Over on the other end of the line, Elliot fell into silence.
Chad handed the phone over to Avery awkwardly, and she set it on the table after putting it on speaker.
"Hello, Mr. Foster."
Mike tried to suppress his laughter at how formal Avery sounded, while Chad did not say a word.
On the other end, Elliot greeted her with a more formal tone, "Hello, Miss. Tate."
Avery was stunned.
Mike picked up his glass to take a sip of water; Chad did the same but realized his glass was already empty.
"I feel the need to explain to you that we are not trying to give you a hard time," Avery readjusted her emotions and explained the situation in a steady tone. "We have already established our factories not too long ago, but we don't have sufficient equipment and manpower. According to the current situation, it is true that we won't be able to fulfill your order. However, we can assure you that we can have a number of drones shipped over from abroad, but our products are sold at a much higher price in the international market."
Chad calmed down at Avery's explanation. Though she said the same thing as Mike, Chad simply found it
more irritating to listen to Mike.
"But because this is our first bulk order in this country, I can sell you the units that we move from overseas at the same selling price as the ones here," Avery continued.
Mike was shocked. "Why are we giving Elliot a discount?"
Chad, on the other hand, felt relieved.
"This is how you show good faith!" he thought.
Meanwhile, Elliot's emotionless voice came through the phone once again. "I don't like discounted products."
Everyone in the meeting room was stunned, knowing perfectly well that Elliot meant to say that he had the money and that giving him a discount was just as bad as looking down at him.
Mike immediately started clapping. "By the way, let me brief you on the payment process. Fifty percent of the total payment will be charged ahead as downpayment; the remaining balance is to be paid three days after the products have been handed over to you."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: His Eagle Eyes on Me