Chapter 555
Bowen said, shaking his head. “It would’ve been way too obvious what we were after. My relationship with Alvin wouldn’t hold up under scrutiny. The Nelson family didn’t think much of it just now, but if we suddenly left, they’d definitely notice we were heading toward Josephine’s place. If we tipped them off, we’d end up with nothing. Besides, Alvin was there too. If we had made a move, he would have caught on."
“At least now we can be sure there’s something going on between Samuel and Josephine. For the Ridgehaven Town project, the Nelson family is a key player, and so is the village chief. This might just be our breakthrough.”
“You’re right,” Aubree said, realizing she’d been a bit too hasty. She contemplated, “Compared to us, Alvin had gotten Jacob on his side. As such, we are already one step behind him when it comes to the Nelson family. With Jacob backing him up, all Alvin has to do is say the word and Pontus will agree to anything. If the village chief ends up siding with him too… then this whole project might really be in trouble."
“Let’s not rush things. We’ll have another chance to swing by Josephine’s place later,” Bowen said.
“Alright,” Aubree said, just as her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen. “Vincent just messaged us. He went with David to check out the orchards. David says we’ve pretty much finished touring the village, and if we’re planning to go through with the acquisition, he wants you to come over and take a look too. If everything looks good, we’ll move forward with setting the price and arranging the harvest.”
“Let’s head back then,” Bowen said.
They were still playing the part of fruit merchants, so they had to keep up appearances and do their “real” job. When Aubree and Bowen arrived at David’s place, Vincent was still dragging things out as he couldn’t just say yes and take the fruit on the spot. If he did, they’d be packing their bags and kicked out in a couple of days.
“I’ve pretty much wrapped things up on my end. Let’s see what you two think before we make a final call,” Vincent said.
When he saw the two of them return, Vincent finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was just here to do his job, and handling something this big with both bosses gone had really put him on the spot.
Vincent made exaggerated faces at Aubree, as if to say, “Ms. Miller, Mr. Turner, I’ve stalled as much as I can. There’s nothing else I can do, and it’s all on you two now.”
Aubree picked up on his unspoken message and blinked back at him, thinking, “What does this have to do with me? I’m just the secretary. I don’t get a say in any of this.” But Bowen, the one calling the shots, didn’t forget to play up his “young heir who doesn’t bother with the mundane world” act. After picking apart every little detail, he managed to make the whole price negotiation fall apart.
“Mr. Nelson, you can’t just throw out a price like that. If I agree to this, I’ll lose everything,” Bowen blurted out. He was so anxious he didn’t even bother calling David by his first name. “We’re even pre-ordering the fruit that hasn’t ripened yet, and you still can’t give us a better deal? That’s not exactly showing much sincerity, is it?” Bowen shot back.
“Even if you buy a ton, I can’t just sell at a loss!” David thought.
Just as David’s face fell, Vincent quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “Mr. Nelson, don’t get upset. Let’s keep things friendly. It’s all about making money together, right? My friend here is new to this, so let me talk to him.” Vincent said. “Bowen, seriously, you’re making things hard for Mr. Nelson with that price,” Vincent added.
When Vincent was negotiating earlier, he actually offered a price that was above the market rate. As such, David was willing to give in to his request and go along with it. As Bowen said, if they were planning to buy up everything, whether ripe or not, and settle on a reasonable price, it would make things a lot easier for David, too.
“Alright, let’s both take a step back. I can lower the price a little, but your price is just too low,” David said.
Bowen lifted his chin a bit, putting on an obviously reluctant air, and uttered, “I’ll think it over.”
With no deal on the price, they were stuck at a standstill for now. David sighed, clearly frustrated as he said, “You can ask around in the village. No one’s ever sold at a price like this.”
That was exactly what Aubree had been waiting for. She immediately followed up, “Alright, we’ll take another look around.”