Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed



Halley had been to college, for heaven's sake. Basic common sense, especially regarding something as crucial as contracts, should have been second nature to him.

"I've been swamped lately, you see, with this new project. There wasn't a contract template to follow, so... I forgot to include the breach clause when drafting it."

And when he got ghosted by the other party, he didn't even see it coming.

His first thought was about their lack of integrity and respect for someone else's hard work. Talk about being...

Naive.

Or rather, too honest.

Roseanne, on the other hand, immediately wondered about the compensation.

But...

"Do you have to draft the contracts yourself?"

Halley's face twisted in embarrassment. "Normally, no... My partner used to handle all that. I was more on-site. But then, two weeks ago, he wanted out..."novelbin

Halley, bless his heart, couldn't convince him to stay. He had to bite the bullet and pull most of the already tight funds from the company's cash flow to pay him back his initial investment.

Roseanne raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you consider calculating the losses?"

"...Losses?"

"Yeah, losses. When you guys started the business together, you split the profits, right?"

"Of course!"

"Well, by the same token, shouldn't losses be shared too?"

The company was clearly not doing well, and losses were inevitable. It made no sense to return the principal investment as if nothing had happened. Even a brief gamble in the stock market would result in losses that couldn't be magically recouped by just pulling out.

"I'd partner up with you in a heartbeat if it meant I could only gain without any risk," she joked.

Halley was speechless.

Roseanne sighed. "I think you know the math. You just didn't want to ruin the friendship over money, right?" Halley's eyes misted over.

"Anne... am I a fool? Not claiming damages for breach of contract, just returning the investment outright..."

"Not at all," Roseanne asserted firmly. "My bro is just too generous, that's all. He doesn't put money above everything else." "He was my college roommate. We got along so well during undergrad, almost like brothers. I never thought..."

He never thought his closest ally would walk away when times got tough.

"I get it; it's human nature to aim higher. So, I don't blame him. Just myself, for not being able to keep him..."

Roseanne's eyes sparkled with an idea. "Hey, you mentioned your company does smart home solutions. Can you tell me more?"

Halley thought she was merely curious, but he explained earnestly anyway.

"...So, in a nutshell, we use smart

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devices and the latest Al control models to improve living conditions and make daily life more convenient."

"Just homes?" Roseanne probed.

"Pardon?"

"I mean, is it only residential projects you handle? What about commercial construction, laboratory designs, or smart system layouts?"

"Well, we used to do foundational

building work, but the competition was fierce. Between the large construction firms and the smaller crews,

we didn't have an edge, so we dropped that segment."

"As for laboratory design and smart system layouts... If a client has specific needs, we primarily focus on renovations and implementing the related smart technology That should be doable."