"Ben Faulkner….. what an absolute honor to meet you sir–" Shane said, sweating from head to toe as although he did not mean a single word of what he spoke, he still tried to maintain his composure and be cordial.
"Likewise, merchant" said Ben, as he gave Shane a good slap on his back and a punk-like smirk.
Shane was clearly uncomfortable sitting beside a notorious criminal like Ben, however, unlike Wade who needed several minutes to gather his wits when around Ben, Shane managed to do it relatively quickly while also doing his best to mask his discomfort.
"If you don't mind, can you tell me more about the terms that the Green Jade Merchant Group has offered you? I would like to match them at least…" said Shane, as he decided to ignore the fact that he was seated across Ben Faulkner and resolved to focus purely on the deal instead.
"Well, they have given us a blank cheque basically. They have agreed to sign with us on whatever terms we propose as long as we sign exclusively for them…." said Leo, as his response only increased Shane's frustration.
The terms Shane had offered Leo were already extremely generous; however, it still left room for Shane to make a decent chunk of money.
Shane's perspective on this deal extended beyond the economic prospects of Leo's products as he saw it as an opportunity for the holistic development of his company.
Shane knew that even if the margin he made from Leo's products was not astronomical, the mere presence of those products in his shop could increase footfall and sales of other items by tenfold.
The value of Leo's products was not just in the product itself but also in the exclusivity of its availability.
If his shop was the only one selling Leo's products, it would inevitably attract more customers and these customers would likely purchase other items alongside Leo's products, resulting in a significant profit for Shane.
In this way, Shane viewed the partnership as a strategic move to enhance his business's reputation and overall profitability and not just as a single deal.
However, to reap the maximum benefits from this phenomenon, he needed to ensure that Leo signed exclusively with him and no other merchant group.
If not for the interest from the Green Jade Merchant Group, Shane was confident he could close a deal with Leo today. However, the unexpected leak of his product list to a competitor forced him to change his negotiation strategy.
'Offering a blank contract is too risky, however, I cannot delay this deal either.
The news had already leaked to the Green Jade Group and I cannot risk it being leaked to other Merchant Groups as well.
I must close this deal here at any cost' Shane thought, as he licked his lips in anxiety.
Shane understood the importance of securing an exclusive agreement with Leo and the time constraint that he faced to close the deal.
He knew that he needed to act swiftly and strategically to outmaneuver his competition, however, he still hoped to secure a profitable deal.
"Alright, if the competition is offering a blank contract, so will I…. Please let me know what would you like to amend to the contract I provided you?… Let's iron out the conditions right here and sign it today itself" Shane said, acting decisively as he gave Leo a free reign to amend the contract conditions, however, requested that he do it right now.
"Now that's more like it!" Said Ben in joy as he thought that himself and Leo had scored a big win.
Winking happily towards Leo, Ben made the inside joke that the two of them had successfully managed to break the other party into submission, however, in reality that was not the case at all.
Having a big head, Leo too lifted his nose in pride as he felt like he was a born negotiator, however, when he finally sat down and began thinking about what conditions within the contract he actually wanted to amend, his ideas ran dry.
'He offered me a blank contract, but what exactly amongst this should I amend?' Leo wondered, as he slid over beside Ben and whispered in his ears.
"Master…. What exactly should we amend here?"
Ben, looking at the contract, also scratched his head, as the two of them had only ever thought about how to break the other party into submission and never talked about what conditions they really wanted?
"Well, I don't know? Aren't you supposed to know?" Ben said, whispering back in Leo's ears, as the two looked really comic to the rest of the room, whispering in each other's ears like a couple of kindergarten kids.
Pretending to have a stern face, Leo pondered over the contract conditions for a while before whispering in Ben's ears "More money? Let's ask for 2 million instead of one for the first retainer fee–"
"Ask for 2.5, so we negotiate it down to two" Ben advised as the two nodded at each other, thinking they were geniuses.
*Cough*
"First condition, we want the retainer fee increased to Two and A Half Million Gold Coins a year" said Leo, as he expected Shane to negotiate with him on the amount, but surprisingly Shane agreed immediately.
"Done!" said Shane, as both Leo and Ben were shocked to see him approve their demand without negotiations.
"Done? Huh?" Said Leo, as he looked at Ben in confusion before leaning in for a whisper.
"Should we have asked for 3?" Asked Leo, as Ben shook his head from side to side.
"No, I think he's playing a psychological game. He's agreeing to the first condition so he can hammer down hard on the later one's" said Ben, as Leo made an 'O' expression with his lips as if feeling enlightened.
Thank God he was here with his master, because he did not have the confidence to see through the opponents high level psychological game without him.