417 Plans and schemes (1/2)
It became a routine that she spends the mornings at the Franciscan Medical Center with her patients or in the lab with her interns, and to join Max for lunch and linger in his office for the afternoon until they return home together.
While Max works, Liz would keep busy on her laptop with her research or she read a book, and she enjoyed those few minutes between meetings that Max gave her.
Her right shoulder was still in a brace, but her mobility increased gradually with every checkup. If things continue at this pace, in one-to-two weeks, the brace will be off and then Liz can start rehabilitation.
It was a Thursday afternoon. Max was catching up on his email while Liz sat on the sofa and read a book while stealing glances at him.
Usually, Max would be serious when he focused on his work, but now Max had a slight frown, and his mood was not good.
Liz kept her book down when she heard Max rapping his fingers on his desk.
”Is something wrong?”, Liz asked.
”I don't know.”, Max murmured. He lifted his gaze and saw that she is looking at him curiously with her brows furrowed in worry.
Max rubbed his forehead and leaned back in his chair while exhaling a long breath.
”I see that some of my deals are falling through before they even start.”, Max explained.
”Isn't it normal that some deals don't go through?”, Liz asked.
”Yes. But lately, it happens more than normal. I did research on these companies and I was confident they will work with us…”, Max gestured toward his monitor dejectedly. ”But today I got a refusal of collaboration with an explanation that they got a similar deal only a few days ago from my competition. The previous one was rejected because of the possibility that they get negative marketing for working with a company from the US.”
”You don't think these are coincidences.”, Liz concluded. She knows that if Max thinks these are normal, he would not bring this up. ”Do you think someone is messing up with your deals on purpose?”
”It's early to tell,” Max said and waved his hand. ”It's probably nothing. I am used to being ahead of everyone and now that things are slowing down, I see it as a red flag.”
”That does not sound like you, Max.”, Liz said as she made her way toward Max.
She sat in his lap and put her left hand behind his neck, her fingers played with his hair as she spoke: ”You are an amazing CEO, and the Alpha group is doing so well because you have the capacity of being ahead of everyone. If you think that something is not right, I suggest you investigate and don't let it escalate to the point of hurting your stock value.”
Max smiled. ”You have a high opinion of me, Miss Williams.”
Liz's flattery worked and Max's mood improved. But it was more than flattery. She reminded him that Nathan gave him the position of the CEO because Nathan believes that Max will do a good job.
”What do you suggest?”, Max asked.
”Can you get information on all the deals that failed recently? Let's see if we can find anything in common…”
About one hour later…
Hunter and Foxy were with Max and Liz in Max's office, and they went through documents.
It was not too many, four failed deals in the last week, but as Max said, he does his research in advance and when he reaches out to someone for collaboration, it is because it will be mutually beneficial. Max is always ready to give them the incentive that will entice them to accept the deal, and the Alpha group has a good reputation, so these rejections are not common.
They came up with a list that contained for each of the four deals information on the type of the deal, locations, amount of investment from each party, and any other thing that might appear relevant.
”These are random.”, Hunter concluded.
”Can we get the information on why they refused to work with the Alpha group?”, Liz asked. ”Not the official reasons they provided, but the real ones.”
”No matter what their reasons are, these failed with timing like someone knew that I am coming. If this is not coincidental, it means that it's an insider's job.”, Max said while running his hand through his hair.
Liz agreed. ”True, but the insider needs help from the outside to make this happen. If we find out why they refused to collaborate with the Alpha group, we might find out who is pulling the strings from the outside.”
”How do we find out who is sabotaging us from the inside?”, Foxy asked. She was not comfortable knowing that people from their own company are working behind their backs. ”As much as these deals were not publicized, many employees had access to them and we can't go around pointing fingers because it will cause chaos.”
”Let's set a bait.”, Hunter suggested. ”We can release different information to various departments and see from where the leak comes.”
Max looked at Liz, Hunter, and Foxy and he was grateful to have them in this room, brainstorming the problem and possible solutions without calling him paranoid. They are all aware that failed deals are not uncommon, and many companies face more rejections than successes, however, the three people gathered with Max believe in his capabilities enough to suspect that these four failures are not coincidental.