Chapter 1013 The Cruel Reality
After all, they were the ones who had a favor to ask. Even if it felt like the other party was deliberately playing with them, they had to remain patient. Otherwise, if he got angry and walked away without lending them any money, they would’ve really come in vain, and Paradigm Co. was in urgent need of money now.
Charles understood the meaning behind Sonia’s gaze and suddenly recovered from his anger. After taking a deep breath, he calmed down and nodded, indicating that he would not be impulsive anymore.
Upon seeing this, Sonia let go of his sleeve, then smiled at Brian and asked, “Mr. Smith, the thing you want to make sure of, does it have anything to do with me asking you for a loan?”
“Yes, and no.” Brian shook his head and nodded.
Sonia frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”
Brian lifted the glass of wine before him and drank a sip before replying leisurely, “Miss Reed, you’re asking me for a 200 million loan.”
Saying that, he put up two fingers. “This is not a small amount. On our end, we also need to withdraw funds from a few of our branches in order to get the amount you need in a short time.
The most important thing is that you’re asking for a non-recoverable loan. You might not be able to buy your villa and the land back, so even if the two combined is worth 200 million, the interest we can earn is much less as it is a non-recoverable loan, and there is not much profit. In short, this transaction is an unprofitable business for our bank.”
Sonia nodded slightly. “So, you are saying…?”
“I need a reason to prove that I wouldn’t lose money with this deal, even if I don’t make a profit. Otherwise, I really can’t approve this loan. Should the bank directors hold me accountable, I wouldn’t be able to bear this responsibility,” Brian said, sighing.
Sonia hummed in reply. “That would certainly be the case. However, what kind of reason do you need to prove that this deal wouldn’t be at a loss?”
“That’s simple. I just need a few affirmative answers from you.” Brian smiled at her.
Coming to a realization, Sonia agreed, “All right. Please ask.”
Brian took a sip of wine. “You’re an easygoing person, Miss Reed. All right, I’ll ask. If you need such a large sum of money, why didn’t you ask President Fuller for help? Why come to our bank instead?”
This question made Sonia purse her red lips.
Next to her, Charles couldn’t hold it in and asked, “Mr. Smith, does this question have anything to do with us asking for a loan?”
This happened to be what Sonia wanted to know as well. Now that Charles had asked, she immediately turned to look at Brian, waiting for his answer.
Brian laughed. “Of course it does, because now everyone knows the relationship between Miss Reed and President Fuller. But now, you’ve bypassed him and come to our bank for a loan.
This makes us have to think more about whether there is a problem with the relationship between the both of you. This might be something that you might not want to hear, but to be frank, the current Paradigm Co. is not qualified to borrow hundreds of millions of funds from our bank.
First of all, Paradigm Co. is no longer a listed company, and secondly, it has internal and external troubles, and the flow of funds is unstable. Which bank would dare to lend to such a company confidently? Tens of millions may be fine, but hundreds of millions of money must be discussed at a board meeting, and the request may not even go through. Do you understand, Miss Reed?”
Sonia’s face paled a little, making it clear that his straightforward words had impacted her. She knew as well that Paradigm Co. was currently mediocre, and it was in a very tricky position. However, knowing it and hearing it from someone else were two different things, and it made her feel extremely awkward.
Sonia bit her lower lip, her face looking extremely strained.
Meanwhile, Charles’ face darkened even more. “Mr. Smith, I’ve mostly understood what you’re saying. You mean to say that if the relationship between Sonny and Toby has changed, then this loan will not be approved today, right?”
Sonia clenched her palms and looked at Brian, who nodded and said, “You’re right, Mr. Lane.”
Her eyes widened with agitation. “But why? Mr. Smith, I don’t understand. Why does my relationship with Toby matter when I’m borrowing money to the point where it could affect everything?”
She could not figure it out at all.
Brian looked at Sonia, who couldn’t accept his words, and pushed his hands downward in the air. “Calm down, Miss Reed. As I said just now, Paradigm Co. doesn’t have the capital to borrow hundreds of millions of funds, and you said you need 200 million.
Do you think that if you didn’t have your relationship with President Fuller backing you, our bank would agree to meet with you to discuss this matter in detail? Not only us, but other banks wouldn’t agree as well, and they would only find a reason to reject you the moment they receive your call explaining your intentions.”
Sonia’s red lips twitched as she fell silent, suddenly unable to find the words to say. His words were irrefutable. Indeed, Paradigm Co. was not qualified to borrow such a large sum of money, so banks would naturally refuse her from the beginning rather than agreeing to meet with her to discuss matters in detail.
At that time, she was just happy that the bank had agreed to meet up and had never thought about why the bank would agree so quickly without even considering.
If she had thought of this detail at the time, the current situation wouldn’t be so embarrassing, would it? In any case, she was now in an awkward in-between situation.
She had been in high spirits when she arrived, thinking that she would definitely be able to successfully take out a loan to solve Paradigm Co.’s current predicament, but reality had given her a heavy blow and made her aware that things were not going as smoothly as she thought, and that the opportunity she thought she had fought for with her own abilities was actually because of Toby in the end.
Now that she thought about it, it was funny. She had always believed that she could solve things without relying on Toby, but now, the facts told her that even if she didn’t want to rely on him, she was still forced to as many people were only willing to contact her because of him, or she wouldn’t even have the chance to talk to them. It really was ironic.
Sonia was not the only one feeling irritable at the moment—even Charles had nothing to say at this moment. Beforehand, he didn’t expect this either. He was also aware that she didn’t want to rely on Toby for everything, so he knew exactly how she felt now after knowing the truth.
Charles turned his head to look at her with a look of worry in his eyes, and his mouth moved, as if he wanted to say something to comfort her. However, even though the words were at the tip of his tongue, he couldn’t say it. He had no idea what to tell her. If he brought Toby up, she would probably feel even worse, but if he didn’t, there was nothing to say.
Sigh… What should I do? He rubbed his forehead, feeling frustrated.
On the opposite side, Brian took a sip of wine, not knowing what Sonia was thinking, but seeing that she was not in a good mood, he could roughly guess her feelings.
If she didn’t ask Toby for money, it meant that she definitely didn’t tell him about this meeting and had decided to come by herself. When she came, she was still spirited and confident, but after she listened to what he said, her entire demeanor turned glum.
He guessed that Sonia thought he was here because of her invitation, not because of Toby, and now that she knew the truth, her mood took a turn for the worse. After all, he had seen many young managers in some companies, and he knew what they were thinking.
He was aware that they all wanted to settle things with their own abilities, but when they learned later that they didn’t do anything, but relied on their connections to settle matters instead, it was natural for them to feel crestfallen.
He could understand how it felt. When he was young, he wasn’t a bank manager, but only a humble clerk. He had wanted to acquire a drawdown with his own strength, but after he succeeded, he didn’t have the time to celebrate before the other party told him that the reason the funds were given to him was for the sake of the senior who was backing him.
Naturally, he didn’t feel pleased with the knowledge. Sonia’s current predicament was just like what he had gone through when he was younger.
