Pinkerton Detective Agency.
A black Mercedes stopped at the door, and Luke got out of the car, taking a look around.
The Detective Agency had two floors, a bar on the left, and an audio store on the right, conveniently located close to the subway entrance, with plenty of pedestrian traffic.
In Luke's impression, detective agencies were usually situated in secluded places, rarely on busy streets.
Luke entered the Detective Agency, and a Mexican receptionist around thirty stood up from the front desk and asked, "Sir, do you have an appointment?"
"Yes, I'm here to see Miss Dean."
"Miss Dean's office is on the second floor, on the eastern side. I'll take you up."
The receptionist led Luke upstairs and knocked on Orty's office door. "Miss Dean, Mr. Li is here."
Orty went to the door to meet him. She wore a light blue dress and white high heels, revealing slender legs. "Vice Captain Luke, I'm pleased to see you again. Would you like something to drink?"
Luke observed the office environment and Orty herself. "Do you have green tea?"
"No, we only have coffee and black tea."
"I thought you would say 'whatever'."
"I'm not someone who settles for 'whatever'."
"OK, I'll make tea. Please, have a seat," Orty said, gesturing to the sofa with her right hand.
Luke placed his briefcase on the table. After last night's research, he had decided to collaborate with Pinkerton Detective Agency, at least for now—it seemed there was no downside for him.
Orty made the black tea and came over with a swaying waist, handing a cup to Luke, holding another, and taking a sip. "This is from a friend's garden. How do you like the taste?"
Luke took a sip. The tea was cool, a bit sweet, a bit sour, somewhat like iced tea. "Did you add honey and lemon?"
"And ice cubes, so you don't have to wait for the tea to cool."
Luke said, "Since you like a fast pace, I'll get straight to the point. I've read the consultancy contract you provided. I'm satisfied with most of the terms, but I think the term of employment is a bit long."
"What duration do you consider appropriate?"
"A six-month employment term with the consultancy fee still at two hundred thousand US dollars." To be honest, even Luke wasn't sure about proposing such terms.
But in business, everything was negotiable. Even if the other party disagreed, they could still talk it over.
Orty's expression didn't change much. "Do you have any other requests?"
"Your agency can recommend me to clients in private, and use my name on the company website or internally, but you can't promote it widely in the public media."
"That's not a problem. You are specifically for high-end clients, and the detective industry doesn't need to advertise widely anyway."
"Please wait a moment, I need to make a call and ask the higher-ups at the agency."
With that, Orty left the office.
Luke wasn't in a hurry and sat on the sofa playing with his phone. He saw a message from Hope, "Luke, are you free today? I'm going to buy a car. Do you want to come with me?"
Luke replied, "You should have bought a car sooner, but I'm not free today and can't accompany you. You should discuss it with Julian."
"What are you up to?"
"Just buy the car. We'll talk some other time," Luke replied evasively.
Before long, Orty returned to the office. "Vice Captain Luke, sorry to keep you waiting."
"How did the discussion go?"
"I checked with the person in charge of the higher levels, and he proposed a compromise: a one-year employment term for three hundred thousand US dollars."
Luke said, "A six-month term for one hundred and fifty thousand US dollars."
"A one-year term for three hundred and twenty thousand US dollars," Orty countered and, worried Luke might disagree, persuaded him, "We at the agency are very sincere and want to work with you long-term.
What difference does it make between one year and half a year? As long as we work well together, we'll renew the contract."
In fact, Luke wasn't really hung up on the employment term. The original offer from the agency was two hundred thousand US dollars for one year.
By proposing to halve the term to six months, he was indirectly raising the consultancy fee.
A two hundred thousand US dollar fee for six months would be four hundred thousand for a year.
After some haggling, they managed to increase the original annual rate of two hundred thousand US dollars to three hundred and twenty thousand US dollars.
This price was beyond Luke's expectations.
It also showed that those so-called 'high-end clients' probably really don't care about money.
For the sake of Orty, a stunningly beautiful woman, Luke 'reluctantly' agreed.
Orty went to prepare the new contract.
In the afternoon, with lawyers for both parties present, they signed the official consultancy employment contract.
After signing the contract, the lawyers left, leaving only Luke and Orty present.
Orty laughed, "That lawyer Daisy is very attractive, and you two seem to have a good relationship."
Luke glanced at her. "Are you jealous?"
"Hehe." Orty chuckled softly, her eyes playfully rolling. "Vice Captain Luke, now that we are colleagues, please take good care of me here in Los Angeles."
"I hope there won't be any more encounters with the police stopping our car."
"I can't guarantee that, you have issues yourself."