Chapter 204: Everything is going smoothly... or maybe not.
Third person POV
Leo eyed ee hua up and down, he was a beautiful woman, and looked quite arrogant. But it was no problem, he was confident in the power his charm held over women like her.
He was certain he could turn this into a great success, and convince her to be the next stepping stone in his accession.
"My name is Leo Henry," he introduced himself with a charming smile. "May I have the honor of knowing your name?"
Lee Hua didn’t hate the man at first, but she didn’t like him either. Because of that, she decided to give him a random fake name: ’Chi-lee’.
Leo didn’t flinch at the introduction. He had no idea it was a fake name.
"Chi-lee," he repeated smoothly, savoring the sound of the name. "A beautiful name for a beautiful woman."
Lee Hua answered with a polite smile, but her face remained unreadable, her posture as arrogant as ever. But Leo didn’t feel pressured, it was natural the simple flattering would have no effect on someone used to receiving many compliments.
"Would you like to sit?" He gave her another charming smile, offering a seat.
"Yes, thank you," she accepted, and took the seat.
The hulking bodyguard positioned himself silently at her back, his sharp gaze never leaving the Henry family.
"Could you give us the reason for Shin Huang abstinence?" Leo sat on the table and began the more formal talking.
"Corruption," Lee Hua answered sharply.
She didn’t elaborate anymore, but her silence made clear it was all the explanation they would get.
The truth was simple: the man had been caught conducting shady business that compromised the company.
Worse still, his dealings went directly against the Hua Clan. As such, he was forcefully retired from the company and from life.
"Since we were unable to hire a proper substitute, I decided to take on his responsibilities myself," the woman concluded, with a slightly annoyed look
Leo didn’t miss the implication in her tone. She was clearly in a foul mood, and he would need to tread carefully.
More importantly, the way she spoke suggested a position above Shin Huang in the hierarchy.
But how could that be?
The man was the primary administrator and CEO of the investment fund. Leo was not sure it was possible for anyone to be above him.
Still, it didn’t matter for now. He wasn’t about to antagonize her by poking his nose where it didn’t belong. His priority was making a good first impression. He would discover just how useful this woman could be later.
"Then it’s an honor to speak with you, Chi-lee," Leo replied with a confident smile. "I won’t take too much of your time, since I’m sure you must be very busy. Let’s get straight to business, I have a proposal that will be mutually beneficial."
All the meeting rooms were lavishly decorated and each one of them had a large screen that doubled as a television or a presentation display.
With a click of a small remote, Leo lit up the screen, and a presentation immediately showed up.
Being more specific, Leo chose the version 4.2 of his powerpoint, because this was the shortest and funniest version for his presentation.
"Allow me," he said smoothly, as the first slide appeared.
Lee Hua tilted her head, her eyes narrowing slightly as the first images appeared. "Mutually beneficial..." she repeated slowly, savoring the words. Then, a faintly unsettling smile curved her lips. "Perhaps you really do have something of value. But don’t forget, you need us far more than we need you."
Leo’s pulse quickened, but his composure remained unshaken. He recognized the tactic immediately. She was establishing dominance, drawing a line of power between them before negotiations had even properly begun.
It was a classic maneuver: force the weaker side to prove themselves first, to put so much pressure on them that they feel cornered into revealing their best offer right away.
A mistake many eager negotiators made was to lay everything on the table too early, just to earn approval from the stronger party.
But Leo was not so naïve. He knew the game.
Instead, Leo would do the opposite. He had no intention of giving her his strongest hand upfront. All he needed was an initial offer that was good enough for her to want to negotiate.
He knew she would inevitably push for more, but even when he "conceded" to her demands, he would still hold back without giving her his best offer.
And when it was all over, Lee Hua would walk away very happy, believing she had forced him into signing an excellent
deal for her side.Leo handled the presentation with ease. His words were clear, his tone confident, and his humor perfectly timed to keep the atmosphere from growing too tense. Even Alfred, who had started the meeting already irritated, was drawn in by the way Leo explained things.
By the end, the slides had done their work. Lee Hua listened, her sharp gaze fixed on him, and though she didn’t show much emotion, Leo was certain she was impressed.
The negotiation that followed was firm but productive. She pressed him hard, as expected, yet Leo parried every demand with skill, conceding just enough to keep her interested without ever giving up too much.
Finally, it seemed he had her, however her phone buzzed.
She picked it up instantly, her face turning serious as she listened in silence. After a few seconds, she ended the call and rose to her feet with effortless authority.
"We’ll stop here for today," she said shortily. "Tomorrow morning, at 11:00 am we can finish this meeting. See you tomorrow."
Without another word, she turned and walked out, her bodyguard trailing close behind.
Leo watched her leave, a small, victorious smile playing on his lips. Lee Hua was an arrogant woman, to be sure, but he didn’t let it bother him in the slightest. The only thing that mattered was that he would get the deal.
If he was lucky, she would be in a better mood tomorrow, giving him an opportunity to get closer to her. He was already very confident she was beginning to take a liking to him.
Alfred, however, was turning red with rage.
"How can she act like that?" he finally yelled. "Does she think we’re her servants? We have other business scheduled for that time tomorrow, and..."
"Enough," Leo said, his cold tone freezing Alfred on the spot. "She acts like she owns the world because, in many ways, she does. We’ll cancel our other appointments. Let’s focus on our priority. For now, we need to play by her rules, that is how the word works."
For Leo the words ’for now’ were extremely important. He was constantly imagining a future in which he was the most influential man on earth and how everyone would be forced to treat him with reverence.
With a swaggering smile, Leo placed a hand over his heart, vowing he would secure the deal. With the Chinese investment and their connections, they were destined to rise to new heights.
Thinking about the great success he would have, a sadistic smile came across the boy’s face. So, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and invited his sister to the next day’s meeting.
That would be a final "chance" for her to prove herself. It would be truly fun to watch her try and fail miserably.
Or maybe she would accept defeat and remain quiet the whole time. That would be more boring, but it would still be a pleasure to see the resigned look of a loser.
However, Leo had completely failed to actually understand what type of person Lee Hua was.