“So… Jonathan, why are you here? Have you found other medicinal herb suppliers that we can work with?” After a brief moment of hesitation, Roxanne decided to change the way she addressed Jonathan.
The smile on Jonathan’s face grew wider as he nodded and replied, “Most of the medicinal herbs suppliers have readily agreed to collaborate with the research institute, all thanks to the hard work you have poured into establishing a good reputation for it.”
Hearing that, Roxanne turned to look at Lucian before looking back at Jonathan. As she had only been with the research institute for a short period of time, she knew that the suppliers had agreed to work with them partly because it was Jonathan who had asked them and partly because he had mentioned Farwell Group’s name.
Lucian was holding Roxanne’s hand and had his other hand on her back the entire time as if he was worried that Jonathan did not know that the woman belonged to him. Roxanne tried her best to ignore Lucian’s hand while confirming the details with Jonathan..
“How did you find those suppliers?” The woman had spent the past few days calling every single medicinal herb supplier she knew but was unable to find any suitable ones.
With an unfathomable smile on his face, Jonathan replied, “Queen Group is considered a leader of medicinal herbs in the country. Naturally, our network is wider than yours. I mostly approached direct suppliers from the countries of origin of the herbs. For those herbs that I wasn’t able to find direct suppliers, I contacted the distributors instead.”
Roxanne nodded in understanding. “But”-Jonathan shot a glance at Lucian-” you get what you pay for. Although the herbs are guaranteed to be of superior quality, they cost a lot more as well.” Jonathan had only gone ahead to talk to those suppliers based on Lucian’s assurance that cost was not an issue.
He knew that Lucian would step in if Roxanne could not afford those herbs. As Roxanne was still basking in excitement after hearing the good news, she did not notice Jonathan looking at Lucian.
“Money isn’t an issue. I was going to buy the medicinal herbs from Damaris Group at three times the original price but was rejected by them. I don’t think it can get more expensive than that, right?”
“You were going to purchase the herbs from Damaris Group at three times the original price?” Jonathan widened his eyes in shock. Does the research institute have that much money?
Roxanne smiled in embarrassment. “I only made that offer because I was confident that we would make good returns on the medicine in the future. I thought it wouldn’t be an issue incurring more upfront costs.”
Jonathan let out a dry laugh and nodded. “You’re right, Roxanne. The new suppliers will definitely charge you less than what you were ready to pay for.” Roxanne breathed a sigh of relief and replied, “I can accept anything lower than that.”
She proceeded to confirm a few details about some of the more important herbs with Jonathan, who explained to her patiently.
Roxanne felt completely reassured after her conversation with Jonathan. “I have no more questions. Could you check with them when is the earliest we can sign the contract? We can’t afford to wait any longer.”
Jonathan looked toward Lucian nervously, directing the question at him. Roxanne furrowed her brows in confusion when she noticed the interaction between the two men.
A moment later, Lucian said in a deep voice, “Those suppliers requested to sign with Queen Group. They will supply the medicinal herbs to Queen Group, who will then supply the herbs to the research institute. Also, they requested that Farwell Group be the guarantor.”
