Chapter 114 - 112: I Am Capital
Even before they reached the private room, they could hear the lively sounds of conversation and laughter from inside.
When the door opened, everyone inside turned, then subconsciously stood up from their seats.
"Cecilia bought each of us a new laptop!"
Gavin Garrett shouted excitedly the moment he walked in.
Cecilia followed them into the private room, and the first thing she saw were the looks of shock and delight on everyone’s faces.
She took the initiative to greet them. "Hello, everyone. It’s so nice to finally meet you all!"
The team consisted of eight people: one woman and seven men.
Some of them had heard Cecilia’s name, but this was the first time most of them were seeing her in person.
Their expressions varied. Some were reserved, others curious, and a few couldn’t hide their looks of awe.
"She’s as beautiful as the rumors say."
The one who spoke was Titus Lawson, a senior from the computer science department.
His words snapped everyone out of their trance, and they all nodded in agreement.
Cecilia smiled faintly. She could tell everyone was still a little nervous, likely due to her status as their investor.
"Please, don’t stand. Let’s all sit down and order."
Cecilia gestured warmly. She scanned the QR code with her phone and handed it to Timothy Rowe beside her. "Let’s pass this around. Everyone pick two dishes, one meat and one vegetable. Please, don’t be shy."
"Why don’t you just order? We’re fine with anything." Timothy Rowe pushed the phone back to Cecilia.
Cecilia shot him a look. "Rowe, you and I know each other the best. If even you’re going to be so formal with me, what about everyone else? You need to set a good example!"
Timothy Rowe smiled, a little sheepishly. Cecilia took the phone back and handed it to Gavin Garrett. "Garrett, you go ahead."
Gavin Garrett was the uninhibited type. He grinned from ear to ear and took the phone. "Alright, I’ll order then. Don’t mind if I do!"
"Please, don’t hold back. Today is all about eating, drinking, and having a good time. Team-building events like this will be a regular thing for us from now on."
Cecilia’s relaxed words and actions made her seem very approachable, and everyone subconsciously began to relax.
After Gavin Garrett ordered the Crispy-Skinned Squab and Boiled Shredded Tofu, he passed the phone to the next person.
With someone having broken the ice, the others were no longer hesitant. After everyone had ordered, the phone made its way back to Cecilia.
She glanced at the order. Sure enough, everyone had followed her instructions and picked one meat and one vegetable dish, making for sixteen dishes in total.
But even with their meat choices, everyone had subconsciously picked relatively inexpensive dishes. There was a "Premium Selections" section on the menu where most items were priced per head, featuring famous Cathayan delicacies made with expensive ingredients and meticulous preparation. These were, naturally, the priciest.
But no one had ordered anything from that section.
Cecilia went ahead and added individual servings of Braised Lion’s Head Meatballs, Supreme God Jumps Over the Wall, Premium Abalone over Rice, and Australian Lobster Prepared Three Ways.
She added a case of beer and two bottles of Maotai before placing the order.
"So, has everyone had a chance to look over the draft contract?"
Cecilia asked casually as she put down her phone.
Everyone nodded. Timothy Rowe spoke up, "We all agree with the contract’s contents, but there are a few clauses we don’t quite understand."
Timothy Rowe pulled out the contract he had brought with him, pointed to a clause highlighted in marker, and asked Cecilia, "This clause here... ’Party A will provide free accommodation for Party B.’ What does that mean?"
Cecilia blinked, looking at the clause, then back at Timothy Rowe in confusion. "It means exactly what it says, doesn’t it?"
"You’re going to rent apartments for us?"
Cecilia nodded, her gaze sweeping over their stunned faces. "Aside from our two seniors from the math department, the rest of you are about to graduate and start internships, right? You won’t be able to stay in the dorms then, will you?"
"We can rent our own places."
The others nodded in agreement. Titus Lawson looked at Cecilia earnestly. "We’re already grateful enough that you’re willing to invest in our project," he said. "We don’t even know if it will be a success yet, so we feel uncomfortable accepting additional help from you. We can take care of our own living arrangements."
Gavin Garrett was more blunt. "Besides, you’re being way too nice. What kind of person drafts a contract and voluntarily adds a clause like this? You’re not acting like a capitalist at all."
"But I am!"
Cecilia gave a wry smile and looked at them. "You say you can handle your own living situation, but how? Even now, living in the dorms, you’re all stretched thin financially. Once you have to rent your own places... do you have any idea how expensive rent is in Lorcain?"
"You can forget about Downtown. Way out in the suburbs, you might find a single room for dirt cheap, but there’s no guarantee you could all find places in the same neighborhood. Then you’d have eight people scattered across eight different corners of Lorcain. It would take a two-hour subway ride just to see each other. See? We’re right back to what I said about the cost of time."
Cecilia turned to Timothy Rowe. "With my investment, how long will it take to get to the first round of testing?"
"Best case, five months..." Timothy Rowe answered immediately. They had calculated this timeline long ago.
Cecilia nodded. "And if you were all living together, with no logistical headaches, could you shorten that time?"
"Of course we could," Timothy Rowe replied.
At that, Cecilia raised an eyebrow. "There you have it. Like I said, the sooner the product is finished, the sooner we can enter the market and turn a profit. That makes this initial investment necessary. Don’t get bogged down by the money. With me here, that’s the last thing you need to worry about. I’m not going to let my team be distracted by financial concerns."
"The best return on my investment is you focusing wholeheartedly on the project and showing me results quickly."
At this, Cecilia gave a resigned smile. "Don’t think I’m doing this just to be nice. I’m an investor; I don’t make deals I expect to lose. Now that my money is in, I’ll do everything in my power to ensure your project is a success. Every decision I make is carefully calculated."
At this, Paige Ellison, the only other woman on the team, spoke up. "Cecilia has made her case, so we shouldn’t dwell on this anymore. And I think she’s absolutely right. Shortening the development cycle is, in itself, a way of cutting costs. And if we can focus on the project without any other distractions, I believe we’ll significantly increase our chances of success."
With Paige in agreement, the guys had no further objections and all nodded.
Just then, the first dishes began to arrive. Cecilia seized the opportunity to change the subject. "Let’s eat something first," she urged them. "We can have a few drinks later. It’s my first time at this restaurant, too. I hope the food is good!"