Oh God, Sasha, he’s going to kill you,I groaned inwardly, listening to the call ringing through.Pick up, Leo. Please pick up!
Luckily Leo answered on the first ring.
“He’s trying to kill me!” I screamed down the line without bothering to exchange pleasantries.
“Where are you?” he shot back.
“The address you gave me!” I tried not to babble. There was more banging on the door, which seemed to be splintering. I screamed again, then repeated, “I’m at the address you gave me!”
The men outside were exchanging words in a language I took to be Russian. It could have been anything at that point. I was mere moments from sheer hysteria.
I sucked in a breath to calm myself and took a quick look around the room. I’d managed to lock myself in bathroom. The door was strong and secure, but there was no other way out. If they got in, I was dead meat.
Oh, God, please let Leo get here!I prayed silently. As the seconds dragged by like centuries, I curled up against the door and buried my face in my hands.
When did my life become such a shitfest?
Chapter 9
Prince Walker
“What’s the update, Jane?” I answered the phone anxiously.
“The meeting just finished. Their lawyers are leaving the conference room. Andy is on his way up. It doesn’t look like it went well. Brace yourself.”
“God,” I groaned, palming my face as I rose from my seat.
I put down the receiver and began pacing the length of my office. My footfalls were silent on the expensive rug. I could feel my heart quicken with each step as I waited for Andy. He was not just my best friend, but also my lawyer. That didn’t mean I wanted him to walk in with the bad news.Fuck!
Andy opened the door and walked into the office. His face was grim. He gestured for me to sit down. I sank into my office chair across the desk from him. Worry swirled and I waited with bated breath. Andy would not look me in the face. Things must have gone badly.Really, really badly.
“They pulled out, Prince. The damn Chinese pulled out of the contract with Cedar,” Andy said. “I’m actually glad that I convinced you not to come to the impromptu meeting.” I glared at him, but I knew he was right. I would’ve made things worse. Fists would have flown.
“What do you mean, they pulled out? They can’t pull now. Did you tell them, Andy? Did you tell them they can’t fucking pull out now?” I roared, more in frustration than anger. I dipped my head forward and tried to calm my breathing. “What do you mean they pulled out?” I repeated. My head hurt. I want to punch someone so badly.
Worst of all was the knowledge that my father had been right. He’d already seen the writing on the wall. I’d been certain I could change things. Maybe my arrogance was my greatest weakness, after all.
A day before I lost everything, I had received a call from my contact in the Chinese government. He warned me that something had gone terribly wrong with the deal. Their lawyers had already flown into New York. I’d invited Andy over to brief him and find out if he knew anything. He was just as clueless about the development as I was.
I had brought Andy in to help me secure the deal when my father had raised his concerns about SysCorp. So I hadn’t ignored his warnings completely. Andy had met with the Chinese to reconsider their next move. We’d finally agreed to execute the two-year contract for three billion dollars less than the initial offer.
The contracts were signed. The Chinese paid half the agreed sum as stipulated. The rest would be paid on completion. For months, Cedar Inc. had channeled their manpower and resources into the project. We’d designed and manufactured a Bionic AI chip for the newest cellphone release for the Chinese. We were determined to finish ahead of deadline. It had meant putting all our other projects on hold. Pulling out of other agreements. Now the Chinese were squeezing us out of the contract. And we were screwed.
I forced my eyes shut. I tried to ignore the headache that was making my head pound. It felt as though someone had taken over the helm of my ship. Someone who was steering it into a looming iceberg.
Fuck! This is a freaking nightmare!
“The word is, they can no longer continue to do business with us for certain reasons. They won’t divulge what those reasons are. I tried to change their mind, but they wouldn’t budge. This wasn’t a negotiation. It was a respectful notification of termination.” Andy reached out to pat my shoulder. I shrugged it away. He knew how much this deal meant to me. Losing it would cost my company dearly. Even our friendship might pay the price.
“Did you tell them how many months we have spent on this project? How many dollars we’ve poured into production? What am I going to do with all the fucking chips we’ve built? Can they do this? Does the contract allow it?” I asked, rapping out each question in quick succession. It left me breathless. I hated being fucking breathless. Hated feeling like this at all.
“Unfortunately, yes. The contract has a clause to permit their withdrawal if it concerns matters of state.”
“Matters of state?” I asked, aghast. “What the fuck does that mean?”
“No idea,” Andy shrugged. He was acting far too blasé for my liking. Probably because he wasn’t the one losing billions. “Our mistake was not adding another clause that guaranteed full payment if they pulled out. I’m sorry, Prince. No one imagined this would happen. Especially with how far along we’ve come.”
I nodded to acknowledge the apology. Deep down, I railed at the irony of the scenario. I’d side-lined the company’s lawyers and brought in my best friend-come-business partner to secure the deal. Part of me felt that he would have put in the extra mile, and if it hadn’t worked out, I would have taken it better. I was wrong. It was worse hearing it from my friend. It might have hurt less if it had come from my obnoxious legal team. Although I cringed as I imagined them sitting across the table with their stiff suits and verbose lingo. Not the man I trusted the most in the world.
