Jasper walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows in the office after Sean left. Watching the calm flow of the Southface River, he fell silent.
Wendy was about to speak when she saw Dawson shake his head slightly at her.
“He’s thinking. Leave him alone for a moment.”
Wendy nodded and looked at Jasper worriedly.
She knew that Jasper was the person under the most pressure within the company.
Sean, herself, and even her father were used to relying on Jasper and placing their hope in him most of the time. It was as if every problem could be easily solved Jasper was around.
However, as someone who was always by Jasper’s side, Wendy knew better than anyone that is was because Jasper spent countless nights thinking, weighing the potential outcomes, and revising the entire situation, that everything was ‘easily’ solved.
No one succeeded without putting in any effort.
After more than ten minutes of thought, Jasper suddenly spoke, “I can’t keep waiting.”
Dawson shared a look with his daughter, Wendy. They did not know what Jasper meant by this.
A moment later, Jasper had dialed a number.
“Mr. Marlon, it’s me, Jasper.”
“Mr. Laine, we were waiting for your news,” Wayne’s voice sounded from the other end of the line.
“How are your discussions going?” Jasper asked.
Wayne replied, “I need a promise from you, Mr. Laine.”
“I’ll make the promises I should, but I don’t have the time to let you discuss endlessly. Time is of the essence, and I’m sure both Abbylon and I are racing against it.
“I suggest you hold a shareholder meeting immediately. If you agree to vote for me, Mr. Marlon, then I will do everything I can to support Abbylon’s rise. But if you don’t agree…”
Jasper stopped speaking there, but they both understood what the consequences would be.
Wayne knew that with Jasper’s current status in the dot-com industry, either Sena or Terizone could easily replicate Abbylon’s model and surpass the latter.
The most tragic part of such an outcome was that Abbylon would be too weak to defend itself against them.
This was essentially Jasper’s ultimatum to them.
Wayne frowned slightly, but not because he was displeased by Jasper’s oppression.
No businessman could be polite forever. When necessary, they had to be daring and resolute in their negotiations.
In the future, Abbylon’s development would similarly prove that Wayne was not a pushover or a cowardly businessman either.
On the contrary, Wayne was conflicted as to why Jasper was in such a rush.
After a moment of silence, Wayne asked, “Mr. Laine, I’ve also received news of Softwin targeting you. Are these two matters related?”
“Yes,” Jasper affirmed calmly.
They were all intelligent people and Jasper did not need to deny such a thing. Doing so would only be disrespectful to Wayne and himself.
It was possible that Jasper’s frankness had moved Wayne, or perhaps Wayne had another idea in mind. In any case, Wayne did not hesitate this time.
“Alright, we’ll hold a meeting.”
Jasper let out a long sigh at Wayne’s words as his mood brightened as well.
He was willing to greatly offend Softwin for Abbylon’s sake, and now that he had paid the price, Jasper was facing the risk of losing everything if he did not force Wayne to declare his stance.
This did not tally up with Jasper’s traditional way of doing business.
Wayne was well aware that Softwin and JW were already attacking each other head-on, and he could not afford to be an undecided fence-sitter anymore. Now, Wayne had to make a choice.
His final choice was to bend to Jasper’s will.
After all, Abbylon was a Somer business and Softwin was a Sunrise investment bank. However, even he could tell that no one dared to offend Jasper in Somerland’s dot-com industry.
“Two-thirty this afternoon, Shangri-La Hotel’s Conference Hall. I’ll send someone over to book the place, so just arrive by then, Mr. Marlon.”
“Alright,” Wayne replied.
“But according to the regulations, I have to notify and invite Softwin’s representatives as well They’re a major shareholder, after all.”
“Of course.”
