Evelyn spent the morning familiarizing herself with yesterday's work. John kept fairly detailed notes that she went through. She answered her emails when they came and spent the day on the phone.
Since her father backed out of the contracts with CGC their revenue had taken a dive. But not enough to cause concern. Evelyn's forte wasn't in the financial department but the planning and executing department. Ben was actually more adept with the finance aspect.
She was drinking her coffee and reading a report when her desk phone rang. Her mistake was that she picked up the call before looking at the caller ID.
"Evelyn Wei," she answered in a business polite tone.
"Are you fucking serious!?" a voice shouted into her ear. She pulled the phone away from her and glanced down at the display screen. It confirmed what she knew.
She placed the phone back up against her ear and steeled herself.
"Mr. Cheng, what can I do for you?" she asked. She kept her voice polite.
"What are you trying to do Evelyn. First the counter suit, then your family estranged mine, now you're poaching my experts!" Shawn was still yelling into the phone.
"Mr. Cheng, I will not comment on the counter suit without our lawyers present. You can have your attorney speak with mine," Evelyn said. She kept her eyes glued on the report, but she barely read the words.
"I believe 'estranged' is a strong word, it was a business decision that Wei's World Organization ceased their involvement on certain projects. Frankly, I don't owe you an explanation on that," her voice was nonchalant and was met with heavy breathing.
"You could have your lawyers try to hit us with a lawsuit. However I read the contract. We breached the contract by backing out and we have already paid the penalty for your loss of revenue in full. Therefore, you don't have a case there," her voice was firm. It almost dared him to try. She knew that everything was in order.
"In regards to the experts pulling out from the project, I had no control over that," she finished.
"The hell you didn't! You didn't make them sign a contract," he said. His voice was still loud and antagonistic. It was a voice she rarely heard him use.
He never had to, she always took care of everything before it was a problem.
"To what affect? There was no funding for this project. This was the whole point of going to Li Corp to begin with. They expressed interest and would donate their time when funding was secured," she answered.
"So you mean to tell me that they won't be a part of your project. Presented next week by WWO?" he asked.
"Anything in relation to work is confidential. Especially when we are rival parties in prospective proposals," Evelyn remained professional throughout the call.
She continued to go over the papers in front of her. It kept her from losing her cool.
"That's bullshit Evelyn," he said. "Mr. Cheng," she emphasized his name.
"If there is nothing more I can do for you, I have other matters that I need to attend to. Have a nice day," she said. She could hear Shawn's angry voice as she put the receiver back into its place.
Evelyn took a breath and smiled. That felt satisfying and she was proud of herself for not losing her composure.
A knock sounded on her door and she saw that it was Jinhai.
"Why do you look so happy?" he asked. "Don't you want me to be happy?" she answered.
"I do, but mostly if I'm the one that made you happy," he said.
"I just received a phone call from CEO Cheng," she said. He raised a questioning eyebrow. "He had some questions about ongoing operations," she said nonchalantly.
"Don't worry about it," she said. "What's up? Finished your meeting with my father?" she asked changing the subject.
"Yup, I have to head over to Li Corp. I just wanted to stop by and say 'good bye' before I left," he said walking to her desk.
"Goodbye," she said with a smile. "That's how you say goodbye?" he asked as he came closer.
"Stop right there," she said pointing a finger at him. "This is a work place," she said.
"And?" he asked. He took another few steps closer.
"Jinhai," she warned. He dropped his charade. "I'm kidding. I'll see you later," he said.
"Are you staying the night?" she asked him. "Of course," he replied.
He walked out of her office and she was in high spirits.
"Ms. Wei," John said as he came into her office.
"Four of the five doctors you had wished to speak to got back to me and were willing to hear you out," he said.
"That's great! When?" Evelyn asked. "Well I have the list right here," he said handing her a folder.
On it was a list of the doctors with their CVs. On the corner was scrawled the time in which they agreed to do a conference.
"They go up until 9pm," she noted out loud. "Yes, because of the time difference," John said.
"Right," she said. "Alright, I'll be ready." When John left her office to take his seat outside of her office she sighed.
Despite the fact that she was trying to act like everything was fine, she wasn't feeling fine. Her shoulder still hurt. She didn't want to take too many medications especially anything that would impede her judgement.
She took over the counter pain relievers and it helped make the pain dull. She sucked it up and did what she had to.
- - - - -
LATER THAT NIGHT
Evelyn had texted both Jinhai and Phoenix that she would be late that night due to meetings.
She had sent Jinhai to make sure that Phoenix was settled in.
Evelyn was prepared to pitch her proposal but she had intended to make it personal. She felt that it would be imperative to impart the importance of the mission from a real experience.
Evelyn removed her jacket and the sling before tucking her arm into the jacket. She was aware she was going against doctor's orders but she had to ensure that she appeared her best.
The injury would take away the focus of tonight's agenda.
"Ms. Wei, I'm not sure that's a good idea," John said to her. She smiled at him.
"I'll be fine. I fully intend to keep it immobile. Are we ready?" she asked him. He nodded.
He put in the video conference information in and the waiting room indicated that the doctor was already waiting for her. She promptly began the conference call, ten minutes earlier than scheduled.
"Hello, Dr. Frank," Evelyn addressed the doctor.
"Good Evening Ms. Wei," he responded. It was 7 o'clock in the evening in Beijing. It was about 2 o'clock in the afternoon in London, where the doctor practiced medicine.
"Good afternoon, I appreciate you taking time to speak with me," she said.
"Ms. Wei," he responded rather curtly. "The last time we spoke, I had high hopes in your program. Now I see that it is nowhere close to being lifted off the ground." Evelyn plastered a confident look on her face.
"Dr. Frank, your high hopes are not misplaced, I assure you," she said. He held up a newspaper and flashed it in front of the camera.
"This is the scandal that is attached to your name. How am I expected to align my name with yours?" he asked her.
The headline was in relation to her miscarriage last year and her cheating husband. Evelyn didn't react. She had prepared herself for this kind of backlash.
"This scandal that you refer to, happens to be the situation my personal life is in. That has no business with what I am trying to do," she responded politely.
"Cheng's Global Corporation's running CEO and his Vice President are getting a divorce. How are you supposed to bring about this business endeavor?" he questioned her.
"I am no longer with Cheng's Global Corporation," she replied. "I am now working alongside Wei's World Organization," she replied.
"That's better?" he asked. The guy was being unnecessarily rude to Evelyn and Evelyn was determined to rise above it.
"It is, you are aware that WWO makes large investments in the medical field particularly in pharmaceuticals? Which works in conjunction with medical facilities around the world," Evelyn said.
The conversation continued on and Evelyn expelled the negative concerns that he.
In the end he agreed that he would participate.
"Dr. Frank, I respect your work and have an invested interest in assisting to expand it. We have a mutual interest in this. I will forward you a contract with the conditions of our agreement soon. I look forward to working with you," Evelyn said before ending the call. She leaned back and took a breath feeling relieved.
"What a jerk," John said when the call was over.
"He's on the older side and has an invested interest in protecting his reputation," Evelyn replied. "I noticed you appealed to that," he replied.
"You would be a part of the pioneering of this project and with its success, your name could become a trademark in the medical community," John mimicked her. Evelyn laughed.
"It is the truth. Alright, whose next?" Evelyn asked. "Dr. Elizabeth Martinez from Canada," John replied.
"Ah heading up our fertility group," she said. Evelyn took a sip of water and began the conference.
"Good evening, Ms. Wei," said Dr. Martinez. "Good morning, Dr. Martinez," Evelyn replied.
"Let's jump right in, I understand that you have expressed concerns with continuing with this project. Please elaborate," Evelyn started.
"My biggest concern, unlike my colleagues have less to do with the reputation but rather financial concerns," Dr. Martinez said.
"I see, what specifically are you concerned with?" Evelyn asked.
"Well as I understand it, you have yet to secure funding. With your impending divorce, I do not see how CGC will secure it," the doctor was polite and almost sounded sweet.
"The proposal for funding was always scheduled to take place a week from now. The only thing that my divorce affects is the fact that I am no longer going to pitch this project under CGC but rather with WWO. However I believe it works out even better," Evelyn said.
The woman on the screen raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and how's that?" she asked.
"Because this project is something I am passionate about. If you've been following up with the news on my divorce then you may have also heard that I also experienced a miscarriage," Evelyn said. The usual twinge of pain hit her but she used it to fuel her.
"Not just once, Dr. Martinez. On a couple of occasions. It would have been my pride and joy to become a mother. It was something I longed for from the moment I had my very first ultrasound. I was devastated when I lost them. A lost I am sure you've witnessed on more than one occasion," Evelyn continued.
"I am asking you to be a part of the reason less people have to ever experience that. But rather the joy of fulfilling their dreams and hopes of motherhood. For families that are ready to expand. For the future that looks a little less hopeless," when Evelyn finished, she held her breath.
Elizabeth Martinez stared at Evelyn for a while after she finished.
"Evelyn," Dr. Martinez began. "I can see this is something near and dear to your heart. As it is mine. It is the entire reason I entered my field at all," Evelyn felt hope bloom in her.
"I'll put my name down. You get the funding, and everything else. I'll do my part to realize this dream of yours," Elizabeth said. Evelyn felt tears prickle her eyes.
"But Evelyn, this isn't just your dream. It's something many woman have. Myself included," Elizabeth finished. Evelyn thanked Elizabeth for their time and promised to send over a tentative contract soon.
"You okay?" John asked. She nodded. It was the first time someone had displayed personal interest.
Evelyn finished the rest of the phone calls and she was happy. She managed to convince everyone she was meant to convince.
These were not all the ones that she had spoken to at CGC but that was okay. Because these four were the best in their fields. They were who promised the best outcome.
If she can secure the funding, she would have all the resources available to her. Especially because Li Corp owned many hospitals around the world. The possibilities would be endless.