My Wife is a Sassy Queen

“Miss Jacobsen, I have been expecting you in Smith Group for at least three weeks now. The partnership between Smith group and Jacobsens needs renewal along with new terms to cover the upscale.”

Jonathan started a conversation with Mariana after he was done discussing their daily activities with the kids. Li was reluctant but he knew how to coax words out of his son without being forceful. Jo was delighted to share her tales which made his heart smile.

“This is a dinner table, we don’t talk shop here,” Mariana grunted.

Liliana was about to tell her to behave but Jonathan placed his hand on her thigh under the table and patted it to tell her to chill.

Liliana did not show any change in her expression, nor did she turn to Jonathan but she kept mum.

Jonathan smiled and added, “I did not know that. I will keep that in mind from now on.”

He continued, “But since I have brought it up already, let me clarify that I was not going to talk business right now.”

“I merely wanted you to prioritize this because as per our contract Jacobsen textiles should be reaching out to Smith Group three months before the contract expires and discuss renewal. I am afraid the people in charge of this collaboration from Smith Group would start looking for your replacement given your lack of approach.”

Mariana understood his gesture but somehow wanted to provoke him and asked, “Is that a threat?”

Jonathan cocked his head and said, “It’s an olive branch. If I excuse your tardiness and still cooperate with you, you are going to be known in the industry as someone who used her personal connections for the business, and you would never be able to get rid of that stigma.”

“I am sure you won’t want to be immersed in rumors right away. But this can also be your chance as you are aware your competitors are trying to snag this for years. This cooperation has quite the eyes on it and is a perfect stage to launch your career as the future CEO of Jacobsens.”

Mariana stopped provoking him and asked in all seriousness, “What do you think I should do?”

Jonathan said after a small silence, “Send a notice and give a personal call confirming that you will see us a few weeks from now for renewal and you might as well prepare some exciting off-the-box suggestions. Come up with a few unique profitable ideas which would be good for both our companies.”

She smiled, “I was thinking of just that, minus giving you a notice.”

He shook his head, “The notice is important. It shows you value our partnership. The fundamentals are always important. If you cover all bases, in case Smith Group wants to terminate cooperation with you, we won’t be able to excuse it by pointing to your lack of interest. It would be bad faith on our part, not your fault. Even though you would suffer losses, you would have a good reputation and you would earn goodwill.”This belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.

Mariana nodded at him, “Thanks! I did not think about that. I will give you a call tomorrow.”

Liliana smacked her head, “Not him. Call the person in charge and negotiate with the person in charge. It should be someone else escalating it to their CEO, not you jumping hoops.”

Mariana looked at her and asked, “You always jump hoops.”

Liliana raised her brows in the provocation, “I have never had to cooperate with anyone. It’s others wanting to cooperate with me. I am only personally involved in a few important things, so naturally, it would be a direct negotiation with the top. Like my negotiation with Nathan directly for the Smith Group collaboration. Smith Group wanted to collaborate with me, I could have easily opened a studio of my own like I have done in all other cities.”

Jonathan added, “The dynamics change depending on who you are dealing with. The L&L Design cooperation was always going to bring more value to Smith Group, hence I was lobbying for Lil and was directly involved. But Jacobsen textiles has more to gain here, and I actually already have another company in mind which can potentially replace you without affecting us much, hence the initiative has to come from you.”

Mariana huffed, “I suddenly feel very poor, which is kinda weird.”

Liliana ignored her jab, “If you want to cooperate with me, you won’t get to jump hoops either. You know that, right?”

Mariana rolled her eyes, “I know. I have some ideas but that’s for later after I am better settled.”

After that, the conversation flowed into more light-hearted topics and they all had a wonderful chat amidst a hearty meal.

That dinner was the first step towards the friendship between Mariana and Jonathan. They would over the years become closer like family, and not just through Liliana.