Chapter 90 The Patent!
Chapter Eighty-Nine
“That’s not something we want to venture into right now.”
“Says who?” Aria replied calmly, leaning back against her chair. She looked around at the employees, “We’ll be going with this. Any objections?”
Nathan let out a bark of laughter, “We should bid for it?!” He asked, “What, are you out of your damn mind?”
The marketing manager hurried to deflate the situation, “Team leader, not to offend you or anything but we cannot do that! We will be bidding against Vaughn empire for it, and it’s really not that great, however.”
Nathan shook his head, “You want us to fight a giant company for that junk?!” He clicked his tongue, “you’ve got to be kidding me.”
Aria shot him a look, “Why are you still here?” She hissed at him, “You think your opinion is really needed?”
Nathan’s smile faded, replaced by a snarl but he did not say anything.
“Please, Team Leader,” the marketing manager said once more, eager to diffuse the situation, “We can’t fight against Vaughn Empire for this project.”
“Yes we can,” Aria uttered, giving than all a direct look, “We are definitely going to be taking it.”
There was a collective groan from everyone in the room. They looked at each other, their faces drawn with dissatisfaction.
“Why is she like this?”
“What exactly is her problem? Of what use is it going into a project that will eventually not work?”
“It’s not even that good in the first place. Nexus is just a tiny startup. What on earth does she want there?”
The marketing manager was aghast at the statement which Aria made, “Team Leader, I’m sorry but that will not be a very good idea.” He said, “Apart from the fact that we will be going against Vaughn Empire…”
“You keep saying that as though it’s a bad idea.” Aria uttered, giving the marketing manager a smirk.
“With all due respect, yes,”
“Oh. The Graves Empire is too small to go against the Vaughn Empire for this project or for anything at all?” She asked once more and the room fell silent once more.
They had not thought that far and the marketing manager frowned, not liking the way Aria was twisting his words out of context.
“That’s not what I was saying, team leader.” He started, “I was only looking out for the company, weighing the pros and cons. I mean why waste time and resources in a project like this where we could have gotten a better one…”
“Oh but it does seem like what you’re saying,” Aria interrupted, holding up her hand to silence him, “As though the Graves Empire cannot go against the Vaughn Empire.”
The employees fell silent immediately, Nathan watching from the corner with hooded eyes.
He kind of hoped Aria would go for this project, and then when she lost to Vaughn Empire, it would be devastating and humiliating.
On the other hand, if she did manage to win the project from the Vaughn Empire, it would be a pure loss.
The Nexus project was a waste of time, really. No one knows what the Vaughn Empire sees in it but everyone assumed the Vaughn Empire was making silly choices now that Elara Vaughn was there.
Her fiancé, Kurt Eugene, who claimed to be acting CEO, was not one of the brightest bulb in the shelf and he must definitely be the one who must have vied for this project.
While it’s a useless project, everyone was sure Vaughn Empire would be ready to take on the risk themselves and had bowed out gracefully under the guis of not wanting to offend them.
But here was Aria, this big headed fool, out here trying to get Graves Empire into the fray.
How dumb could she be?
The marketing manager had a small frown on his face as he uttered once more, “If you could just let me speak, team leader, you will see this is not just about going up against Vaughn Empire. Nexus is a tiny startup with no potential even at this stage…”
“Why then is the Vaughn Empire interested in it?” Aria asked, “If I want to go by your words, I can very well say it’s a project that should be abandoned. Why then is the Vaughn Empire so interested in it?”
The marketing manager frowned but he had nothing to say.
As did everyone else.
They all thought the Vaughn Empire had their reasons for going to a bad investment, and if they really wanted to pull it off, it’s nobody else’s business.
Aria sighed, “I can’t believe I’m stuck with these nicompoops,” she thought in exasperation, “Should I just fire them all and hire new ones? How can I get ahold of Vaughn Empire with this people?”
She rubbed a hand over her face in tiredness. These attitude made the employees frown in disapproval. Some had actually begun warming up to her when she stood up to Nathan for them.
Now here she was, about to make their lives look like more hell with this new development.
The marketing manager could not help but scoff in disbelief, “I beg your pardon.” He asked in a succinct tone.
Aria ignored him, “You do know that Nexus filed a patent for their delivery algorithm last year.” She uttered calmly and professionally.
Everyone looked at her then at each other in shock, then they immediately turned to their reports before them.
“They did?” The marketing manager turned back to his slides, scrutinizing them thoroughly, with his brows drawn down in a thoughtful frown.
Aria cocked her head to the side as she watched them all, “Oh you didn’t know?”
Nathan scoffed, “What patent are you talking about?” He asked rudely, “Nexus is just a tiny thing. How can they create a patent of their own?”
Aria eyed him in disgust, before boo inning at the slide, “Open your freaking eyes and see what it is I’m talking about,” she uttered, “Check out the appendix. That’s where it’s hidden.”