Chapter 1518 Liberté Launches (Part VIII)
In her past life, the Vetrovs had dealings with various notable royal families from different countries. These royal families weren"t all that respectable behind closed doors like how they presented themselves to the public.
The ones who had long histories were the worst. They got to their current positions by a lot of bloodshed. It was no wonder that many of them were connected to criminal empires in one way or another.
Of course, not all royal families had this kind of b.l.o.o.d.y history. But as Evelina Vetrova, she had witnessed several instances where members of royalty visited her parents to ask for favours or simply to maintain their secret friends.h.i.+p with criminals.
The Vetrovs would help them do dirty jobs to maintain their royal power, while they would provide the Vetrovs with secret platforms in their countries to spread their criminal influence. It was a complicated mutually beneficial relations.h.i.+p, albeit extremely fragile and dangerous.
She didn"t doubt that some of these royal families might have betrayed the Vetrovs and contributed to the criminal empire"s eventual downfall. A few might have been loyal friends until the end, but she doubted they would sacrifice their royal status for criminals like the Vetrovs.
Iris felt complicated, but she mentally shook her head and focused on the present.
She didn"t know Sheikha Amira personally, so she didn"t want to make any final judgment based on her past life experiences with royalty. She could always order a background investigation on this Arabic princess later.
Iris played the role of a host who welcomed the ladies with warm hospitality.
"I love your signature fragrance, "Eve"," Sheikha Amira told her as she chatted with Iris on the velvet couch like friends. "To be honest with you, I only came here with my friend on a whim, not really expecting anything. But to my surprise, I ended up loving "Eve". I also like the other perfumes but "Eve" is my favourite."
Sheikha Amira fished out the beautiful perfume bottle of "Eve" from her giveaway bag.
"The bottle is beautiful. The scent is also beautiful. Perfumes are very important in my culture. You won"t find us leaving the house without wearing perfume. Perfumes are a way of life for us. That"s why I can"t stop myself from wanting to meet you. Although I"m a member of royalty, I mostly grew up in Britain and did my schooling there. I admire Liberté"s core values of focusing on inclusivity instead of exclusivity."
"Thank you very much, Sheikha Amira," Iris replied.
"Please call me Amira."
"Alright, Amira."
The sheikha smiled.
Iris observed her and couldn"t judge whether the other woman was sincere or not. It didn"t matter. She didn"t care whether a person was royal or not, wealthy or not, as long as the person enjoyed her products, then Iris would feel satisfied.
"I"m sorry for taking you away from the party," Amira said. "Once I decide on something, I just can"t wait to do it right away. I want to meet you because I hope that we can cooperate."
Iris raised an eyebrow. "Cooperate? In what way?"
"I want to open a Liberté branch in Dubai. If possible, I hope that Liberté can also help me create new fragrances that appeal more to people from my culture."
Iris didn"t reply right away. Now, she was more than surprised. She didn"t expect this kind of request from this Arabic princess.
Amira smiled at her knowingly. "I understand your hesitation. But I a.s.sure you that I"m very open and a progressive modern woman. That"s why I prefer staying in Britain, but as a member of the ruling royal family, I still need to establish my presence in my homeland. One way I do that is through business. I"m quite fortunate that my father dotes on me a lot. If you accept my request for cooperation, I"ll make it so that my father will also support Liberté."
Iris didn"t accept the offer at this time but instead said, "Thank you very much for your interest in cooperating with Liberté, Amira. But you know that this is a major matter. I hope that you could give us some time to consider it."
"Of course." Sheikha Amira smiled again.
The women chatted about other topics, mainly about Liberté"s three available fragrances.
After the two female guests returned to the party outside, Iris and Clover sat inside the private showroom staring at each other.
There was a knock on the door.
Clover returned to her senses and quickly opened it.
It was Jin Liwei.
He saw his wife deeply absorbed in her thoughts.
"Go back to the party first," he told Clover.
"Okay, sir boss!" Clover left the husband and wife alone in the room.
Jin Liwei sat beside his wife on the velvet couch. "What happened, love?"
"Oh, you"re here?" Iris only noticed him now.
He asked her again. She told him about the Arabic princess" offer.
Jin Liwei also fell silent.
Iris waited for him to say something.
Then he said, "We definitely have to investigate her first."
"Yes." She nodded.
"If we look at it from the perspective of pure profit, this cooperation is extremely beneficial," he said. "The Arabic market is pure gold. But the real question is…and I think that this is the one that you"re struggling with the most—do you want Liberté to be a.s.sociated with that royal family?"
"If this cooperation is done right, then Liberté and Sheikha Amira will become progressive trailblazers," she said, contemplating her thoughts out loud for her husband to hear. "But if it goes wrong, then it will forever taint Liberté"s reputation. We just rebranded Sang Blue into Liberté. I can"t let anyone question Liberté"s claims on respecting traditions and working toward progress!"
"En, so we have to handle this matter carefully."
Iris sighed. But in the next second, her eyes shone with a compet.i.tive light.
Jin Liwei saw it and chuckled. "Despite your worries, in the end, you"re still interested, right?"
She leaned on his chest and smiled. His arms automatically wrapped around her.
"I think that this is a great new challenge," she said.