CEO's Contract Obsession-Chapter 290: I Reject

The day for the meeting had arrived and Amy was nervous, she kept pacing back and forth in the boardroom as they wait for Ash and his team to arrive. Together with her is Mitch her bodyguard and secretary, to take notes of the minutes of the meeting. In the room are also Henry and Anton together with their respective secretaries.

"Amy, will you please calm down and sit? I am getting dizzy watching you walk back and forth," Henry said.

"Then don’t watch me. Look somewhere else," Amy said as she continue to pace around the room making Anton laugh.

"What are you so worried about Amy? I remember back then when you were convincing the judges to invest in your company, you slayed everybody’s presentation with yours. So calm down, you’ll be fine later," Anton reassured her.

"No, Anton you don’t understand. Ash is a good businessman and he is cunning, so one mistake from me then he will definitely find a loophole," Amy explained.

"Should I be jealous? Are you saying that Ash is better than me then?" Henry interjected as he raise one of his brows.

Amy finally stopped pacing after hearing her husband’s comment. He is right, she is forgetting that she is married to the number one investor in the country and of course, he will not let her lose this deal and will definitely help her if she needs to.

Amy sat beside Henry and said, "Sorry, I forgot that you are the best because I am too nervous. Perhaps not because of the proposal itself but because this will be the first time that I will be speaking with Ash again."

"I understand, love. But please try to calm down, it will not help you think clearly, alright?" Henry said and Amy nodded with a faint smile.

After a while, Ash arrived together with his secretary and lawyer. They did not waste any time in getting to work. Both parties presented their terms and conditions including their daring and audacious demands from each other.

"I am proposing a business deal between your oil refinery and my wellsite, would you be able to give us a contract for that?" Amy started off.

"I believe you are aware that we are in an exclusive contract with the San Francisco Petroleum Corp right? So I would like to counter your proposal by introducing you to Mr. Turner so you can sell your products to him," Ash said, testing the water.

He already knows that Amy would not agree to it based on what Ava said but he still wanted to know the reaction of Amy if he says that.

"I reject, that will never happen. I would rather find someone else not as popular as your company than sell to that company," Amy strongly affirmed.

At first, it was her idea as well to work with Dimitri Turner but after showing the proposal to Henry and Anton, they advised her to sell it directly to Brighton Industries’ clients for it will make them earn more, rather than selling it to a reseller. More work will be needed but nothing that they can’t manage.

"If I terminate the exclusive contract of Mr. Turner and get you on board, I would be demanding an exclusive contract from you not only for your crude oil but for your natural gas and coal as well," Ash stated making Amy drop her jaw while Henry and Anton’s expressions remained neutral, they are already used to such kind of stipulation.

"That is too much, Ash! That’s three of our resources and you know for a fact that while your company is the leading oil refinery in the country you are not the best choice for the other two. So forgive me if I find your demand absurd," Amy commented boldly.

Ash smirked at Amy, making her raise her eyebrow at him before he said, "Of course, I know that, so I plan to take over our company and be the best in the industry. For me to do that, I will be needing your resources for a start."

Amy was thunderstruck at how daring Ash is right now, but she will not allow him to undermine her so she stated, "I will agree if you can also make us your exclusive supplier. Kick out San Francisco Petroleum Corporation completely, give us all your clients and I will agree to sign that exclusive contract of yours as long as we are your sole supplier for the three resources."

"Amy, you know that erasing that company from our supplier list will cost me big time but I will agree to your demand if you will sell me a thirty-percent share and join the board of directors. It will be my assurance that you will not leave us if ever you just desired to do so. I want participation in the decision-making to make sure that the contract will not end prematurely," Ash demanded.

Amy doesn’t know what to say, thirty percent is huge and she has no plan to let anyone in the company. What she wanted was to solely manage it and not let other people in. Amy fired Henry a knowing look and to her delight, he butted in to rescue her from the situation.

"Mr. Brighton, would it be ok with you if I discuss this first with my wife? Even though the company is under her name, Welsh Holdings invested in it so we still have a say on things like this," Henry said calmly.

"Of course, take your time I will also speak with my lawyer for the meantime," Ash replied.

Amy, Henry, Anton, and their secretaries went out of the boardroom to calibrate first on what will be their decision on the matter.

Amy walked fast and lead the way to Henry’s office with heavy and angry steps.

"Grrr!" Amy roared as she let herself collapse on the sofa, "Thirty percent? Is he fucking kidding me? I don’t even have plans in establishing a board of directors since I don’t want to let other people in! That arsehole! Damnit!" Amy angrily exclaimed while Henry and Anton watched her voice out her frustrations.

"If you don’t want other people to get in your company then how about offering something else?" Anton suggested.

"Like what? I can’t think of what else to offer, I am so angry right now at Ash to be able to think," Amy said with an obviously annoyed voice.

"Ash said he wanted the thirty percent because he wanted to make sure that your company will not suddenly end the contract, just like what you are demanding him to do with the San Francisco Corp. Assurance is what he wants so that’s what you can give," Anton explained.

But Amy just frowned, she did not understand a thing Anton was saying, so Henry decided to feed her more ideas.

"Love, if you are sure that you don’t want to ever leave them in the future, what you can do is increase the fine for terminating the contract just like what others do. An amount that will make them content and assured that you have no plans of suddenly leaving them. But when you do, the will not be left with nothing," Henry said.

Amy bit her lips and stayed silent for a moment thinking about her next actions carefully before going back to the boardroom. It was not an easy decision for her but one thing is for sure, she doesn’t want other people to have power over the wellsite for she plans to just keep it within the family just like what her father wants.

After a few moments, Amy stood up and said, "Let’s go, I have an offer to make. Let’s do this."

When everyone got settled in the boardroom once again, Amy did not wait for Ash to ask questions for she proactively made a counteroffer, "Instead of getting a thirty-percent share, how about if I increase the fine to fifty percent of the company’s value at the time of the early contract termination?"

This time it was Henry and Anton’s turn to get shocked as their jaws dropped. They cannot believe that Amy offered that. They both regretted not asking her counteroffer first before returning to the boardroom.

It was surely a huge amount and can make any company go bankrupt in case it happens. And as expected, Ash immediately agreed which concluded their meeting.

"Ash, you know that this talk is useless unless you remove San Francisco Corp from the picture right?" Amy reminded Ash as they were about to walk out of the boardroom.

"I know Amy, and I will not disappoint you. Next time we meet again, I’ll make sure to bring some good news," Ash replied.

Amy then watched Ash and his staff walk out of the room full of hope. She can feel that what Ash said was genuine and that he can definitely make their plans happen. She is finally starting to trust him again, at least business-wise.

"You never fail to surprise me, love. One of these days, I’m gonna have a heart attack. Next time, please don’t surprise me like that," Henry said softly to her.

"Sorry, I am not sorry, my love. If I have told you beforehand you will definitely not agree but please trust me on this one," Amy pleaded.

"I do trust you. And if ever you fail, I will still be here beside you," Henry said before wrapping her in his warm embrace.