The Bodyguard

Ch 13

Chase's POV

Chase looked at the woman in front of her. So this is the enigmatic Ciel de Gianni. She was extremely beautiful, and elegant. And she was not intimidated by his gaze, instead she met his gaze. She was not afraid. It was to say the least he was very intrigued by this woman. He was surprised she knew Korean.

He quickly tried to analyze her. This was their first time meeting. Yet she was very professional. She spoke very eloquently, and her movements were very swift and graceful. Yet he could tell she was cold. By the way she carried herself, and that look in her eyes. The same look he has. A look that makes others apprehensive. Those provoking eyes. As if daring someone to question her.

He could sense a coldness to her. In her manners, and her tone of voice. They way she acted and talked made you comfortable, but it didn't let you directly approach her. She was reserved, and set a distance. As to remind you she's only here for business. Not to be friends. Shortly after the drinks were brought. They started the meeting right away per her request. She already wanted to get down to business.

The reason Chase was there was to set up a partnership with Gianni Enterprises. Areis wanted to expand to Europe. They wanted to bring Korean Beauty to Europe. The home of  Haute Couture, fashion. Gianni Enterprises owned the largest chain of Luxury shopping centers in Europe, Paradizo Village. His end goal was getting his cosmetics into all of Paradizo Village malls across Europe. He wanted GE to exclusively only sell Areis products.

Ciel's POV

"Mr. Kim what brings you here?" Ciel asked. Ciel was curious as to why he would want to do business with her. GE  was a world renowned company, but even then it was hard to do business with them. They were an acquisition company. Everyone knew the business we did was high stakes, but it came with high reward.

Ever since the company was founded in 1899 by Giorgio de Gianni, we have always been growing and expanding. We started business in ship building, and Importation. We now own and operate almost all of Italy. The change started ever since Ciel's great-grandfather Giuseppe de Gianni took over GE. They called him a true visionary, but in reality he was just a greedy and cunning bastard. However because of that he established GE to what it is today.

He stopped ship building and moved on to investing in other companies. Which made him extremely rich. Now Gianni was a company that made billions and billions annually. An estimated revenue of $210 billion Euros. Making them one of the highest earning companies in Europe.  

It was easy to guess what a cosmetics company wanted to talk about with GE. If Ciel was right they'd want expansion to Europe. GE owned a chain of several luxury shopping centers across Europe. Her guess is he want GE to sell his products in her malls. Ciel knew the interest and demand for Korean products were in a all time high. Recently with all that of social media, a huge market for Korean beauty products have sky rocketed here in Europe.

She knew the demand was on a high and she was willing to meet it. For now the market was on E-commerce. They were not available in stores, and it was a territory that has not been touched yet. No company has ventured to Europe yet. Now was the perfect time to invest in the Korean beauty industry. "I'll just cut straight to the chase Ms. Gianni. I wanted to propose a deal". He said as his assistant gave him a contract. He then handed it to Ciel. Ciel took it and read it. He was offering $85 million euros, to exclusively sell his company's products, and advertise his products in Europe (which was the equivalent to $109.2 billion ₩on).

She momentarily looked up from reading the contract and stared at him. She then closed the document, and threw it on the table. "So you want Gianni Enterprises to sell your products exclusively in my malls, and your products to be used in my hotels?" She asked. "Why of course. Gianni Enterprises owns the largest chain of shopping centers across Europe, and your hotels are all over the globe. It only makes sense for our expansion to Europe to be with Gianni Enterprises." He smirked. Ciel smiled.

"And if I refuse?" She asked. This took Chase back. He was not expecting her to refuse his offer. He thought the sum was enough for her to accept. By the looks she was not convinced. He saw her posture and her expressions. She wasn't giving anything away. She still had on that poker face. "Is $85 million not enough?" he asked. She smiled once again.

"That's not the issue. I'm just simply curious as to what your backup plan is if you can't settle business with us. Sure you could go to our rivals, but even so I could do the same. In reality I'm quite conflicted as Amore has offered me a deal for their products to be used in my hotels. And Gianni has been in partnership with Amore for a long time now". In fact Gianni was one of Amore biggest European investors. GE owned about 10% of Amore. This took Chase aback. He was quite stunned. Amore was one of Areis biggest competitors.

In that moment was when Chase realized that this was just a game to her. She knew that GE was in partnerships with Amore a long time ago, but even so she still agreed to this meeting. He felt like a complete fool. She completely played him.

She did this all for her own amusement. "Well played Ms. Gianni. Well played. But even if I can't do business with you, there's other companies I could go to". "That's true, but you'll only get second best". He continued to stare at her. "However Mr. Kim I never said I wouldn't do business with you ..." He looked up at her interested. "What do you mean?" He asked. "While it is true my company has been in partnership with Amore for a long time, that doesn't mean I won't venture elsewhere".

This took him by surprise. Now he was intrigued as to what she was thinking. "What do you mean?" He asked. "I'm willing to accept your deal. We will exclusively sell Areis products in Paradizo. We will market your products here in Europe. However I won't agree to the second part of your deal. Do you agree to my terms?" She asked.

Chase thought it over. This wasn't the outcome he was expecting. However what she said was true. Elsewhere he would be getting second best. With the way her company operated, and their track-record, they were simply the best. This business partnership was a guaranteed success. "I accept" he simply said. She showed that cunning smile. She then leaned forwards and pressed the intercom button. "Pierre, bring a contract over" She said.

A few minutes passed and Pierre brought over a contract. Afterwards they went over logistics and profit margin. An hour later and it was all finalized. A month from now Areis products would be all over Europe. Now all that was left was the campaigns. "We should commemorate this moment. How about diner tonight" Chase asked. Chase had to admit he was very attracted to her. This didn't normally happen, she was the exception. This caught Ciel off guard.

"Unfortunately today I can't. When do you leave for Korea?" She asked. She didn't normally do this, but she actually didn't despise him. Besides she needed to build up her alliances. "Tomorrow afternoon" he answered. "How about lunch then?" She asked. He nodded. "Splendid". He then stood up along with his assistant. He extended his arm and shook her hand. "Pleasure doing business with you" he smirked. "Likewise" she then motioned for Pierre to escort them out.

She then proceeded to taking a seat in her chair. She leaned back and let out a heavy sigh. To say she was on edge was an understatement. God I thought it would never end. Business meetings annoyed her, but it was what she was good at. Pierre then returned, "Cancel my meeting with Mrs. Valli tomorrow. Arrange for lunch with Kim". He then nodded and made arrangements.
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