No Wife, No Life Chapter 254

In reality, at these bidding meetings, government officials never gave an immediate answer. They always found an excuse to end the meeting and then negotiate privately with potential partners.

As Caden had predicted, the officials wrapped up the bidding meeting with a flimsy excuse, announced the failure of other teams, and only kept the teams from FusionX Company and the Lavien Group for a private meeting.

As people were leaving, someone muttered under their breath, "I knew it. Harper and Chloe's teams were never going to be eliminated. They're probably going to make them work together."

"I rather doubt that. While collaboration between the Lavien Group and FusionX Company was previously unproblematic, their current relationship has deteriorated into irreconcilable opposition. Any form of cooperation between the two entities would be exceedingly challenging to establish."

The government officials were well aware of this situation, so they specifically arranged for both teams to stay behind and even prepared refreshments.

The host was also at a loss. This was an order from high-ranking officials, and he knew it would be difficult to manage.

Getting these two to cooperate was nearly impossible, but he had to give it a try.

Both teams had high-level officials backing them, and he couldn't afford to offend either side.

In the bidding meeting's waiting room, which wasn't very large, the two teams sat opposite each other, clearly in a standoff.

The official in charge sat nervously in the corner, waiting for someone to come and ease the tension.

Chloe was confident, discussing system optimization with her researchers.

Harper was deep in thought about security features.

Both sides were busy with their own matters, ignoring each other.

About half an hour later, the door to the waiting room opened.

Manuel had been lounging on a bench, eyes closed in a lazy rest. Hearing the door, he opened his eyes and met the gaze of the person entering, instantly snapping awake.

'Oh my God, it's him!' Manuel's expression twisted.

Harper also heard the noise and looked up to see Dominic striding in.

They were somewhat acquainted, having met once before.

Noticing Manuel's odd expression, Harper couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you usually fearless? Why are you scared of him?"

Manuel drew a deep breath, "I was directly under his management before, and he was nothing short of a demonic presence. Under the pretext of ensuring my safety, he assigned personnel to shadow me twenty-four hours a day. Even when I used the restroom, two individuals would stand guard outside. He was absolutely tyrannical."

Manuel spoke of Dominic with deep resentment.

Harper was speechless.

Now she understood why the organizers had arranged for him to come.

With his iron-fisted methods, he was here to force cooperation between the two sides.

Chloe had never met Dominic, but she had dealt with many high-ranking officials. Just a glance told her that Dominic was someone important.

She knew Harper had Stephen by her side, who was already significant. Now another big shot had arrived. Were they trying to use him to pressure them?

Everyone in the room was smart enough to realize Dominic's importance when the official eagerly greeted him.

"Let me introduce you. This is Dominic Hall, Director of the National Security Agency. He happened to be in the area, so our department invited him to discuss cooperation with you."

"Let me be clear, Mr. Hall has absolute authority. Any concerns you have can be addressed to him."

The subtext was clear: Mr. Hall was in charge, and any issues should be taken up with him, not the official in charge.

Dominic's expression was calm as he took the central seat.

Hearing Dominic's name and title, Chloe was stunned.

She had heard many stories about high-ranking officials since childhood, and Dominic's status was indeed impressive.

If it were someone ordinary, Chloe might still hold her head high, given the Wright family's status. But with Dominic, even her grandfather would have to bow.

Quinn and Alex hadn't expected Dominic to be involved in this bidding meeting. It seemed the higher-ups didn't want to offend either Harper or Chloe, so they brought in someone who could overpower both.

Dominic didn't start the meeting right away. His guards had brought a large teapot, enough to brew plenty of tea.

The assistant brewed a pot of tea, and those with discerning noses could tell it was high-quality.Once the tea was ready, the guard, smiling, poured a cup for everyone present.

Dominic sat at the head, his cold gaze sweeping over the room before settling on Chloe. He spoke, "How's your grandfather's health? I heard he's been having chest pains. You should bring him to the government hospital for a full check-up."

He started with small talk to build rapport.

Chloe nodded politely and exchanged a few pleasantries.

Then Dominic got to the point.

"To be honest, I watched the bidding meeting earlier. Frankly, neither of your teams met the standards. But if you were to collaborate, you could secure the contract. What do you think?"

He was shrewd, throwing the problem back at them.

It wasn't that neither team met the standards, but a combined effort would be superior. Dominic was pushing for cooperation.

"Are you willing to work together?" he asked again.

Harper's eyes flickered. After a moment of contemplation, she decided to show Dominic respect.

Harper said, "I can agree to cooperate, with each side holding fifty percent. But I want the negotiations to take place at the Wright Group."

Her meaning was clear: the Lavien Group, especially Alex and Quinn, shouldn't be involved.

Alex's eyes dimmed, his throat dry.

He knew why Harper made this stipulation.

She was still avoiding him.

Before Alex and Quinn could respond, Chloe sneered, "You want to cooperate? Did you ask for my opinion?"

"Ms. Orsini, I have no intention of working with you."

Harper ignored the sarcasm in her tone, looking at her calmly. "Then what does Ms. Wright think?"

Chloe was blunt and sharp, "Only one of us should get the opportunity. Ms. Orsini, you don't want to work with us either, do you? So let's not be hypocritical."

Harper frowned.

She knew Chloe had a difficult personality, but she hadn't expected such direct rudeness.

She had merely recalled how Noah had previously yielded to her once, and thus intended to reciprocate the favor. However, she had not anticipated that Chloe would reject her offer without the slightest hesitation.

"Fine, let's compete fairly then." Harper didn't back down, her tone gentle but resolute.