After showing off her company’s robot, Nathalie didn’t miss the spark of amazement flickering in Mr. Moore’s eyes.
She kept her cool, her words carrying just the right amount of pressure. “Mr. Moore, Stewart Enterprise’s AI technology has been decades—maybe a whole century—ahead of the curve. If you trust what we’ve built, why not make things official and sign the contract?”
She gave Dominick a subtle nod. He caught on instantly, pulling the contract from his bag and offering it to Mr. Moore with both hands.
Mr. Moore hesitated. Sure, the tech was impressive, but signing a deal this big on the spot? It felt too rushed. He couldn’t decide that quickly.
Nathalie saw his uncertainty and smoothly dialed up the urgency. “If you’re still on the fence, you’re welcome to think it over. We have a few other companies lined up today, so we’ll have to wrap things up here for now.”
She turned to Dominick. “Any word from the other two companies? Are they interested?”
Dominick, the robot Morris had designed just for Nathalie, seemed to be one step ahead of her thoughts. He played along perfectly. “Boss, both companies are ready to sign. But we only have two contracts.”
Nathalie frowned. “Why only two?”
Dominick looked sheepish. “We’d only planned to talk to two companies tonight, so I printed two contracts. I didn’t expect all three would be interested.”
Nathalie shot him a cold look. “We’re meeting three companies, and you brought two contracts? What do you expect us to do?”
“Well, guess we’ll have to drop one,” Dominick said, shrugging.
“And which one do you think we should drop?” Nathalie snapped.
Dominick flashed Mr. Moore an apologetic smile. “Mr. Moore, maybe you should hand the contract back for now.” Without waiting for an answer, he reached over and smoothly took the contract from Mr. Moore’s hands.
Dominick turned back to Nathalie, almost looking for approval. “Boss, two contracts are enough. We’ve never wasted them before.”
Mr. Moore saw the deal slipping away and snatched the contract back. “Who said I’m not signing? Give it here—I’ll sign right now.”
But Nathalie just looked troubled, as if making sure he knew what he was getting into. “Mr. Moore, our contracts last a lot longer than the others. Make sure you’re ready before you sign.”
The more Nathalie acted like she didn’t care, the more desperate Mr. Moore became. He was practically tripping over himself to get the deal done.
“Ms. Stewart, once this is signed, there’s no backing out for either of us.”
“Is Mike heading home?” Nathalie asked with a sweet smile.
Arthur snapped out of his daze, surprised by the sudden question.
Nathalie smiled even brighter. “I’m going to visit the Sharp family. Does Mike want to come with me?”
Arthur just nodded, still a bit lost.
So Nathalie hopped into Mike’s car, and they headed out to the Sharp family’s estate.
On the way, Nathalie couldn’t help but try to dig some info out of Arthur about Morris.
“I heard Morris is back?”
At the mention of Morris, Arthur’s face instantly turned cold.
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