Novel Square
Chapter 115
Chapter 115
The couple headed to the open–air parking lot where their car was parked. As Lorraine had to make a phone call, Logan had to take the wheel.
He could hear Lorraine asking a question with a smile, “Mr. Brown, when are you coming over to pick up the fruits? It’s about time for cherries to be on the market.” Derrick replied apologetically, “Actually, I’ve been wanting to call about the 6,600 pounds of cherries I’ve ordered. Sorry, Ms. Somner, but I’ve changed my mind. Please cancel my order.”
Someone had approached and offered him a hundred thousand dollars with the only condition being that he could no longer purchase any fruits from Lorraine.
Derrick Brown had plenty of other orchardists to source fruits from thanks to his connections formed throughout his years within the industry. Cutting ties with Lorraine hardly affected his business.
Above all else, he was getting a hundred thousand dollars for the deal. He had no reason to decline such a request.
The other party had clearly stated that they held a grudge against Lorraine and that they wanted the fruits in Lorraine’s orchards to rot instead of getting sold.
Derrick realized that the other party was relatively well off and was doing this to target Lorraine when he noticed that they did not even frown when handing over the money. For the sake of his own business, he did not refuse the hundred thousand dollars delivered to him.
It was because they had threatened to sink Derrick’s business if he were to reject their offer.
“You’re canceling the deal? We’ve been working with each other for so long that we’re practically friends, Mr. Brown. You know that my fruits are much brighter in color and sweeter than anybody else’s.
“You would earn more money from selling the fruits you buy from me compared to any other orchardists.”
Lorraine decided to mention their business partnership instead of questioning why Derrick wanted to cancel the deal immediately.
Derrick could be regarded as one of her most important customers after years of cooperation. He would always purchase thousands if not tens of thousands of pounds of cherries from Lorraine every single year during cherry season.
Derrick did not tell her the reason for his decision. “I’m sorry, Ms. Somner.”
Lorraine immediately realized that she could no longer salvage her precious client.
She was not angry about the outcome at all. Her business would still have to continue operations, and it would be wise to not burn any bridges.
Lorraine replied, “That’s fine. You can still call me anytime you wish to buy my fruits again, Mr. Brown. My crops are exceptionally bountiful this year, both their color and taste are just perfect.”
Her cherry orchard was the home to matured cherries that were much more visually appealing to any of her competitors.
Lorraine learned the secrets from a fellow senior orchardist to shower the soil with cow urine when the cherries were about to ripen to bring about an even brighter color naturally. When she first tried it, it did work just as the senior orchardist had claimed.
Derrick politely replied and hung up the phone.
Logan was driving as he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“That was a long–time customer of mine who ordered 6,600 pounds of Sentennial cherries. But now that cherries are about to hit the market, he’s decided to cancel the order.” Sentennial cherries often fetched a higher price compared to the Bing and Meteor variants. Losing the 6,600 pounds deal was akin to losing tens of thousands of dollars in
revenue.
Lorraine felt extremely dejected over missing out on such a large business transaction especially now that she and Logan were going through hard times.
Logan asked, “Could it be that your asking price was too high?”
There had to be a reason why such a long–time customer of Lorraine’s had suddenly canceled their order.
Lorraine shook her head and explained, “I don’t think so. My asking price was the same as any other orchardist. I won’t raise the price of my fruits even though they’re much better than everyone else’s. And besides, I even give discounts considering that we’ve been working together for so many years now.”
After a slight pause, Lorraine continued, “Unless someone out there has offered him an even lower price with fruits of similar quality to mine. Sentennial cherries are especially profitable during the start of the season. I guess no one would ever say no to making more money, I guess?”
Suddenly, her phone started ringing.
Lorraine had a bad feeling the moment she laid eyes on the caller ID.
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