Dirt on Vita!
Were Jasper and Vita close?
Not really.
Jasper had only met Vita through John.
At the beginning, Jasper had only wished to acquaint himself with one of ICBS’ Waterhoof City branch’s internal personnel. This would help him with his purchase of the plot of land for the World Financial Center.
What happened after proved that Vita was a good and capable man.
Because of this, Jasper decided to help the man move up the ranks of the system.
The higher Vita’s ranks, the more power he held, and the more conveniences Jasper enjoyed.
Of course, he would not exploit Vita’s position to do something illegal. Jasper had no need to pursue such a thing, nor did Vita have the courage for it.
Their partnerships henceforth had been joyful all this while.
Take the online payment incident, for example. Vita played a crucial role in its development as the man had used his contacts to aid Jasper.
After partnering for a long time, Jasper had begun to consider Vita his friend.
Only when their relationship was mutually beneficial and their interests intact could their friendship last.
Most importantly, once the online payment policy was issued and carried out, Jasper’s partnership with the bank would only grow more intimate. Vita played an important role in this future.
Now that John had changed jobs to work for the Agricultural Bank, Vita was the only person within ICBS who could deliver crucial information to Jasper.
Be it out of logic or personal relationship, Vita had to be protected.
“What dirt?” Jasper asked solemnly.
Gerry smiled wryly and replied, “This I have no idea of. I only found out about this from eavesdropping on Prince’s call with someone else.”
“If I have to guess, Prince’s people should have contacted Vita about this already. But I don’t know what the two talked about specifically.”
Jasper frowned sternly.
Jasper would be affected negatively if something happened to Vita right as the online payment industry was about to open to the public.
Prince seemed to have realized this too, which was why he did not attack Jasper directly. Instead, he chose to attack someone as vital as Vita. Absolutely ruthless.
If Vita was removed from the equation, then all Prince had to do was use Clear Seas’ contacts and strength to block Jasper from forming a partnership with the ICBS.
Everything Jasper had planned for the online payment industry would be over then.
Jasper immediately thought of this severe repercussion and said sternly, “This is a very important piece of information to me.”
Gerry let out a long sigh and quickly replied in a pleased tone, “I’m glad that it helped you, Mr. Laine. I’m glad.”
Jasper looked at Gerry intently and asked, “To tell me something so important… Aren’t you afraid that Prince will cause you trouble?”
Gerry chuckled wryly and replied, “To be honest, Mr. Laine, I’ve thought about this deeply before.”
“Prince is powerful, but his power isn’t based in Waterhoof City. It’d take him quite a bit of effort if he wanted to get rid of me. In comparison to him, it’s more important that I don’t offend you, Mr. Laine.”
Jasper asked with a crescent-eyed smile, “My power isn’t based in Waterhoof City either, though. My properties are gathered in the Southeast Province.”
Gerry laughed dryly. “After being shown the Gardner family’s tragic end, I would never dare to offend you, Mr. Laine.”
Jasper suddenly understood. Gerry was not terrified of Jasper, he was terrified of the little prince.
The man also seemed to have misunderstood his relationship with the little prince.
However, Jasper was happy to let this misunderstanding continue. After all, Gerry’s information this time turned out to be priceless.
“Alright. Don’t worry, since you gave me such an important piece of information, then there’s no reason for me to cause you any trouble. I’ll keep the secret for you.”
“I also remembered that the Gardner family had a restaurant on Southwest Veil Road. The seafood restaurant you invested in closed down, right? I can give this one to you if you’re interested.”
All of Norman’s property had been auctioned to other people. However, considering who Jasper was, it was not difficult to get what he wanted. After all, everybody made seemingly profitable decisions.
Jasper was uninterested in Norman’s company, but he did use certain methods to procure a few properties, restaurants, and hotels that would appreciate in value in the future.
The aforementioned restaurant was one of them.
Gerry’s eyes lit up when he heard Jasper. Southwest Veil Road was an important piece of Waterhoof City’s future development, and even an idiot knew that the land there would appreciate. Not to mention that the restaurant had good business too. It would be a huge source of profit if he got ahold of it.
Seeing this only furthered Gerry’s belief that he had made the right decision in coming here. He quickly smiled and replied, “That would be nice, very nice. Thank you, Mr. Laine.”
Jasper patted Gerry’s shoulder as he replied with a crescent-eyed smile, “I’m always generous when it comes to my friends.”
Gerry got up and said, “Since you’re busy, Mr. Laine, then I will get going so as to not disturb you. There’s no need to send me off.”
Jasper walked Gerry to the door and said, “Then about Prince…”
Gerry was an experienced man in the industry, and he immediately understood what Jasper was implying. Before Jasper could finish speaking, he patted his chest and said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Laine. I’ll make sure to tell you right away if I obtain more news.”
Gerry had originally come to notify Jasper for the sake of repenting. He did not expect Jasper to give him such a huge reward.
Not even Norman or Prince rewarded him so well before, so Gerry would naturally swear his loyalty to Jasper.
Jasper nodded with a crescent-eyed smile and watched Gerry leave.
He knew that while individuals like Gerry were fickle people driven solely by benefits and interest, they were also much more reliable than a majority of ingenuine people who made empty promises.
They were cowards who were easily motivated by benefits. This made them much more useful.
People like them could be immensely useful once you instilled fear or rewarded them.
After Gerry left, Jasper returned to the study in the hotel room. He paced deep in thought for a long while before he picked up his phone to call Vita.
“This is a sudden call, Mr. Laine. Is there anything I can do for you?”
Vita’s tone on the phone was casual and relaxed.
Jasper smiled and replied, “I was thinking of treating you to dinner tonight. Are you free?”
Vita hesitated and said, “It might have another meeting tonight.”
“Is it important?” Jasper asked.
Vita clenched his jaw slightly and replied, “Perhaps I could treat you tomorrow instead?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Jasper beamed and replied understandingly, “Tomorrow’s fine too.”
“Alright then.”
After a few seconds of silence, Jasper ended the call.
His smile instantly disappeared and his expression turned calm.
Jasper had obtained an important piece of information from the call.
‘Something is indeed wrong with Vita!’
