Laurence's secretary at Longtail Group was a man. He did not like having female secretaries, most probably to guard against them trying to seduce him. He was not interested in dalliances with women, and the only young woman he treated differently was his bodyguard Noelle.
Misty wondered when Laurence would assign her elsewhere.
She very much wanted to stay by his side.
Just seeing that handsome face of his every day would fill her with motivation.
If one day she could soften his cold expression and become gentle toward her, she would be able to shoot to the top of the social ladder in a flash.
There were probably lots of people who had their eyes on the position of the lady of the Longbottom family.
Manny did not know that Misty was starting to have a change of heart. After inviting Elliott to sit, they exchanged a few pleasantries before Manny asked in concern, "Mr. Durham, how did you get on with our new CEO?
"He's young and impetuous, so if he comes across as rude, please be
understanding, Mr. Durham. We wouldn't want it to affect the collaboration between our companies."
Elliott paused for a moment before answering, "Mr. Longbottom's attitude is indeed, hm, I wouldn't call it enthusiastic."
Laurence was cold and indifferent when he first met him and even seemed impatient, as if he did not care whether the two companies collaborated or not, but once they signed the agreement, Laurence warmed up a lot.
Elliott was still a little bewildered, unable to fathom why he had been so panicked about Laurence losing patience and calling off the partnership, and why he hastily signed the agreement the moment Laurence said they should.
He was terrified that a moment's hesitation would ruin the deal and it would be cancelled. It was Longbottom Corporation who wanted to work with him and approached him, but now it had become as if he was the one who was clinging onto Longbottom Corporation.
Manny's eyes lit up. He was convinced Laurence's arrogance had gotten the better of him, thinking he was a big shot because he was young and had the composure of
a middle-aged man. Elliott probably did not have a very favorable attitude toward him either. They probably did not have a very happy discussion.
Manny then defended Laurence, "Please don't hold it against him. You know how young people are. They lack patience.
"On behalf of our CEO, I apologize, Mr. Durham. If we've been disrespectful in any way, I'm truly sorry."
Manny felt that whether it was work or personal, he could apologize on Laurence's behalf.
In relation to work, he was the former CEO who had just stepped down, had more experience than Laurence, and was considered his senior. Personally speaking, he and Laurence were cousins-well, they were third cousins, so perhaps it was more accurate to just say they were relatives.
He was more than twenty years older than Laurence, so Laurence should address him like an elder.
Laurence had offended a customer, so it was only right for him to apologize to the customer on his younger relative's behalf.
Elliott chuckled sheepishly. "Mr. Longbottom, uh, Mr. Manny. You're all surnamed Longbottom, so if I don't change my form of address, it'll be hard to differentiate.
"You don't have to apologize to me, Mr. Manny. Mr. Longbottom's attitude wasn't very enthusiastic, but it wasn't bad either. He didn't offend me, so there's no need to apologize."
Manny was stunned for a moment before he quickly forced a smile. "Is that so? That's good, then. And here I thought our CEO was terrible to you and upset you.
"Mr. Durham, the collaboration between our companies hasn't been affected, has it? I'm still working here, and I've always been in charge of the collaboration talks between our companies, so as long as I'm still here, you can always trust us."
Elliott said, "We've signed the contract."
"You've signed the contract?"
Manny was once again taken aback. He thought Laurence would muck it up and that Elliott would not be cooperative. He never expected them to already seal the deal.
"Yep, we've signed it. Mr. Longbottom didn't say much. He said you've already had quite a few meetings with me, so the terms should have been hammered out already, and that I should be here today to sign the contract.
"Indeed, I did come today to sign it. I brought the papers with me, so when Mr. Longbottom said that straightforwardly, without beating around the bush, I signed.”
There was no need to drag it out any further. If he did, he might have to work with a different company altogether.
In this market, the only real alternative to Longbottom Corporation was Longtail Group, taking into consideration their capability and potential to grow. Since Laurence ran both, there was no difference to which he signed with, no?
If it had been any other company, his terms might not necessarily have been accepted.
Elliott had zero leverage to play them off each other.