Last year, we had a weird case—a complete first for me. A lady from this group (yes, you) made me jump through hoops: audits, reports, signed contracts, NDAs, and whatnot. At some point, I noticed things were getting muddy, so I passed it to our CEO, who has more experience closing this type of deal. The only thing remaining was to send the downpayment. Then, the CEO of their company told ours that he would "NEVER pay that kind of money to someone outside the US" and that he’d only pay a maximum of 1/4th because we were "inferior" (sic). Please note the amount was arranged by both parts and was in the contracts. In an attempt to save the project, our CEO contacted the lady, and she outright lied to his face, claiming they’d found someone better. She wasn’t aware of the earlier conversation, and all contracts had already been signed, leaving us with two options: she’s either a pathological liar or an unethical person. Here’s the kicker: they were so ignorant ...