Bullet Proof

'Are you sure?' James asked Rick.

'Yes, I won't speak even an alphabet. Just let me in,' saying this Rick, stood up from the chair in the meeting room. James was sitting on the opposite side of the mammoth oval table that was there for a purpose. James placed that table for a specific purpose: to intimidate the people on the other side of the table for better negotiation. 

Rick poured some water from the jug and gulped it in one go. Rick was cursed, in the modern era, with speaking the truth. However hard he tried to lie, his voice will lose all its decibel. No matter what, he can not lie. Rick was debating whether to sit in the meeting next week or to stay out of it. 

'What if they asked you to verify the production cost per unit?' asked James.

'I won't speak in front of buyers. Trust me.'

'I am all trusting, but what about them. What would the buyers think if the co-founder is sitting dumbly without even uttering a word in the meeting? The meeting whose outcome will make the company millions in a go.'

'Don't give them the chance to speak with me. Tackle all the querries.'

'What is your problem? Sit this one out.'

'No buddy, I will not miss this meeting.'

'Then, I have to call Mike back from the manufacturing plant. We will together tackle the meeting. That will give the buyers to focus on someone other than me in the entire meeting.'

'Do not worry, I have already left a message. He will arrive at the weekend.'

'No, my dear friend. I am here,' an enthusiastic voice filled the entire meeting room. 

James and Rick turned back towards the door, and they were surprised to see Mike walking towards them. 

'You are early, I guess?'

'So are the buyers, they already landed. They are here to catch us off-guarded. I think they will be here first thing in the morning,' informed Mike.

'No way, I already confirmed with their secretary. They will be arriving next week.'

'No. Rick, Believe me, they are here. Not everyone is cursed to speak truth all the time.' 

'Very funny,' Rick sat down on the chair, pondering about the next step. 

'And you are sure that you want to sit in this meeting?' Mike asked Rick.

'Yes.'

'Maybe,' said James.

'Listen, I will be there, James. You two are capable of handling the meeting on your own. I will be there just sitting on the side.'

'Okay, and there is some good news that I can't wait to share with you. That is also one of the reasons that I arrived here early. We found a product that will cut our manufacturing cost by 80%. There will be a huge amount of money left for us to earn and with proper price-slashing, we will overcome the competition in the market.'

'What about the quality?' interrupted Rick on hearing the newly found cheap replacement for the raw-material of their premium product.

'Let me finish. And take that false notion out of your mind that cheap is bad. We are primed by multinationals to believe that cheapness comes with a price and the price that we pay is of quality. Not everything cheap is worthless. This is that replacement. It is quality tested by the buyers. Check it for yourself,' saying this he removed a carbon fabric from his side bag that he was holding for a long time like a prized possession. He gave that cloth to Rick.

Rick placed it on the table and began examining it with a magnifying glass. 

'Shoot it if you want. Three layers of this fabric are enough to stop the Armor-piercing bullets. Try it,' suggested Mike.

James immediately stood-up from his chair behind the mammoth table and went to the shooting range beneath their office. Others followed him. All of them put on headphones for noise cancellation. James fired three rounds from the sniper. The Armor-piercing bullets failed to pierce the three layers of that fabric.

'Marvellous.'

'Just don't share the price-related information to the buyers, okay, Rick?' asked James.

'Don't worry James, we will not give him a chance to speak,' said Mike. 

After that, they all departed to get together the next morning for the surprise but not so-surprise meeting. 

On one side of that mammoth table were the four buyers. They were board members of a private security firm. They were here to make a deal on that bullet-proof fabric. This deal would open the floodgate of future orders for this fabric. The future of their company relied heavily on this meeting.

'Shall we start?' James asked, sitting in between Mike and Rick on the opposite side of that Mammoth table.

'Quiet a table you have here,' said one of the four buyers.

'Yes, it is our lucky charm.'

'It is there to intimidate the likes of you,' Ricky uttered these words inside his head. 

'Shall we begin?' James asked again.

'No, need. We have done thorough research, and we are quite satisfied with your product. The new fiber is quite extra-ordinary and light-weight. It is the reason why we are here.' said that buyer again.

'Here are the papers. Let us close this and start the party,' said Mike

'One question and I will sign. What is the actual production cost of one bullet-proof vest made from this fabric?' asked one of the four buyers.

'We have mentioned that in the paper.'

'Yes, you have Mike.'

'So, do you want the entire breakdown?'

'No, James. I want to know how much I am giving to you per vest. Ricky. You are awfully silent. Won't you enlighten me on this matter?'

'Sir, if you look on page 5 of the agreement, we have mentioned it.'

'James, I read it. But, I want to know the actual price of this new fabric,' saying this, all of the four buyers looked at Ricky.

'The new fabric will cut our manufacturing cost by 80%,' blurted out Ricky.

All of the Buyers smiled, and one of the buyers signed the agreement without uttering any words. They all stood up. 

One of them said,' We researched well, and we found its actual cost. We were making sure. If you had lied, we would have hesitated to give you the responsibility of protecting our security officers. But you didn't lie, and that is the reason why we can trust you all.'

They left and left open the floodgate of the upcoming orders.