Chapter 146: Technically Not a Scam

Grace raised an eyebrow.

"He’s a pervert, so he’ll probably be pretty direct about what he wants. Let him ask first. Don’t offer him everything upfront. If you give him too much too easily, he’ll just start asking for more."

Max leaned back with a knowing smile.

"You’ve already negotiated the price of the potions with me, so you don’t need to bargain with him about that. What you need to negotiate is how far you’re willing to go with the flirting."

"And what exactly do you suggest?" Grace asked.

"Keep your boundaries clear," Max said casually. "If you’re only willing to flirt and send pictures, then that’s your limit. Don’t promise anything beyond that. Make him believe there’s a possibility of getting more, but never agree to anything you actually don’t intend to do."

He paused before adding, "And don’t send him pictures before he asks. Let him ask for them first. If you hand him everything immediately, you lose your leverage."

Max said it casually, since that was exactly how he would have handled it himself.

Only after saying it did Max realize he had practically shot himself in the foot.

Those pictures Grace was supposed to send would, after all, be going to him.

But he needed Grace to trust him. He still wasn’t sure whether she would actually be willing to go as far as having sex with his fake mentor just to get a few potions.

"What I’m saying is, make him believe he can fuck you in exchange for the potions he’s making for you. Not because you actually find him attractive or anything like that..." Max explained.

Grace nodded, though she looked slightly weirded out by the whole idea.

"And what if he says he’ll only make them if I have sex with him?" she asked.

For some reason, the thought made her feel less like a wealthy businesswoman and more like a prostitute waiting for her very first customer.

Max wanted to tell her to simply agree to have sex with him, but after pretending to think about it for a while, he said,

"Tell him you’ll do it after he gives you that many potions. If he still refuses to agree, then, considering how perverted he is, offer him something else first—something that’s the least compromising thing you’re willing to do."

After Grace asked a few more questions, Max finally said, "Now, if you wanna go with this plan, you have my card. I’m always available, so don’t hesitate to call me."

With that, Max stood up and left.

Grace stayed seated for several moments, staring at the table with an increasingly irritated expression.

"What the hell do I have to do for some measly potions?" she muttered through gritted teeth.

She hated how easily that man had turned a simple business deal into something this complicated.

There were still countless questions she wanted answered about this mysterious, paranoid potion maker. Who was he? Why was he so difficult to reach? And why did everything involving him have to be so damn troublesome?

But for now, none of that mattered as much as getting her hands on those potions.

Grace finally stood and walked out of the café, her irritation still written across her face.

The moment she stepped outside, her car rolled to a stop in front of her.

She opened the door and got inside, shutting it a little harder than necessary.

The driver glanced at her through the rearview mirror.

"How did it go, ma’am?"

Grace sighed as she put the bag to the side.

"Fine. There’s enough for the next raid, but we can’t keep going like this, running around looking for potions like they’re scraps. What did your boss say about hiring a new potion maker?"

"The main branch is still looking to hire a new one, but it won’t solve the shortage problem," he said, looking slightly worried as well. "Any potions those guys make would just go to the upper units controlled by the other family members..."

Grace frowned.

"So basically, even if they hire someone new, we’re still going to be fighting for whatever scraps are left."

"Pretty much," the driver replied.

Grace’s face tightened when she heard that.

She picked up her phone and looked down at the card Max had handed her earlier.

"Then... it can’t be helped."

The words came out reluctantly.

Her fingers hovered over the screen for a few seconds before she finally started typing. She still didn’t like this. Not even a little.

But what other choice did she have?

If she had to deal with this mysterious potion maker eventually, then doing it now might at least give her something in return. According to Max, all she needed to do was swallow a little pride and play along, and she could potentially get a lot more potions than she could through normal channels.

Grace sighed.

She hated that the idea was actually tempting.

After a moment, she put the phone aside and looked out the car window.

"Call the unit leader and tell him the supplies are ready," she said quietly. After another brief pause, she added, "Let’s at least make some money back..."

Meanwhile, Max was on his way to meet Yennefer when his phone suddenly rang. He looked at the message and immediately broke into a wide smile. "She really does need them urgently..." he muttered.

The message made one thing clear to him: Grace was genuinely desperate for the potions. Another message came through. "Send me his contact, and can you also tell me what I should say first?"

Max’s smile grew even wider as he read it.

She was technically putting everything in his hands now. She wasn’t just asking for the contact—she was asking him how to approach his fake mentor and what exactly she should say.

Max quickly typed back.

"Of course I can. But let me first tell him a little about you. He won’t take your message seriously otherwise..."