Oncetheterminationwasconfirmed,JuliacalledFranklintoinformhim.
“Duringtheauction,IslippedupwhilechattingwithMadamGray.ShecaughtontosomethingIsaid,andnowit’sveryclearthatJohnnyhasnointerestinworkingwithWilsonTechanymore.EvenifItookittocourtandwon,there’snoguaranteetheywouldn’tcreatetroublter.Sincetheyclearlydon’twanttocoborate,Ifiguredit’sbettertoendthingsearlyandfindanewpartner–itmightnotbesuchabad thing.”
Franklindidn’taskwhatexactlyshehadsaidthatgaveMadamGrayleverage.Hesimplyresponded,“Sinceyou’vedecided,thenterminatethecontract.Doyouneedhelpwiththeterminationfee?”
Tobehonest,Juliawastemptedwhensheheardhimsaythat.
Buteversinceherfamilyhadmovedtothecapital,Franklinhadalreadydonesomuchforherandherrtives.
Ifshekeptrelyingonhimfinanciallyandforconnections,thennomatterhowtalentedorattractiveshewas,he’deventuallygrowtiredofher–itwasjusthumannature.
Sheknewthisalltoowell.Thatkindofdependencywasadeadend.
Soshereplied,“Noneed.Icanhandleitmyself.”
“Alright,”Franklinsaid,thenadded,“Nowthatthe contractwithColeiscanceled,you’llneed tofindanewpartnerassoonaspossible.Wantmetotakecareofthat?”
Juliahadbeeninaprettyfoulmootely,especiallyafterbeingyedbyMaggieandJohnny.
ButhearingFranklinsaythatmadeherheartinstantlywarm,sweetwavesrisinginsideher.Evenhertonesoftened
involuntarily.
“Okay.Thankyou,Franklin.”
JohnnyandMaggielefttheterminationprocessentirelytotheirlegalteam.
WhenJuliareceivedtheterminationusefromCole,herbrowsfurrowedatthesightofthepenaltyamount–over
300milliondors.
Atthe timeWilsonTechpartneredwithCole,thtterdidn’tyethold thekindofprestigeinthe AIindustrythatitdidnow.
Comparingittotheoriginalcontract,thisnewfee definitelyseemedexcessive.
“Over300million?”Sophiaechoedindisbelief,alsofrowning.
Itwasn’tthatshethoughttheamountwasunreasonablyhighorthatMaggieandJohnnywerebeinggreedy.
Beforehersistermetherbrother–inw,sucha sumwouldhavebeendevastatingforboththeirfamilies–essentiallyadeathsentencefinancially.
Butnow…300millionsoundedlikealot,butsomehow,itdidn’tfeelthatoverwhelminganymore.
Afterall,herbrother–inwhadcasuallygiftedhersisterjewelryworthtensofmillions.ThebirthdaygifthegavetoOldMadamBrownwasalsointhetensofmillions.Andthevihegaveheraunt?Thatwasworthover600
million.
Oh,andlet’snotforget–hegiftedWilsonTech,panyworralbillion,tohersistertoo.
Ontopofallthat,hehadsentboththeirfamiliescountlessluxurygifts.
Alltogether,thevaluewas immeasurable.
Iparison,300millionreally wasn’tthatmuch.
Juliawasthinkingthesamething.SowasJanice.
Sowhentheysawtheterminationuse,theyonlyfrownedslightly.
Buttheoldedies–OldMadamBrownandOldMadamGreen–wereclearlypainedbyit.
300millionwasstimassivesumintheireyes.
Loganfeltthesame.
Hefrownedandsaid,“Wedon’thavethatmuchliquidcash.”
Juliapaused.
Thatwastrue.WhileFranklinhadgiftedthemmanyexpensivethings,theywereassets–notcash.
Giventhecurrentsituation,itwasn’trealisticforeitherfamilytocoughup300milliononshortnotice.
Shesaid,“Let’sallchipinandfiguresomethingout.”
Tracywincedandcouldn’thelpsaying,“Whydon’twejustaskFranklintohelp?”
BeforeJuliacouldreply,Janicecalmlyinterjected,“Sister–inw,it’shingtoeptthingspeoplegiveyou,butyoucan’tjustholdyourhandoutandask.Relyingonothersforeverything–it’snotsustainable.Doyouunderstand?”
Ifthey keptdoingthat,Franklinwouldgrowannoyed.
Theyhadalreadydiscussedthiswiththefamilybefore–JaniceandJuliabothmadeitclearthatoversteppingboundarieswouldonlybackfire.
Tracyunderstood,ofcourse.
Itwasjustthat…seeingthat amountmadeherfeelthesting.
Still,thiswholemesswascausedbyherdaughterinthefirstce.
Andhonestly,whenshethoughtaboutit–sure,300millionlookedlikealot,but nowthatJuliawas marriedtoFranklin,even30billionor300billioncouldprobablybesettledwithjustawordfromher.
Nottomention,withWilsonTech’sfuturesopromising,oncetheirautonomousvehiclelinewentpublic,they’deasilymakeallthemoneyback.
Withthatinmind,Tracystayedsilent.
Theothersdidn’tsayanythingeither,buttheirthoughtsweremuchthesameashers.
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