The manager sounded excited since this great opportunity had fallen from the sky.
Ned paused as he held onto the stair railing and asked, "Based on Fletcher Corporation's current production capacity, can we meet the deadline within a month?"
What worried him even more was whether Fletcher Corporation's cash flow would be sufficient for raw material procurement if Vitality Biotech Group didn't provide any financial support for the batch.
"According to our current production capacity and cash flow, it's impossible to meet the deadline within a month, but we can't lose this opportunity," the manager replied.
He hesitated before continuing, "We can exploit the loopholes in the contract, though. I've reviewed the new agreement, and it doesn't explicitly forbid outsourcing. We can partially outsource, which means sacrificing a portion of the profit for the first batch of drugs.
"As long as we secure various orders following that, we'll break even and profit by then!"
"In that case, send me and the legal department each a copy of the contract first. We'll review it before making any final decisions," Ned instructed, remaining cautious.
"Understood!" said the manager.
…
Angeline sat in a private room at the casino, watching the news on TV about the contract signing between Vitality Biotech Group and Fletcher Corporation.
On the TV screen, a well-dressed Ned signed the document while sitting at a long table. Then, he smiled and shook hands with Danny Reilly, the head of Vitality Biotech Group's Lonla Division.
Angeline turned her head and looked through the large floor-to-ceiling window to observe Tommy, who was enthusiastically embracing women in both arms in celebration of his win at a gambling table on the ground floor.
A smirk formed on her lips. She eagerly looked forward to seeing how far Ned would go to protect Tommy on Ingrid's behalf.
At the gambling table, Tommy won again, and the pretty lady on his right kissed his cheek in excitement and cheered loudly. This action displeased the long-haired beauty on his left, who picked up her bag and walked away, clearly upset.
Meanwhile, Tommy was so focused on the card table that he ignored the woman leaving. When she left, she glanced up at the private room where Angeline was, then strode away.
In the next round, Tommy lost his bet.
"It's okay, it's okay! Mr. Yates, you've been winning all along. It's normal to lose one hand!" said the woman in his arms.
"Yeah, just one hand! Let's go again!" he said, rallying.
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