My head was muddled as I stared at my lunch on the table.
I shook myself out of my stupor a moment later and cleaned up before leaving his office.
It had been ages since I’d last written a bid proposal, and I didn’t know where to begin.
When Linda came to my desk, I was staring blankly at my computer screen, my chin propped up in my hands. She laughed before imparting her wisdom to me. “Fuller Corporation is calling for bids in A City because they want to expand their market share. Since they’re a listed company, you can more or less view Ashton as an investor. Since an investor’s fundamental goal is to multiply their profits from an initial investment, any form of profit will be important to them.”
She continued, “Public enterprises in A City are clamoring to work with Fuller Corporation because, like us, they believe that this project shows a lot of promise. No one wants to miss out on a cut of its potentially lucrative profits. Their advantage lies in their stability, though their bid may be lower owing to their limited funds. This also implies that they may end up cutting corners during the late stages of the project to save costs. So when you’re drawing up the proposal, there’s no point in bidding extreme prices. Price wars are meaningless, and you only need to come up with a price that guarantees quality and profitability. Then, you should consider and address any concerns that the Fuller Corporation may have when it comes to developing a project in A City. If there’s a need for it, you can arrange for Mr. Murphy and Mr. Fuller to meet for a private discussion. It may be much more fruitful compared to whatever us employees can accomplish.”
She leaned closer to me and smiled. “This is my advice to you regarding the proposal. You can gather more opinions from the others in the office. Everyone has different thoughts and strengths.”
I nodded and got up to thank her.
Nora called as I was contemplating Linda’s advice in silence.
She started chatting excitedly, “Scarlett, are you busy? I’m downstairs; let’s go for tea.”
Rolling my eyes, I replied, “Nora, I’m working now. Mr. Murphy just dumped a tricky project on me, and I’m panicking like mad. I’m definitely not in the mood for some posh afternoon tea!”
“You’re joking, right? Aren’t you just his secretary? How can he dump a project on you like that?”
I sighed, “It’s hard to explain. Oh right, where did you go? You left in such a hurry.”
“I was tailing that hottie until I lost him, but now I’m back! By the way, did you enjoy the lunch I made?”
“It tastes great!” I paused for a bit before saying, “Do you know about Tessa’s work?”
She appeared befuddled by my question. There was a slight pause before she answered, “No, I don’t. Why are you suddenly asking about her? Do you need her to help you with something?”
“No,” I replied hurriedly. “Armond assigned a somewhat complicated project to me. I was thinking that Tessa might know some people involved in it; that’s why I asked about her.”
She tut-tutted before replying, “She used to be in the tea business. I believe she was selling premium tea. Some years back, it was quite trendy to gift overpriced teas, so she must have rubbed elbows with many rich people back then. I’m sure she’s at least acquainted with some of them, though I’m not sure she’s the most reliable person for you to approach.”
“We’re going up against public enterprises in this project. I need to ask around since I’m not familiar with the social landscape of A City. After all, it can’t hurt to know more about the competition!” The previous night, Tessa recognized Derek at first glance when he arrived with Ashton. She must know quite a lot of people in those circles.
Plus, going by the situation, it seemed pretty obvious that Derek was present to discuss collaboration opportunities with Ashton.
Nora spoke after a moment’s pause. “You might as well ask me or Tabitha instead of Tessa. My grandpa may be retired, but he’s still got some useful connections. He might be able to get some useful information for you. Tabitha’s husband is also in the premium tea business, and he might be able to find out some intel in his circle for you. He’s probably more reliable than Tessa too.”
I pondered her suggestion for a while before asking, “Are you still downstairs?”
“Yup. Come on, let’s go for high tea. I know I look like someone who’s got nothing better to do, but that doesn’t mean I’m totally useless!”
“Alright, give me a sec!” I packed my things and hurried downstairs.
She was playing a game on her phone when I reached the lobby. There were a bunch of shopping bags slung on her arm.
She shot me a radiant smile as I approached. “Yay, time for tea!”
The assortment of shopping bags on her arm seemed to be a myriad of luxury goods. I couldn’t help but exclaim, “Does your family own gold mines or something?”
She spends so much, but she doesn’t even work.
Laughing, she replied cryptically, “No gold mines here, but my grandpa has owned a legal coal mine since a couple of years ago. It’s not going to make me a fortune, but I won’t go starving.”
Some people are destined to struggle since birth, while others carry their silver spoon with them their whole lives.
I didn’t probe into her words and just followed her to the cafe for high tea.
As I buckled myself into her white Cadillac, I commented, “You have no idea how many women would kill for what you have right now.”
