The receptionist saw Maggie's confident look, hesitated, called Charlie's assistant, and put down the phone after a while, "Guests, please go to the end of the corridor. Mr. Wilson is waiting for you in his office."

"Thank you." Maggie smiled, turned around, and headed in the direction pointed by the receptionist.

The attitude she struck was perfect.

"You really knew Mr. Wilson?" Reese asked in a low voice as they walked away.

"As I said, we were classmates." Maggie added, "It's just that I haven't seen him for years. To my surprise, it works."

Soon, the two walked to the end of the corridor. Charlie's assistant was standing at the door, "Guests, please come in."

The office was somewhat empty, probably because he was just transferred here. Many objects hadn't been sorted out. Sitting behind the desk, Charlie looked up at them and put down his pen, "You are here for partnership between Jorme and Red Maple, right?" He got straight to the point.

"Exactly." Dazed for a second, Maggie took two steps forward and continued, "We've prepared a new proposal. Mr. Wilson, I hope you'll read it before making your decision."

"Actually, I don't see the necessity of our partnership." Charlie leaned against his chair and looked up at her, "The profit Red Maple has brought to Jorme in the past decade is meager, and we paid a higher commission for your project. I'll decline from commenting since it was Mr. Townsend's decision. Now that I'm in charge, I find it necessary to get rid of unnecessary partnerships. So, I have no reason to read your new proposal."

"You haven't read it yet. How do you know it's not necessary?" Maggie frowned, "No matter what, Jorme and Red Maple are long-time partners. Mr. Wilson, you cancel our partnership and leave no room for discussion as soon you take office. Is it appropriate? The profit was meager, but you earned money instead of losing it. Your unilateral rejection is barely convincing."

"Makes sense." Charlie raised his hand, "Show me your proposal."

Maggie signaled to Reese, who then handed it to the man. Before she could explain, Charlie flipped through it and pushed it forward, "I've read it and still decided to cancel it. Now you're free to go."

"Mr. Wilson, you..." Reese's brow furrowed, but Maggie checked him, "Just go. I have something to talk with Mr. Wilson alone."

"He..."

"It's okay."

Maggie shook her head and questioned Charlie after her assistant left, "Since when did you become so supercilious?"

"Pushing for an emotional feel like you did out there?" Charlie asked back, "For the sake of our old friendship, I let you in, but I won't risk the future of Jorme. You know Red Maple's condition better than me. You're not qualified for our projects. If it weren't for Mr. Townsend's favors, you wouldn't have a chance to work with Jorme. Through this, I hope you'll know your position and strength. Besides, you did Jorme's project with strain over the years." He pulled out some documents from the pile, "You relied on vendors to handle part of the program. Isn't this a violation of the contract? Miss Ethel, since you are so strained, I did you a favor to reduce your workload. Anything wrong with it?"

"You..." Maggie lost her tongue, stared at Charlie, and fell silent.

"Maggie, evaluate your strength before negotiating with others. The issue between Jorme and Red Maple can't be fixed with a new proposal alone." Charlie added.

Her face turned pale. Her fists hanging on her sides clenched. She was rendered speechless.

"Instead of wasting your time here, you'd better find another way." Charlie continued, "Don't you have a patron? Ask for his help."

"What do you mean?" Maggie asked, staring at him.

"Don't play the classmate card again cuz we're not that familiar. I have a meeting to attend. Take the proposal with you and go ahead."

(To be continued)