Lord Protector novel (Zeke Williams) novel Chapter 2184

Lacey collected herself before walking over. “Mr. Larson! What a coincidence. I didn't think you'd personally come down here.”

Brent Larson instantly noticed the women walking toward him.

“It's you, Ms. Hinton,” he responded with a grin. “Well, if even a renowned figure like you would make trips down to your sites, it's only natural that I do it too.”

Lacey watched as the construction workers handled the goods. “Mr. Larson, I heard you're not buying from me anymore. You must have found yourself a more reliable source. Nothing personal, of course, but would you mind telling me if there's anything about my materials that could use improvement? I'd be keen to know what our rivals did to win you over.”

Brent gazed at Lacey profoundly. “I hope you understand where I'm coming from, Ms. Hinton. Your company's materials are of exceptional quality; there's no question about that. But Intercontinental Construction's prices are just way too enticing. If the prices of both companies weren't too far off, I would've chosen you without a doubt, even if it means spending a little more. But by buying from Intercontinental, I've managed to reduce my costs by more than fifty percent.”

“Did you run a check on the quality of their materials, Mr. Larson? I'm not trying to slander them or anything, but you know the saying: you get what you pay for. Honestly, I don't think they're even selling at cost price. I'm a little concerned that they may be cutting corners.”

“I sure did, Ms. Hinton. We went through everything thoroughly and even hired a third party to do the inspection. The results showed that quality-wise, the goods aren't as superior as Linton Group's, but they do meet national standards.”

Lacey was a little doubtful.

Anything that meets Eurasia's national standards would surely cost more than what these goods are being sold at.

Are they doing this just for publicity instead of actually making a profit?

Brent suddenly lowered his voice. “Ms. Hinton, there's something I'm not sure if I should ask.”

“Please, ask away,” Lacey replied.

“Is there any beef between you and Intercontinental Construction?”

Lacey pondered briefly. “We're business rivals. We've clashed in the past, but that's normal in the corporate world.”

Brent shook his head. “No, I don't mean regular competition between businesses. I'm talking about an unshakable grudge of some sort.”

Lacey immediately disagreed. “Not at all. Why would you ask that?”

“Well, I heard rumors that Intercontinental's doing this to drag Linton Group down. So I figured that they may have some kind of deep-seated hatred against you guys, which is why they're going so far as to incur losses for themselves as long as it hurts your business too.”

“Deep-seated hatred? How is that possible? Do you know anything about this, Dawnie?”

Dawn shook her head. “No. I've been in charge of Linton Group's construction subsidiary, and I can guarantee that there's no such thing going on between us and Intercontinental Construction.”

Brent scratched his head in puzzlement. “That's weird, then. Why are they doing this if they don't have a grudge against you guys?”

“Would you mind me taking a look at these materials, Mr. Larson?” asked Lacey.

“Not at all. Please help yourself and let me know right away if you spot anything unusual. My company's reputation is at stake if these goods turn out to be inferior. Honestly, I do have my doubts too. How could these materials be so cheap?”

With a nod, Lacey and Dawn began to inspect the materials.

To their surprise, however, there was nothing wrong with the goods, and every item was in line with international standards.