"The two of them are up on the 78th floor, probably steaming mad that you haven't been here all day."

"Doubt it. They're more likely relieved that I'm not there to steal their s.h.i.+ne."

Aesha giggled. "Hurry up and get up there."

**

"If we take a step back on the price of the shares, it'll be possible for the research group to keep the patent on more of its medicinal formulae."

Within a room containing a table of at least ten meters in length, a beautiful woman and a handsome young man sat on end across from each other. Each had a top of the line laptop with sleek aluminum finishes before them that were quite reminiscent of an ancient company called Apple. In fact, they were purposefully designed to look like this as they were made by a computer branch of Vintage.

The one who spoke was the beautiful young lady. She was of African descent and had delicate chocolate skin that matched well with her bright brown eyes. Still, not resting on her laurels, she dressed elegantly, and with a refined flare that exuded confidence bordering on arrogance.

The handsome young man across from her was birthed from a long line of Italians. Dressing sharply was also one of his virtues as he made sure to keep up with the latest trends in male business suits.

"That's no good. Even if we agree on buying shares for the ridiculous price they're asking, handing over patents is crossing a line. Is this supposed to be a merger? Or a hostile takeover? What a joke."

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"It can't be helped, Jason. Simple is only the branch company of a much larger conglomerate. If their Parent Company decides to intervene and apply pressure, the research group won't be able to handle it. This is why we need a tactful, hard and soft approach. And, we need a trojan horse of sorts. We have to make it seem like we're giving in to all of their demands, while not doing so."

"Isabella, doing that sounds nice on the surface, but it's incredibly difficult to do. Even finding out that Simple had such a Parent Company backing them took us the entire day! If it wasn't for the tip your fiancé gave us, we would have gone in completely blind and would have gotten our a.s.ses handed to us."

When Isabella heard her fiancé mentioned, she couldn't help but frown. She wasn't angry about Jason's words, but was rather feeling a heavy weight on her shoulders. If they really had gone forward with their original plan, they would have gotten steam rolled without this piece of information.

They came into this a.s.suming that they had the same start line, when in reality, their opponents were halfway finished.

"It's not impossible. For example, we could liquidate some of our patents. There's also the possibility of turning the research group into a non-profit and taking advantage of some of the laws that protect them."

Jason's look became pensive. "Keep going."

"Option A: liquidate the patents. There are a few ways we could do this. We could form branch companies, handing the patents over to them. This way those patents would no longer be under the research group's name, effectively giving Simple nothing.

"Another way is to make the formulae public. Leak them on purpose, dropping their value."

"Wouldn't that drop the research group's value and lessen their leverage even more?"

"That's one way to look at it, but the other way to look at it is that Simple would receive less for what they've given in return. There's also the possibility of cas.h.i.+ng in with this leak as well. For example, framing and suing the leaker to bring in profits for the research group. This would also increase our billable hours, bringing the firm more revenue."

Jason's eyes shone when he heard this, liking the idea more and more.

"Option B would account for the non-profit route. Non-profits are protected by very special tax laws and are also eligible for government stipends. In a war of attrition, a non-profit definitely has an advantage."

"We could also bury them in paperwork." Jason said thoughtfully. "Simple won't have the same expertise in the research field. Despite being called Simple Pharmaceuticals, their understanding of the medicinal world is limited to the research groups they purchase from and the pharmacists they hire to run their store -."

Before Jason could continue, a relatively average looking young man dressed well, but simply, walked in without knocking.

The two childhood friends frowned. This conference room was cornered off by them. Plus, after seeing the two of them, who would dare to interrupt? Although they hadn't shown their faces often, everyone knew their status in the firm.

On top of all that, they didn't recognize this young man at all. How the h.e.l.l did an unknown individual even get here?

It had to be said that the floors of Patterson and Gravelle were pa.r.s.ed with purpose. The 71st to 73rd floors were for clerks, the 74th to 76th floors were for a.s.sociates, the 77th to 79th floors were for Partners, while the 80th floor was reserved for The Counsel. Although there would be some intermingling like when Ci-ci saw law clerks running around on the 75th floor, it was fairly reserved.

The only reason Isabella and Jason were allowed here was because of the sensitivity of the project they were working on. Not just anyone could enter the Partner floors.

"Lucius Grant." Ci-ci smiled, seeing through their thoughts. "Nice to meet you."

When they heard the name, they suddenly understood. But, it was quickly replaced by disdain. This man had the audacity to strut in here so late? But, before they could reprimand Ci-ci, he spoke again.

"You know, for two graduates of what I a.s.sume, and hope, is law school, your ideas are pretty stupid."