Henry looked at his granddaughter, but she wasn't paying any attention to him. She walked forward to the female in the group of three that just stepped in.
"Hello, I'm Eliza Pratt. I received your email and scheduled this meeting." She said with a smile, and an outstretched hand.
"Gaya, CFO of Crestview Group. This is Bruno, the CTO, and Ren, the COO." Gaya replied.
"Wow. I honestly didn't expect top executives to grace us at this meeting. I expected a director maybe, or even a manager. I'm really grateful and honoured by your presence."
"Your work precedes itself apparently. And you got a glowing recommendation from the CEO himself. That's why we're here to personally negotiate terms for a partnership." Gaya said.
"No one knows who the CEO is. How did he know my daughter?" Gregory Pratt, Eliza's father asked.
He tried to hide it behind a smile, but it was easy to see that he was in shock. They all were. Her grandfather and brothers could do nothing but stare.
"That is a different story. Shall we proceed with the meeting? We have another appointment to get to after this, and we don't want to be late." Ren spoke.
"Of course! Take a seat." Henry chuckled nervously.
He had come to the meeting because Marco had insisted it would be the perfect opportunity to get rid of Eliza for good from the company. When he had given his family the challenge on his birthday, he never expected Eliza to be the one to make it a reality.
"Before we begin, let it be clearly stated that we're here for Eliza's sake, and for that reason, she will be the mediator between both companies. Whatever projects we decide to take on under the partnership will be handled by her." Bruno said, and Gregory chuckled.
"It would be better to go through the proper channels. I am vice chairman of the board, with more sway and authority in the company than my daughter. I promise to personally handle all…"
"You misunderstood. That part is not up for debate. It's just a clear fact. We are only interested in dealing with Eliza. You know as well as I do that there are better companies to consider for this partnership, but we're here only for her sake. No Eliza, no deal."
For several seconds there was silence, and Henry spoke up. "We accept those terms. Thank you for choosing this company. We're committed to improving…"
"No need for a sales pitch. You've already been selected. We only need to negotiate the terms before the contract is signed officially, like what percentage of resources will be allocated for your use, and in turn, the connections you can add to Crestview's list. There are a few projects being discussed at our previous headquarters, and will take off when we officially open the new headquarters in this city."
They spoke for about forty minutes, and then everything was settled. Their next meeting would just be to officially sign the contract after it got drafted with all the terms they had finished discussing. Eliza walked them out, and then returned to the conference room with a smile.
"How did you manage this?" Her grandfather asked as she returned.
She immediately stopped smiling as she took her seat beside Alrik and folded her arms.
"That's not important at the moment. I want what was promised to me."
"What do you mean?"
She sighed before replying. "Don't act dumb now. On your birthday, you issued a challenge. I just won the challenge, so I want the percentage of shares you promised given to me. Ten percent."
Her father began to laugh. "Just because we let you be part of this meeting, it doesn't give you the right to…"
"Correction, father. You didn't let me attend this meeting. I'm the reason this meeting was even possible. Don't try to belittle my efforts in making this meeting a success, despite the condescending comments I got from all of you. And in case you've forgotten, one of the terms of the partnership is that my presence is mandatory. Without me, this partnership will not hold, so I suggest you be careful how you speak to me."
Francis scoffed. "I told you all that she has gotten too bold now. Maybe we need to teach her a lesson so she'll remember her manners again."
"I have no intention of involving myself with any of you on a personal level. From now on, the only thing we should have in common is business alone. I won the challenge, so now I'm demanding for the shares I was promised. It's that simple."
"Giving you those shares is not a possibility. You've already been cut off from owning shares in the company. I suggest you be content with the success you managed to achieve by getting the partnership. At least now you finally contributed something meaningful to your family after being useless to us for some time now, mostly because of that husband you choose to cling to." Henry said, and the others agreed with him.
"I don't care about the other shares you took from me. That is a topic to be addressed on a different day. Your challenge was straightforward. Anyone who could get a partnership deal with Crestview Group, would be granted ten percent shares. Why are you trying to cheat me out of my prize?" She asked with a frown, and Gregory smacked his hand against the table, then stood up to yell at her.
"Hey! What gives you the damn right to be rude, or question the decisions we make? This company does not belong to you. You don't even have a right to work here anymore because you chose that man seated beside you over your family, despite all we did to try and get you to come back to your senses and leave him. Your grandfather is the patriarch of this family, and as your father, and Vice chairman of the board, I agree with him. We'll create an official position for you with a good salary, so you can come back to work, and mediate between our company and our new partners in business. Be grateful for that, and don't be greedy for more than you deserve."