Chapter 296 Taking Care of This First
Immediately, Courtney furrowed her brows and she didn’t even bother to turn her head around.
It isn’t difficult to guess why James is here.
Behind her, James’ voice could be heard. “Since I’m going to talk about the same thing as President Hunter, there is nothing wrong with us discussing it together so as to not waste Mr. Vinsmoke’s time. Am I right, Mr. Vinsmoke?”
Sitting opposite Courtney, Mr. Vinsmoke frowned his brows slightly as he revealed an intriguing expression.
Logically, there isn’t a business relationship between the Sakura Group and Sunhill Enterprise. Even if Mr. Vinsmoke and James are friends with similar interests, Mr. Vinsmoke is still his senior so James should show more respect toward him. However, listening to James’ tone, he seems to be a level higher than Mr. Vinsmoke.
Courtney was confused deep down but she didn’t have the time to ponder about it.
Behind her, James’ voice came again. “If my guess is correct, President Hunter is here to talk about the order that the Sakura Group gave the Hunter Group previously, right?”
“President Duncan, did you come here because of this?” Courtney turned around and glanced at him casually. “On a smaller scale, this is between Mr. Vinsmoke and me and on a larger scale, this is between Citron and the Sakura Group. President Duncan, I don’t seem to recall that it has anything to do with you, am I right?”
James walked right up to them and stood half a meter away from her as he looked at Mr. Vinsmoke. “Seeing how desperate President Hunter wants me to leave, I guess she hasn’t gotten around to telling her main point, Mr. Vinsmoke.”
Hearing that, Mr. Vinsmoke was startled for a moment. “What do you mean, President Duncan?”
“She really hasn’t mentioned it?” James pretended to be surprised as he looked at Courtney with his eyes full of mockery. “President Hunter, are you too embarrassed to say it? I happen have a good relationship with Mr. Vinsmoke, so he will make an exception to you for my sake.”
However, Courtney remained silent while she frowned.
“Mr. Vinsmoke, don’t you know? A week ago, a fire took place in a warehouse on the outskirts of the city. It was all over the news.”
“I’ve heard about that.” Mr. Vinsmoke nodded but he was still confused. “But what does this have to do with what you’re going to tell me?”
“It has everything to do with that.” James then glanced at Courtney profoundly. “President Hunter, do you want me to explain the situation to him or will you do it?”
With cold eyes, Courtney clenched her fists. “President Duncan, if you have something to say, just say it. How do I know what you are going to say?”
James chuckled. “President Hunter, are you still trying to be stubborn at this point?”
Meanwhile, Mr. Vinsmoke was confused and he was dissatisfied with James’ attitude, but he had to suppress his temper as he asked, “What happened?”
James looked at him and explained, “The warehouse that was burned down a week ago contained your shipment. If my sources are correct, more than half of Sakura Group’s staff uniforms were destroyed by the fire. I’m afraid that President Hunter came to see you today because she wants to discuss the delay of the shipment.”
Listening to him, Mr. Vinsmoke was startled as he turned to Courtney. “Is he telling the truth?”
At the moment, Courtney remained silent while clenching her fists but when he heard Mr. Vinsmoke, she glanced at him and nodded. “President Duncan is right. The fire a week ago burned down the warehouse containing your shipment and it’s true that half of the shipment was destroyed. It is a huge loss. President Duncan, your sources are quite accurate.”
Mr Vinsmoke’s expression changed as James looked at her with contempt. “I heard that you’ve asked your staff to find all the factories in Melrose City so that they can finish the order for you with a high price. I wonder how that is coming along?”
“President Duncan, how can you not know about that since you are so well-informed?” Courtney glanced at him. “All of the factories in Melrose City that are capable of accepting huge orders are now occupied by someone. Therefore, they can’t accept any other offers for the next two months. At first, I wondered which fashion company would make so many orders and I was surprised to find out that it was your Sunhill Enterprise. What’s going on? Are you now planning to give up your hotels and take over the fashion industry?”
“I have my own plans and I think you should worry about yourself for the moment.” Then, James pulled the conversation back on track by asking, “Mr. Vinsmoke, what do you think about the delay?”
Looking at the two of them arguing for a while, Mr. Vinsmoke connected the situation to the rumors he heard in his social circle recently.
It’s not hard to guess that James is doing all he can to bring down the Hunter Group from the inside. It’s inhumane for me to help him at this moment but if I choose to help Courtney, it will put me in trouble. Right now, the best way is to protect myself and do what’s necessary.
“If that’s true, we can only follow the contract.” He looked at Courtney seriously. “If there is a delay, Citron is required to pay the compensation fee and according to the contract, the fee is 50%.”
The order was worth 200 million, which meant that the compensation would cost 100 million. Not only that, Courtney’s company still had to bear the production, material and labor costs, as well as the extra losses from the fire. After adding it all up, not only would this be a non-profitable order, the company still needed to bear a 100 million loss.
Even the Hunter Group, which had just recovered, wouldn’t have such a huge amount of liquid assets to pay for the compensation fee, let alone a small enterprise like Citron. They couldn’t afford to withstand such a huge blow.
Just like that, it all went along James’ plan.
Looking at the disdain in James’ eyes, Courtney suddenly chuckled. “Don’t worry, Mr. Vinsmoke. If we don’t hand in the shipment in time, we will pay as much compensation as required. However, we haven’t reached the deadline yet, have we?”
“Even if the deadline is midnight, you still won’t be able to hand in the shipment.” James smiled coldly. “You really think you are a fairy who can magically finish the products all of a sudden?”
“I’m not a fairy but I have a good designer under me. He might be a fairy, so we can hand in the shipment.” Courtney’s words immediately shut James’ mouth. “Mr. Vinsmoke, this is the shipment list.” She then handed the document over to Mr. Vinsmoke. “I came here just now to tell you this but someone has been interrupting me up till now. The production of this batch of products was a bit hurried, so I need you to inspect it personally just to make sure it’s all fine. That is why I personally came here to see you.”
Not only was James and Mr. Vinsmoke shocked, even Courtney herself was astonished when Bill told her this morning that all the shipment had been completed. At first, she thought that it was all an illusion.
There wasn’t a single factory in the entire Melrose City that was able to accept the Sakura Group’s order because they were all rented by James in advance. He was willing to pay a high price for these factories to do nothing just so he could cut off Citron’s only solution. In short, he was determined to make Courtney beg him.
However, Bill had the capability to finish the job.
Looking at the type and quantity of products on the list, Mr. Vinsmoke inexplicably let out a sigh of relief. “Is that so? Then, let’s go. I just so happen to have the time right now to go to the warehouse to have a look. If there isn’t a problem with the shipment, I’ll ask the finance department to transfer the rest of the payment to you.”
He knew that Courtney had the backing of a member of the Duncans, who was also the only son of the Duncan Family. In fact, he couldn’t afford to offend the two people in front of him, so the best way was to secure the shipment so that he could back away from this safely.
“How is this possible?” James suddenly came to his senses and asked, “It is practically impossible for you to produce this many clothes in a week. There aren’t any factories in Melrose City that will accept your order—”
