It was a pleasant afternoon, Timothy vont Alms sat at his desk speaking to his second son.

"Bradley, how well do you William vont Ballard?" the City Lord questioned.

"We spoke some during the end-of-term exam, why father" Bradley questioned.

"I want you to develop a connection with him, befriend him. I want to know what he has planned next before others," the City Lord said rubbing his chin and grinning.

"But, father we're not in the same classes, and I hardly ever see him in the guild. How am I supposed to befriend him, plus I'm not good talking to people," Bradley said. Bradley was more talkative to his blueprints, diagrams, and machines.

When Bradley ran for the Engineer Command Post, it was only because his father threatened to disown him, if he did not show leadership potential.

The City Lord, was well aware land nobles, governors, severed at the pleasure of the king, and the only way to assure your position was through accumulating power. Timothy vont Alms, wanted his sons to desire and scheme their way to the top as he had done. He wanted his sons, help him get promoted to the capital.

"You ignorant son, do not all the second-year nobles take the etiquette course? Use that class to develop a relationship. Update me regularly on your conversations. If you fail my request, your mother's treatment will be delayed," he said smiling.

Bradley was the second son of Timothy vont Alms, born to his mistress. Timothy vont Alms recognized Bradley because he desperately wanted a second son. His first wife had given him one son and a daughter before becoming infertile.

After Bradley was born, his mother became ill, and Timothy would often use her medication and doctor visits as bait to manipulate Bradley. Even worse, Bradley suffered under the abuse of his father's wife, and his half-siblings. Bradley's only solace was in his drawings and contraptions.

"Yes, father," Bradley squeaked.

"William vont Ballard's growing piles of coin have frustrated merchants, and high nobles. Bradley, I want you to make William feel comfortable with our family. If you accomplish this task, I'll make sure my wife and your siblings leave you alone. Leave now, bring William as your friend to a family dinner or be expelled from the academy and this family!" the City Lord shouted at an exiting Bradley.

"Just a little while longer, I have to wait just a little while longer until I can leave this family for good. I'll grab my mother and we'll go someplace you'll never find me!" Bradley's fists were balled and the knuckles on his hands turned a dark red.

He hated his father, but in Guidon, his father was like a king. The City Lord had his hands in everything, every business. Nothing got done or approved without his consent. Yet, Will had surprised him and now he wanted Will in his web. "Never! I will make sure William stays as far away from my father as possible," Bradley whispered with conviction.

...

When Vanessa returned, Will was still visibly angry. At the moment he would have gladly executed the troubadours himself. 'They stole from me and dared to ask for more money,' Will thought and the more he thought the angry he got.

Vanessa could not use magic, and the mana Will exuded began to drain out the air in the front office, Vanessa found herself struggling to breathe. Will noticed Vanessa holding her throat, and relaxed his magical aura.

"Thank you, Boss Will," Vanessa said meekly. She was catching her breath. He had heard of Will's heroics and that he was a knight who can cast magic like a mage. But, she had never experienced Will's anger before, and she knew moving forward not to upset this man. She pitied who got in his way.

"Vanessa from when it comes to construction, repairs, or craftsmanship, I want you to solicit three bids from Crafter's Guild, and accept the lowest bid. Also, I will sign off purchases for the theatre when I am in Guidon," Will said angrily, his tone still radiated annoyance and frustration.

"Yes, Boss Will," Vanessa curtsied. She committed her life to serve Will, in her eyes he was a god amongst men. He was young, handsome, and extremely knowledgeable in business. In her eyes, no one was his equal, especially not those disgusting old merchantmen she had worked within the past.

"Boss Will want is a bid? Is a bid like an estimate or contract?" Vanessa asked sincerely. Doing her job well was important to her, but she had never heard of bids. She wasn't sure if he Will meant contracts or estimates?

"Oh Vanessa I'm sorry, yes a bid is an estimate. When we have projects that need to be completed, like building a set for the theatre, I want you to solicit three estimates from Crafter's Guild. Bids are a competitive way to find the lowest estimate.

You can think of bidding as a reverse auction, where instead of selling something, we're offering to buy a crafter's services," Will said remorsefully.

Will explained, "that competitive bidding is the process of issuing a public bid to the Crafter's Guild, with the intent that crafters will put together their best proposal and compete for a specific project.

Bidding creates a transparent environment that is open and fair. By making it a competitive environment, we can keep costs low and garner the most qualified companies to do the work."

"The crafter with the best price wins the contract to perform the work or supply the products. The closing date for a bid is a specific date when the bid is closed to the public for bid submissions.

At this point, only the submitted proposals will be considered eligible. The closing date is an important part of a bid process because it establishes a level playing field for crafters to submit their best proposal for us.

It is also an important thing to establish from the get-go because most (if not all) contracts have a specific start date and a time frame for the completion of the project. This ensures that the work will be completed on time," Will finished.

Usually, there are two ways of taking bids, open and blind bids. Open bidding is where businesses visibly can see the bid submissions. Blind, or closed, bids promote fairness by hiding the contractor's name or company to let bidders complete only on price.

Blind bidding is attractive for smaller contractors because they think it discourages corruption and favoritism. The problem with blind bidding is that leads contractors to bid underbid or overbid.

Whereas open bids, allow contractors to see bids of their competition. With open bids, usually, the largest contractor sets the market price and the smaller firms bid lower. However, this creates a race to the middle, which leads to the company's choosing on a reputation often over price.

As Will explained bidding and the procurement process, Vanessa understands the importance of this process. From now, she committed herself to this unfamiliar practice. She felt her training at the Merchant Guild was inadequate for what Boss Will demands.

Will's anger was also directed at himself. He should have seen this coming and explained this to Vanessa and Mei ahead of time. No facility is perfect, and the theatre's required constant set designs. Instead of waiting, he should have addressed repairs earlier with his two senior clerks.

After Will finished examining the books, he decided to walk next door to investigate the casino.