“Ms. Garcia, not resting yet?”.
Jasper spoke first.
Ms. Garcia smiled and said, “There’s something I want to discuss with you privately.”
He recalled what Mr. McNeal had told him. If Mr. Mason was one of his men, then Ms. Garcia was obviously not one of them.
Jasper sighed to himself.
This was why he was unwilling to form connections with these political factions.
It was too confusing and torturing.
“Sure. Shall we look for a quiet space?”
Jasper might be thinking that, but obviously, he would not display his thoughts on his face. He smiled warmly as he spoke.
“Let’s talk in my room,” Ms. Garcia offered.
The layout of Ms. Garcia’s room was the same as Mr. McNeal’s. They were both suites that first led to a living room and then extended beyond into two bedrooms, a small study, and a parlor.
Jasper and Ms. Garcia headed straight to the parlor after entering her room.
“Ms. Garcia, how may I help you?”
Jasper cut straight to the chase and asked after sitting down.
When Ms. Garcia noticed the exquisite – looking ruby pendant in Jasper’s hands, she said, “That pendant is beautiful. It looks familiar too.”
Jasper smiled and replied, “Adele asked M r. McNeal to give it to me. She said that it used to be one of Grandmaster Brown’s playthings. I think it’s much too valuable, and I don’t know what to do with it now.”
Ms. Garcia was someone who gave things a lot of thought. When she heard Jasper’s choice of words in his explanation and noticed how he did not hide his ruby pendant but instead openly held it in his
hands, she immediately discarded what
she had previously prepared to say.
She replied, “There’s nothing to obsess about over this. You should accept it since i It was a kind gesture. Pushing the gift back and forth would do even more harm to your relationship.”
Jasper nodded and said, “You’re right, M s. Garcia. But friends should be polite and reciprocal too. I should take a look and see which gifts are more suitable so that I won’t always feel like I owe Adele something whenever I meet her in the future.”
Ms. Garcia’s eyes lit up when she heard
that.
Jasper had made his intentions clear.
This gift is an olive branch from the Brown family, and it’s terrifying me. However, I can’t refuse the olive branch if they’ve already extended it since it’ll harm our relationship.
However, this is merely a mutually beneficial relationship. If they give me some benefits, I’ll have to return the favor in the future once I get the chance to do so.
That way, no factions or bonds will be
formed. Everyone comes and goes as they
please. It was the outcome that Ms. Garcia had been hoping to see.
“Yes, I think that’s a good way of dealing
with things. Mr. Laine, I didn’t expect you
to be so good with relationships, in
addition to doing business.”
Jasper smiled wryly and said, “You’re too kind, Ms. Garcia. To be honest, I’m just someone who wants to carry out my responsibilities without any complications. Besides, the storm is about to arrive at this point. It wouldn’t be a good idea to become distracted by anything else.”
Ms. Garcia immediately replied, “You don’t have to worry about that. Friends should be considerate of each other. If the situation is not suitable now, we can hang on for a while longer before further discussion. All friends have the same motive, which is to protect the environment where we live. Friendships are not as complicated and sinister as you think they are. Frankly, everyone’s just trying to accumulate some good karma
for themselves.”
“Thank you for your advice, Ms. Garcia. I’m enlightened.”
Jasper felt slightly more relaxed.
It was the best outcome he could have
hoped for.
Ms. Garcia merely asked him a few
questions about work and made small talk
after that.
The two did not engage in another battle o
f wits.
They were all intellectuals here, and there were many matters where indirect words were enough for them to understand the other’s stance and takeaways. After all, would not be wise to be too open or upfront about such things.
Because it would be easy to end up becoming the less gracious one.
For Ms. Garcia, she would have completed
her mission as long as she confirmed Jasper had not formed any strong bonds with the Brown family.
Just like some other people, she was
unwilling to watch Jasper be set up to
become the benchmark for the next
generation whilst also having ties that
were too deep with political families.
That was what her boss was most
unwilling to see.
People in power hated faction-forming,
because once factions formed, things.
would no longer be done in everyone’s
best interest.
Jasper’s identity and position were
sensitive, and he could not get involved in
matters as others did.
The other reason behind Ms. Garcia’s
actions was that she wanted to confirm
Jasper’s stance.
Luckily, Jasper had given her a
satisfactory answer. She believed that her
people would be satisfied too.
Jasper did not stay back after leaving Ms.
Garcia’s room and returned straight to his
room instead.
The opening time for the economic forum
was approaching. He did not have the extra time to fuss about such matters.
While Jasper rested, turbulence brewed in the outside world because of this
economic forum.
The country’s stock markets were finally able to catch a break since they would have a holiday for the next two days. They took advantage of the time to calculate what the country’s domestic financial loss would be over just these two trading days.
The number they got shocked them greatly.
Amidst these massive losses, the people’s hopes for this economic forum only grew.
They knew that this economic forum held the capital needed to save this disaster.
This was a matter of great importance. Before the economic forum officially began, those attending the forum could not stop themselves from using their networks to contact others to obtain information.
This situation reached its peak upon the arrival of Lord Alvarado, Simson, Moses,
and company.
They became the center of everyone’s
attention the minute they arrived.
“Little Prince, do we have any news
regarding the actions JW is going to take
against Wall Street? Will it affect our
progress in the United States?”
The president of Helix Group was a
Waterhoof City local who was on good
terms with the royal family. Now that he
had caught sight of the little prince, he
did not hesitate to ask his questions..
Helix Group was an industrial group that
produced everyday products, and they had
just gone public after experiencing
countless struggles three months ago.
However, before they could reap their
rewards from getting listed on the stock
market, the Wall Street capital came and
caused their stock price to plummet
steeply.
It caused Helix Group to suffer huge
losses, and the president felt extremely
aggrieved over this.
The little prince glanced at him before
saying, “We will definitely take action There’s no way we’re going to let these foreigners walk all over us and take our hard-earned money away. But we haven’t decided on the details of what we’re going to do yet. News should be arriving soon.”
