Chapter 242: Chapter 242
At that moment, Cora lean back slightly, her eyes narrowing as she stared at Melissa, and then she would say in a firm and low tone, "I don’t see Mr. B as that kind of person at all. That is not how I see him. In fact, I don’t think we should ever make the mistake of underestimating him." She then raise her brow and continue, "For someone to quietly pull off such a major move and secure a solid 30% stake without anyone seeing it coming... Malisa, that is not someone you can just play guessing games with."
At that moment Melissa’s expression tighten a little. She clearly didn’t like what she was hearing, but Cora wasn’t done yet.
"He’s not some pushover," Cora said, her voice laced with caution. "You think we can just corner him, throw some money on the table, and he’ll fold? No. That kind of move is dangerous. Because if we go to Lovi, and Lovi makes the mistake of identifying Mr. B for us if we try to buy him out and he refuses to even listen to us what do you think happens next?"
Then Cora pause just long enough to let the silence say the rest before continuing, "Then I’ll be the one on the losing end. Because if that deal collapses, and Luvie is involved, the only way to clean it up would be to hand over my own shares to Luvie. And that’s not something I’m going to do."
There was a long moment of silence between them.
At that moment, Malisa would slowly nod her head. She hadn’t really thought it through from that angle. To her, it was simple. Use some influence, maybe a bit of pressure, and get what they wanted. But now, hearing Cora speak with such conviction and warning, she then realized that this Mr. B could be a much bigger problem than she imagined.
She exhale sharply and mutter, "I thought we could just use brute force to get what we want. But I didn’t consider that he might be someone just as well-connected... maybe even more."
Malisa then stand up straight, looking directly at Cora and asking quietly, "So what’s your plan? What do you think we should do, because I think none of my plans are going to work, we just can’t fold her arms and do nothing, not when we’re this close."
At that moment, hearing what Malisa had just said, Cora slowly looks around, crossing her arms and shaking her head, clearly still deep in thought. Her voice was firm but slightly tired as she said, "I don’t really have any plan right now. But one thing I’m sure about one thing I know for certain is that I am not giving up any part of my shares. Not to Lovi, not to anyone. That’s not even something I want to consider. It’s off the table."
She paused for a second, letting that thought linger in the air like a final warning. Her eyes didn’t blink as she looked straight at Melissa, hoping she understood how serious she was. "We need to come up with something else. Something smarter. Because this whole idea of dragging Lovi into it and letting him walk away with something that belongs to me? That’s not going to happen. I’ve worked too hard for this."
Malisa, who had been pacing the scene slowly, stopped by the window and turned to face her. She folded her arms and tilted her head a bit, clearly processing what Cora just said. After a few seconds of silence, she took in a deep breath and responded, "Okay, I hear you. I honestly wasn’t looking at it from that angle before. I get your point now."
"But," Malisa continued, raising a finger as if she had just remembered something important, "what if we twist the approach a bit? What if, instead of giving Lovi part of your share, we give him a separate kind of incentive?"
Cora raised a brow, already skeptical but curious enough to let Malisa speak.
Malisa took a few steps closer and said, "What if we propose a deal to Lovi? We offer him a large amount of money like something that’s really hard to walk away from. And then we add a clause. If we’re able to successfully buy the share from Mr. B, we’ll give Lovi a small percentage from that deal. Not from your share. Strictly from the share we’re trying to acquire from Mr. B."
She paused again, studying Cora’s expression to see if she was getting through.
"I mean, think about it," Melissa added. "That’s a win for everyone. Lovi walks away with cash and a cut of something new not our existing shares. And we keep what we already have. We only give him something if we succeed. If Mr. B doesn’t sell, then the only thing he gets is the money we already offered him upfront. That way we still have control. That sounds fair, right?"
At that moment, Cora then take a deep breath and lean slightly forward, her voice steady but sharp, "What if we shift the power a little? Instead of letting Lovi think he’s getting anything from our side just like that, what if we propose something else?"
Malisa blinked, unsure where Cora was going with this.
Cora continued, "We tell Lovi we’ll give him five percent of the share. But only if he helps us identify who Mr. B really is. And not just that, he has to also help us secure the deal actually convince Mr. B to sell his 30%. Only if he successfully pulls that off, then the 5% becomes his. Not a second before."
Then she paused and looked at Malisa.
"Think about it," she added. "It’s better than just giving him money upfront or promising him something big. This way, we’re setting conditions. He works for it. If he delivers, he earns. If not, he walks away with nothing. It puts pressure on him and filters out whether he’s serious or just bluffing."