No wonder the waiters at Virtue Retreat have received special training; despite facing someone like Nora Scott, who lacks any prestige, they still manage to welcome her with smiles, and their attitude is even better than towards other people.
"Aren’t you going to order anything?"
After wiping her hands with a towel, Nora Scott asked Ethan Scott and Professor Tavares.
Ethan Scott + Professor Tavares: "..."
Everything you could order has been ordered by you, what else can they order?
Ethan Scott was filled with rage with no outlet, and even threw away his best facade, looking as unpleasant as imaginable.
It was obvious Nora Scott was deliberately messing with him.
But now, having to ask for a favor, Ethan Scott could do nothing with Nora Scott, even though he was well aware of the situation, he just had to swallow this anger forcefully.
Before the dishes were even served, Ethan Scott couldn’t be bothered to wait a minute longer, and went straight to the point: "Let’s talk terms."
Tasting her tea, Nora Scott elegantly put down the teacup, and for a brief few seconds, she was beautiful like a descending Heavenly Immortal, a pure, immaculate beauty above worldly dust.
However, she opened her mouth and said: "Three million."
Ethan Scott and Professor Tavares almost choked on the spot by her words.
They had mentally prepared themselves, yet they didn’t expect her demand to be so straightforward!
"Are you robbing me!"
With hands placed on the dining table, Ethan Scott stared closely at Nora Scott, restraining the impulse to get up and lash out at her.
"Yes, not only robbing, but also taking advantage of the situation." Nora Scott played with the teacup with her fingers, smiled faintly and sarcastically replied, "What made you think I was joining your project out of any sentiment?"
Professor Tavares: "..." Daring to face her desires directly, she’s a straightforward person.
Ethan Scott was directly choked by her words, speechless for a while.
From knowing Nora Scott is God Z, up until now, he had made countless speculations about Nora Scott’s intentions - all of them with ulterior motives.
She wants to extract some information from him;
She wants to sabotage his gift-giving plan;
She was bribed by someone;
She intends to take revenge;
He never considered that her reasons were so pure and realistic, straightforward, no pretense.
The deadly thing is, such a simple and straightforward reason is very convincing.
As a fallen star without savings, newly entering the Scott family, wanting to smooth things over or expand her network all needed money... Ethan Scott could think of many reasons why she urgently needed money.
Pausing for a moment, Ethan Scott’s mind circled around, then he said, "We’ve previously discussed one million."
"Now time is tight, and—" her voice paused, Nora Scott leaned back, crossed her arms, and lazily glanced at him, "your behavior at the door made me very unhappy."
With fists clenched, veins bulging on the backs of his hands, Ethan Scott’s voice carried a hint of menace, "You’re extorting me?"
She must have noticed!
He was so enraged, yet he had to keep her here and indulge her ordering; she must have thought that with him being forced to such a compromise, this project must be important to him, hence she wanted to extort some money.
It also indirectly proved that Nora Scott came purely for the money. Even if she had some other motive, she wouldn’t have demanded such an exorbitant price.
Nora Scott admitted frankly, chuckling, non-negotiable, "Three million, take it or leave it, not a word less."
Ethan Scott’s teeth ground with a creaking sound.
Since it involved money, the decision had to be entirely up to Ethan Scott; Professor Tavares didn’t feel it was appropriate to speak, remaining silent.
After a while, Ethan Scott finally exhaled a long breath, decisively making his decision, "As long as you can truly complete the design within three days, the price is fine."
Nora Scott agreed readily, as if the so-called "three-day deadline" was lenient for her.
Ethan Scott added another condition, "Not a day more."
"Mm." Nora Scott slightly nodded, gesturing with her chin toward Professor Tavares, "As long as they’re willing to cooperate."
Seeing the topic fall onto himself, Professor Tavares responded without hesitation, "We are all willing, and we can manage the time."
With three days’ time and not even being a holiday, they could all make time for it.
If they could really finish designing the drawings within three days, Professor Tavares reckoned that everyone in the team could work non-stop, even at the expense of their health.
"You sound confident, what if you exceed that time?" Ethan Scott gritted his teeth, unwilling to let it go so easily.
Had it really been as he and Professor Tavares imagined, someone as enigmatic and mystical as a master of immortality, Ethan Scott felt that even if the person said "one day," he would trust them blindly despite his surprise.
However, the image of this mythical master, when placed onto Nora Scott, the credibility greatly diminishes. Even if Nora Scott spoke with great certainty and firmness, he still reserved his skepticism.
A waiter entered, serving the dishes.
Downing the tea in her cup, Nora Scott placed the cup on the table, casually remarked, "Even if it exceeds by a minute, I won’t charge anything."
Ethan Scott leaned on the table, almost eagerly, "That’s what you said."
Nora Scott tugged at the corner of her mouth, showing a faint, mocking expression.
Fearing it was just bravado, Ethan Scott added, "This needs to be included in the contract."
Nora Scott was too lazy to engage with him.
Once the initial price was agreed upon, everything that followed proceeded smoothly.
The contract’s terms were mostly about confidentiality and the distribution of their compensation, quite standard with no loopholes. - After all, initially, Ethan Scott had prepared it for an "enigmatic master," with a touch of flattery intended.
Now, Nora Scott had taken advantage of that.
The final negotiation result for compensation was a deposit of 500,000, 1 million upon completing the design drawings after three days, and the final payment of 1.5 million issued after producing a finished product according to the design.
Getting Virtue Retreat staff to print out two copies of the contract, Nora Scott signed briskly.
Before finishing the meal, 500,000 had already been deposited into Nora Scott’s account.
Ethan Scott asked, "What time do we start tomorrow?"
Professor Tavares said, "Miss Scott, I’ll privately send you the studio’s address."
Having eaten and drunk to her fill, Nora Scott put down her chopsticks and had another sip of tea.
Then, she leisurely replied, "I’ll work from home, just add me to the group."
Ethan Scott’s brows knitted tightly, incredulous, "From home?"
Tapping her finger on the contract, Nora Scott raised an eyebrow, "Does the contract specify work hours and location?"
Ethan Scott was incensed.
This obvious matter, he never considered including it in the contract!
"Work hours will be notified later, any issues contact in the group."
She nonchalantly instructed, then stood up.
She pushed the chair aside and walked out.
Ethan Scott endured repeatedly, clenched his fists, his tone somewhat threatening, "Nora Scott, you’d better finish in three days."
If she was messing with him...
No matter how Ernesto Scott might protect her, he definitely wouldn’t let her go!
Nora Scott didn’t reply, waving the contract in hand, she left gracefully.
A quarter of an hour later, at the Virtue Retreat reception desk.
"Carefree Tour, time to settle the bill." Read full story at 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍
In an extremely foul mood, Ethan Scott, face dark, handed the card to the receptionist.
The receptionist took the card, fetched the data, and with a gentle, charming smile, said, "Hello, Mr. Scott, including the service fee, the total is 215,324 yuan."
Ethan Scott + Professor Tavares: "..."