After the Fall A Leap into a Stranger's Arms novel Chapter 117

Inside the CEO’s office at The James Group, Waldo sat there, staring at his phone in disbelief after the call was cut off. His face grew stormy. Losing The Blair Group wasn’t going to sink The James Group, but it would definitely throw a wrench into their supply chain plans. That wasn’t even the worst part. What really stung was knowing that Lawrence, the guy Waldo had always written off, was the one pulling the strings behind all of this.

Malloy had only just left, still fresh from their earlier talk where he’d walked Waldo through Lawrence’s proposal from the morning meeting. Waldo honestly couldn’t believe it. A regular technical consultant, daring to suggest a total overhaul of The Blair Group? It was laughable. And the fact that Nestor, that old fool, actually trusted Lawrence enough to hand him the power to make those changes? Waldo thought Nestor was just asking for trouble.

He drummed his fingers on the desk, thinking it over. The Blair Group’s business wasn’t his top priority anyway. If he was being honest, the only reason he’d ever bothered with them was Catherine. But now, imagining The Blair Group falling into Lawrence’s hands just made his blood boil. There was no way he could let that happen.

Waldo forced himself to focus. Sure, Lawrence’s big reform sounded impressive, but right now, it was just a bunch of words. Nexus Dynamics was infamous for being tough on outsourcing partners. In Waldo’s mind, The Blair Group would never measure up. Plus, it looked to him like Nexus Dynamics was using this as a chance to take a shot at The James Group.

Still, why would Lawrence even help Nexus Dynamics go after them? Did he really think he could impress them? Just thinking about it made Waldo let out a sharp laugh. He was probably overthinking.

“So you want to shake things up, climb your way to the top?” Waldo muttered, his eyes cold. “Lawrence, you’re not even close to being good enough.”

He grabbed his car keys and headed out, determined to talk to Nestor face to face.

Nestor had barely settled back into his office when his assistant appeared. “Mr. Blair, Mr. James is here.”

Nestor was stunned. A while ago, he would have jumped at this deal. But now, with a fresh contract signed with Nexus Dynamics, he simply didn’t have the capacity to take on The James Group’s orders too. Plus, after seeing Lawrence’s determination and his plan for change, Nestor felt more confident than ever.

“Waldo, I really appreciate your offer,” Nestor replied, his voice steady. “But we’ve already signed with Nexus Dynamics. Integrity comes first in business. We’ll finish up the orders we’ve already taken from The James Group, but after that, you’ll need to work with another outsourcing partner.”

Waldo’s smile vanished in an instant. He hadn’t expected Nestor to turn him down, especially after such a generous offer. And Nestor hadn’t even hesitated.

“Mr. Blair, think carefully about this,” Waldo said, his tone turning serious. “Whatever Nexus Dynamics can give you, The James Group can do better. When you work with me, you know who’s in charge. With Nexus Dynamics, do you really think Lawrence is going to be able to protect your interests?”