Bonnie sat there, completely stunned. The reality that Cullen had failed to resolve the situation was finally sinking in.
"This doesn't make any sense," she stammered, her voice rising with panic. "How can Veronica and Dario just take us to court and end our collaboration over some petty comment? That can't possibly be legal!"
Niall shook her head grimly. "I had my lawyer review the collaboration agreement between Stellar and DataPulse Enterprises The language is crystal clear—either party has the right to terminate if the other damages their reputation. They're completely within their rights."
"But this won't even make a dent in their reputation! It's nothing!" Bonnie protested, desperation evident in her voice.
"Under normal circumstances, you'd be right," Niall explained. "Usually when something happens, we'd mitigate the damage, offer a sincere apology, send some gifts as a peace offering, and move on. But in this case..."
Isaac interrupted, his expression severe. "If Niall had immediately made you apologize when she first heard about your comments, Dario wouldn't have had grounds to terminate our agreement. But that's not what happened."
He leaned forward, his gaze intense. "Instead of acknowledging the truth and defending DataPulse's position, she failed to make you apologize. Worse, she criticized Veronica for defending her colleagues, suggesting she was overreacting."
Isaac's voice turned cold. "That sequence of events handed Dario the perfect justification to claim we crossed a line. He now has an ironclad excuse to claim he can no longer trust us and terminate the contract."
He sighed deeply. "That's business for you. Often, all someone needs to achieve their objective is to find one small conflict and amplify it beyond proportion. That's all it takes to get what they want."
"But Niall apologized to Veronica as soon as she understood what happened," Bonnie countered weakly.
"And they can easily argue that we only apologized after realizing how devastating losing this collaboration would be for us," Isaac replied. "Making our apology appear self-serving rather than sincere."
Bonnie swallowed hard, the implications settling in her stomach like lead.
"Is Dario really not budging on this?" Isaac asked. "Is there absolutely no way to salvage the situation?"
Everyone knew that if they could just convince either Veronica or Dario to reconsider, there might be hope. Veronica was clearly unreachable, but perhaps Dario?
"Dario was quite resolute on the phone," Niall admitted.
The uncomfortable truth hung in the air—Dario was terminating the collaboration primarily for Veronica's sake. They needed to change his mind, but how? They had nothing he wanted or needed. He wouldn't even do Cullen a favor when contacted directly.
This termination would be devastating for Stellar.
Despite Dario's clear stance, Niall was determined to try again. She called him that evening, but received no answer. Undeterred, she decided to go to DataPulse Enterprises the following morning to wait for him in person.
As Veronica arrived at the company the next morning, she spotted Niall standing in the lobby. Their eyes met briefly, and Niall instinctively clenched her fists, her expression hardening. She had underestimated Veronica this time, but she wouldn't make that mistake again.
Veronica simply ignored her, turning away and stepping into the elevator without acknowledgment.
Shortly after, Lester arrived at DataPulse Enterprises and also noticed Niall waiting in the lobby. He had heard about the incident at Stellar the previous day, though the news about the collaboration termination hadn't been shared with DataPulse staff yet—only Veronica and Dario knew about that development.
Lester quickly averted his gaze and walked past Niall, heading toward the elevator bank.
"Lester," she called out, stopping him in his tracks.
He turned reluctantly. "Yes?"
"I'm here to meet Mr. Reid," Niall explained. "Will he be coming in this morning?"
Lester shook his head. "Mr. Reid is away on a business trip. He won't be in today at all."