"You should know better than anyone, Milan." Ciara muttered in a sharp tone, few lines were visible on her forehead. "I don't accept such a proposal, cancel it as soon as you can to avoid giving him false hope and impression."
Swiftly, she dropped the dial phone receiver with a small sigh and rubbed her temples afterward as if she were trying to wade off the invincible headache she was having. "Ah 一work!" She lamented under her breath, in a sharp yet weary tone.
The soft knock on the door interrupted the calm yet awkward silence, snapping Ciara off her daze. "Come in..."She lazily uttered, her gaze solely fixated on her desk.
The door creaked opened the next few seconds, with the soft clinking of heels against the floor following suit."Ma'am..."The voice called Ciara's attention.
-instead of a proper reply, Ciara gestured for her to sit, without raising her head to spare her a glance. "Sit, Sheila." She muffled out slowly. "What's the outcome? I'm curious about it."
Sheila smiled was faint as she cleared her throat. "I can't say yet, he's still yet to give a reply." She answered hastily. "I guess he will want to reconsider before giving it a shot."
"Ah -reconsider, eh?" Ciara mouthed, unsure of her own voice. "What is there to reconsider or think about? Why can't he make his decision at once, rather than having it postponed?"
Well, that doesn't seem like the Ryan she once knew. When did he start thinking about things twice? He never wastes time when it comes to decision-making except, of course, he is still in doubt and his replies afterward are mostly negative.
(No, this should better not be what I'm thinking...' She dreadfully muttered to herself. That could only mean she lost to him already and twice to say, if he should decline her proposal -she can't lose when she is yet to start with him.
Sheila saw the look of trepidation on her boss's face and could tell what was behind that kind of expression. "Don'tworry, ma'am."She uttered in a concerned tone, as well as assurance was laced in it. "He will definitely run back to us, he won't be able to resist it at all."
Ciara was supposed to be taken aback by Sheila's choice of words, but it was her confidence that amazed her to the core. With her brows raised, she speaks. "What do you mean?" She requested, demandingly.
"Ryan Lerman has nowhere else to go, he will soon crawl back to us with his positive reply." Sheila repeated in her previous tone, this time if not more of it. She couldn't help but be mesmerized by her voice, she sensed how confidence she was also reflecting in her tone.
"I had it all planned, and the other interested investors' taxed price could not hold a candle against your bid, ma'am." Sheila added in explanation. "You see, no one would brush this kind of opportunity away -no matter how stone hearted they are."
Ciara could only shake her head, Sheila won't understand whatever her feelings might be; she is the one who understands Ryan and not Sheila. Even at his current, she understood that he still had his dignity and wouldn't give in to their proposal.
-and even if he did want to give in, he'll be weary and self-conscious of everything; and with his recent escapades, he will be extra careful with dealing with them. But Ciara wasn't moved, she only wants him to ignite the game by accepting her as a shareholder in his company -more like planning a good role in his own ruin himself.
"How do you know about this?" Ciara questioned with curiosity laced in her voice. "How did you know about the other two taxed prices? Is Ryan not supposed to have a fixed pay price for this?"
Her boss was right, he did have, but she decided to do things her own way to make it easier for her.
"I had asked Gerald to investigate about the other investors and the amount they were willing to pay, ma'am." Sheila replied with her fave shoeing, no expression. "From my findings, there is no one been able to drop the same money as you have. They both did pay much more than Ryan's price, with the same thought as ours."
Gerald! Yes. Ciara trusted him to be capable of being on the lookout for something like that. She had decided not to get Gerald involved in this particular one because she felt Sheila was smart enough to handle it all by herself.
There is nothing wrong in Sheila asking Gerald to investigate on this in fact, it will only help the situation and teach Sheila what's she been supposed to do.
"I know you are smart and capable enough for this, that's why I had decided not to get Gerald involved in the first place." Ciara told her, even when she knows it's not that necessary. "It's not a bad idea to involve him because I do trust him when it comes to investigating about such background. You both have really done a great job, I must say."
Sheila simply smiled at what Ciara had just said. "And through Gerald's investigation, I came to know the actual amount each of them were submitting, even when they were both paying more than the fixed price."
"Why would they, though?" Ciara's face crumpled down in a deep frown. "He fixed a price and everyone is expected to lay such amount, why different?"
"Not in Ryan Lerman's own case." Sheila said, earning a questioning look from her boss. "They will be a huge advantage in partnering with him, they are only after the benefit they will surely gain from him."
"Oh, I see what they did there, huh?" Ciara muffled out, almost speaking to herself but loud enough to Sheila's hearing, though.
The office was silent for a while with not of them saying a word to each other, the both of them seemed to be lost in their world of thoughts.
"Why did you decide you will be buying Ryan Lerman's whole company without him noticing?" Sheila questioned, breaking the awkward silence between them. "-and did you intend to do this, ma'am."
She hesitated for a while before finally deciding to speak "The reason is like a wish, once said, it won't come to pass any longer because I might not be able to do it anymore..."She said with a small smile creaking from the end of her lips. "You don't have to pressure me a lot. You just watch and see how it all unfolds, Sheila..."