Chapter 272 This Price Is Very Fair

Chapter 272 This Price Is Very Fair

Half a month flew by in the blink of an eye, and suddenly it was the night before the competition.

With the official competition about to start, the entire team was on edge.

Designer Sun had pulled another all-nighter last night. Designer Zane had adjusted the sleeve curve of one competition piece with the model no less than twenty times. Royce was so nervous he couldn't even eat properly, repeatedly checking his design drafts, terrified that some detail might go wrong.

Catherine gave each of them a round of psychological counseling, then personally went through all three competition pieces from start to finish. Only after confirming that every aspect was foolproof did she let them return to their rooms to rest.

After everyone left, she had no intention of sleeping. Instead, she took out a set of dark-colored tight-fitting clothes she had prepared earlier from the closet and neatly pinned her long hair into a low bun in front of the mirror.

Just as she tucked the last strand of hair behind her ear, there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in."

Ian pushed the door open. "Boss, everything's ready. The buyer is in the car downstairs. If we leave now, we'll arrive right on time to meet Tobias."

Catherine turned from the mirror and picked up her phone from the table, slipping it into her pants pocket.

Ian hesitated, then couldn't help but speak up. "Boss, are you sure you want to go yourself? I can actually handle this kind of thing. There's no need for you to go."

"I must avenge Grandpa myself," Catherine interrupted him.

Ian's lips moved, but in the end he said nothing more.

He knew Catherine's temperament. Tobias had nearly killed the person closest to her—there was no way she would let someone else settle this score.

He bowed slightly and added, "Mr. Davis is downstairs."

Catherine's movements finally paused. Her brow furrowed slightly, then she quickly walked out of the room and headed downstairs.

As soon as Catherine came downstairs, she saw Charles sitting in the driver's seat, wearing a black hooded tracksuit completely unlike his usual attire, head down as he adjusted his earpiece.

"Didn't you say you'd arrive tomorrow?" Catherine walked over quickly, her voice a soft reproach. "Why did you come today?"

Charles looked up and flashed her a bright smile. "You're abroad this time, leading the team in competition and personally catching someone—two major events. How could I miss either one?"

As he spoke, he leaned over from the driver's seat and looked her up and down.

"I knew you wouldn't just go to sleep tonight. Sure enough, you've already changed clothes."

Catherine sighed helplessly, opened the passenger door, and bent down while holding it, looking at him seriously.

"Charles, this isn't a game. I'll have Ian and his people go in with me. You should go upstairs."

"Have you forgotten our agreement?" Charles interrupted her.

"We agreed—no matter what happens, we face it together. You want me to go upstairs to my room and watch TV? Do you think I could sit still?"

Catherine looked at him, her throat tightening slightly. Then the corners of her mouth curved up, and she finally stopped arguing and got in the car.

Charles started the engine, and the car silently slipped into the night.

The buyer sat in the back seat of the car ahead, nervously rubbing his fingers the entire way.

Soon, they arrived.

Ian reported to Catherine in the other car through his earpiece. "Boss, all perimeter personnel are in position. The bug signal inside the warehouse is stable. Tobias brought two people—they're all waiting inside the warehouse. He arrived ten minutes early. He's anxious."

Catherine acknowledged, "Let's begin."

The buyer took a deep breath, pushed open the car door, and walked alone toward the warehouse.

Catherine and Ian silently followed behind, crouching down against the warehouse's rusty iron wall.

Inside, Tobias was already getting impatient.

"Where is he? Didn't you say there wouldn't be a problem?" Tobias stopped pacing and raised his hand to check his watch.

Just as he finished speaking, the door was pushed open from outside.

The man hurried in carrying a briefcase, apologizing repeatedly as soon as he entered. "Sorry, sorry, got stuck in traffic. Have you been waiting long, Tobias?"

Tobias frowned and looked him over, then jerked his chin at his two subordinates, signaling them to search him.

The two bodyguards stepped forward and searched the man from head to toe, even checking the inner lining of his briefcase. After confirming he wasn't carrying weapons or recording devices, they stepped back and nodded at Tobias.

Only then did Tobias relax slightly. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, flicked one out, and put it in his mouth.

"Cut the chatter. Did you bring the contract?"

The man smiled broadly and patted his briefcase. "Brought it, brought it. Take a look first, Tobias. We can negotiate the price slowly. We go way back—would I cheat you?"

As he spoke, he pulled out the share transfer contract that Catherine had personally drafted from his briefcase and handed it over politely.

Tobias took the contract and read it through three times from beginning to end. Every detail stood up to scrutiny—it didn't look fake.

He then pulled up a Montgomery Group equity structure diagram on his phone that he'd had someone obtain from back home, comparing the shareholding percentages in the contract item by item.

Everything matched.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief and set the contract down in front of him.

"The document is real, no problem," he said.

"But as for the price, we need to discuss it further. You bought this when someone was desperate. Yvonne was in a hurry to run, so you got a great deal at a low price. We're old friends—now that you're selling it to me, you should give me a discount, right?"

The man immediately put on an expression of being hit where it hurt, spreading his hands.

"Tobias, that's not fair. What do you mean I took advantage of someone's desperation? That was a legitimate purchase. Yvonne came to me, crying and begging me to buy. The price I'm offering you is already a friendship price. If you push it any lower, I won't even cover my running-around costs. Look at the current market—there are no Montgomery family shares in circulation at all. This is one of a kind. If you miss this opportunity, you won't get another chance."

The two went back and forth for several rounds, arguing about acquisition costs and market conditions, about the Montgomery family's current situation and Tobias's prospects for cashing out after acquiring the shares.

Tobias was a shrewd businessman, haggling over every percentage point. The man, following Catherine's instructions, neither conceded too much to seem suspicious nor held too firm, giving way on a few key numbers just enough to make Tobias feel he was getting a good deal.

Finally, they settled on a price both parties were satisfied with.

Tobias pulled a fountain pen from his inside jacket pocket, unscrewed the cap, and prepared to sign.

But just as his pen touched the paper, the warehouse door was suddenly kicked open from outside.