed people only by their good virtues. The intention behind Shinning Company to come up with Plan A was obvious, but it brought no benefit to Tarsan Corporation. Even if the plan was agreed upon, the deal would be of little value or interest to Tarsan Corporation.

"I disagree with Plan A. Now that we've mutually decided to cooperate with each other, we should take both of our mutual interests into account. Plan A will take too much time and cost too much resources; it is far from being feasible for Tarsan Corporation. I suggest we move with Plan B, because it will do good not only to both of our companies, but also to our entrusting company."

Once the representatives from Shining Company heard those words, they rolled their eyes at once, indicating strong opposition. Shining Company would obtain nothing if they were to follow Plan B. On the surface, it looked as though Plan B aimed to profit both sides, but that was simply not true.

As a result, the meeting seemed to have run into a dead-end in the middle of the negotiation process. Without showing any intention of compromising, the project manager from both sides argued sharply against each other.

"Everybody please calm down! If we wish to come to an agreement, we must remain calm. Now, why don't we all take a break?" Holley decided to cut in and get involved. When she realized that the situation was about to get out of hand, she stood up and acted as an intermediary to settle everyone down. She declared a time-out, before the argument worsened. However, sitting still in his chair, composed, Charles seemed to have a card up his sleeve.

Soon, peaceful silence permeated the meeting room, as most of people walked out one by one leaving behind a few people still sitting in their chairs.

Holley went out to call her secretary in, and reminded her secretary to tell the project manager to prepare a PPT before the second-half meeting began.

Holley wanted to regulate every member from her company, in preparation of the battle during the next half of the meeting. After explaining the assignment to her secretary, she began to think of anything else that might help. As she kept thinking, she looked around the room; at last, her eyes stopped on Charles.

She walked over to him and said, almost in an imploring tone, "Mr. Lu, may I have a word with you in private about the joint project?"

She couldn't afford to make any mistakes. The project meant too much to her company. If today's meeting failed to come up with a unified goal, the project would have to be delayed. And that would be financially disastrous for Tarsan Corporation.

On behalf of Tarsan Corporation, this time Holley was picked to be the decision maker on the joint project. To earn the opportunity, she had made a play for this significant task. Although she was doubted by most of shareholders during the board meeting, she survived against the other candidates in the end.

It didn't take Charles too long to figure out what exactly Holley was going to discuss with him. Nonetheless, he was ready to disagree with any of her suggestions. But since he didn't want to be blatantly rude to her, he looked at her and nodded his head slightly.

"Of course," Charles replied. He gestured for her to lead the way and followed her out of the room. He walked casually, allowing nothing but a profound look on his face.

In truth, Charles was supposed to be just as worried and careful as Holley. After all, he knew for a fact that if the joint project was delayed even by one more day, it would add a little more damage to Shining Company. In spite of that, Charles also knew, that business was no different from gambling. Whoever could stay calm and composed in the face of trouble, would be the winner! He learnt such a principle by heart and always remained sober while dealing with business. In his view, no matter how big of a risk he was going to take, he had to be willing to stick to his decisions; even he would, on this occasion, pay the price for delaying the project for a very long time.

"Mr. Lu, as you can see from the elaborate discussions in the first-half of the meeting, both sides have failed to reach an agreement, divided by a difference in opinion. My hope is that we both can take a step back on the issue, and then perhaps we can replace a middle ground. Don't you agree?" Holley turned and asked, once they got outside.

Charles didn't respond at once. He stayed silent and observed her. From her expression, he caught her anxiousness to solve the problem. Her discomposure was exactly what he was looking for. To Charles, the business field was no different from a duel. Failing to hide one's weakness was an unforgivable mistake. If he wanted a victory, he just needed to be patient and sense his competitor's weakness before striking with his sword. Holley was on her way to expose her weak point.

"Mr. Lu, if we can't reach an agreement on this project today, it would be bad for both companies. Moreover, if the entrusting party can no longer put up with the delays for too long, both of our companies' reputations will be ruined!"

Holley didn't give up trying to persuade him, despite Charles' unwavering composure. In hopes of convincing him to see it her way, she laid down all her cards on the table.

Although Holley used a bad analogy, by informing him that both of their interests would be impacted, to intimidate him, Charles didn't even raise his eyebrows to exude a trace of concern. Finally, in a cold voice, he said, "Miss Ye, on account of this issue, I don't think we need to have any further discussions. I have made myself very clear. I intend to stick to the standpoint of my company. I will only adopt Plan A, regardless of what you say."

Charles' staunch response took her by surprise. In an instant, Holley felt at loss for words. Her mind stopped processing thoughts, like a tape player jammed all of a sudden. Her face darkened with disappointment and she lowered her head.

Out of sheer desperation, Holley urged again, "Mr. Lu, why don't we both make a compromise, and take a step back, so this project could be carried out smoothly? Wouldn't that be more beneficial to both of our companies? Would you please take my words into further consideration? I am really looking out for both of us!"

This time, she put herself in the lowest position and displayed a humble image in front of Charles, in hopes of softening his heart.

Unfortunately, her soft tactics made no difference to Charles. Instead, he detected her diminishing morale and regarded it as a sign of defeat. He could not become more stubborn and firm. "There really is no need to reconsider, just as I have told you, Shining Company and I won't make any compromises in any form! My group only will take Plan A as the final solution. There will be no other alternatives," Charles said bluntly. The timbre of his voice sounded even colder than before. Having run out of patience, just as he finished talking, he turned and was ready to walk away.

'This joint project is already half-done. This is such a critical point in the negotiation stages that I can't allow any kind of problems to come my way. Otherwise, I will lose my grip on my position again!' Holley couldn't stop thinking to herself. Panic and desperation took over her as she watched Charles walk away.

At once, she shook her head to dismiss all thoughts and rushed to stop Charles. She reached out with both of her hands and grabbed his sleeve, begging, in a rueful voice, "Charles, please give me a break! Don't you care about me anymore? I have no other way this time; you have to help me!" Her eyes were filled with tears and seemed to bore into Charles.

As Charles turned around to face her, her tear-soaked eyes began to swell and turn red. To arouse his sense of sympathy, she forced her eyes to water, feigning helplessness. With trembling lips and eyes glistening with crocodile tears, she locked him in a gaze.

However, without any hesitation, Charles responded to her pleas with a frown and shook his hand, trying to get her hands off of his sleeves.

Even in the face of Charles' ruthless rejection, Holley did not give up. At the moment, she had no choice but to depend on Charles. This was an act of desperation, made by a woman clutching at straws to retain her career, since he was the only one she could turn to for help. The harder Charles pulled back, the greater efforts she made to tug at his sleeve. As they kept tugging with each other, their bodies got closer and closer. At first glance, if passers-by didn't observe closely, they would only assume that Charles and Holley were a couple engaged in intimacy in public.

Suddenly, a shrill sound of thud rang out, alerting Holley as she loosened her grip without a conscious thought. Judging from the sound, she assumed it was created by a man who threw a hard punch to the wall. 'Who is punching at the wall, with so much force?' she wondered. Without rhyme or reason, she had no idea why she felt cautious. Before she made her decision to replace the source of the sound, she even thought of escaping from the scene as soon as possible. Nervously, she tilted her head and looked towards the direction where the sound came from.

Meanwhile, Charles couldn't be more tired of Holley's persistent tangle. He had run out of patience with her and her impetuous behavior didn't help him to feel any better to give a thought about compromising. On the contrary, he felt disgusted as he started to consider whether he should even cooperate with a company in which Holley was a part of. When he noticed her distracted state, he forcefully shook her hands away and quickly walked back into the meeting room.

It was Black who had thrown the punch causing the disruptive noise. Before he spotted what Charles and Holley were doing outside, he was hoping to ask Holley out to lunch. But now, he was completely infuriated. He couldn't bear the thought of seeing the woman he loved the most having intimate interactions with another man, especially in public!

As Black recalled what Holley had told him about her relationship with Charles, Black couldn't help shaking his head in disappointment. He felt utterly stupid for believing everything she had said. 'I thought you said you and Charles were just normal partners!' he thought to himself.

Livid and broken-hearted, Black felt like a man both cheated and betrayed by his own stupidity. His face darkened with a mirthless glare, like the sky riddled with dark clouds. The fire in his eyes indicated the torrents of rage and wrath that were about to unfold.