“Mr. Layne.”
Jasper got out of the car and shook hands with Vita who was grinning from ear to ear.
Vita took Jasper’s hands with a chuckle and lowered his voice to say, “I will soon be the branch president, Mr. Laine.”
Jasper was pleasantly surprised. “You got a promotion? Congratulations! You will have to buy me lunch, you know?”
Vita let out a modest smile and said, “I’m keeping a low profile. They came and talked to me earlier, so I think there won’t be a major issue. The official documents have yet to be issued, though, so I can’t disclose this to the public yet. As for lunch, sure, as long as you’re willing to give me the honor, Mr. Laine, then I can buy you lunch anytime!
“Speaking of which, I have to thank you for this.”
“Oh? Why is that so?” Jasper asked curiously.
“It’s all thanks to that plot of land previously.” Vita led Jasper into the office building.
“You wanted to talk to the city hall regarding the construction of the world’s tallest building on that plot of land, didn’t you? The branch received the news the next day itself, alerting the headquarters as well. They knew that I had gone all out to make this happen, so they issued an order of commendation straight away.”
“I heard that the head of Waterhoof City Hall even gave a call to the headquarters’ boss and told him that our branch had done a great deed that would benefit the country and the people.”
Vita said in elation.
A man of his age and status would find it extremely arduous to get promoted. After all, every level presented a massive barrier.
Though thanks to Jasper, he was able to take a big step forward effortlessly. In the future, he would remain in the vice president position to build up his skills for a few years. Then, he would be promoted as president in one of the provincial branches. When he retired, according to customary practices, he would be raised by half a level, serving temporarily as the headquarters’ vice president.
This was something he had dared not even think about in the past.
Jasper was equally surprised when he heard what he said. The country was in urgent need of major events to boost national confidence and demonstrate national strength. The previous Olympics was one, and building the world’s tallest building was another that was in line with the expectations.
It was no wonder Vita benefited from it as well.
This was a lucrative job in the municipality, what more for an ICBS branch’s vice president in a financial center like Waterhoof City.
“You really do need to buy me that lunch,” Jasper joked.
“Definitely. I will invite John as well when that happens.” Vita chuckled, leading Jasper to his office and making him a cup of coffee.
Vita then took a seat, the smile on his face gradually diminishing as he spoke softly, “I have bad news, Mr. Laine.”
Jasper raised his eyebrows slightly as he stared at Vita, waiting for him to continue.
After letting out a wry smile, Vita continued with a slightly awkward expression, “You spoke to me about the partnership two days ago, remember? I conveyed your requirements to the president and two other vice presidents about it. Everyone was pretty delighted about it at first.
“What’s more, you’re a huge figure in Waterhoof City now. Everyone in the branch is thankful for your contribution regarding that plot of land. So we compiled the documents and handed in the materials to the headquarters but did not expect the headquarters to reject it straight away.”
Vita observed Jasper’s countenance as he spoke, only to see no changes.
Vita was gradually losing confidence and felt slightly guilty about it.
After all, Jasper had helped him get promoted as the branch’s vice president, yet he messed up the first time Jasper asked him to get something done.
Anyone would be upset about this.
Moreover, this was a reasonable and legal partnership. Jasper was not going through the back door or benefiting from him at all.
“The branch in Waterhoof City has the authority to grant me access to an online banking interface, right?” Jasper asked.
Vita chuckled bitterly. “We do, actually. If we hadn’t reported it to the headquarters and kept it to ourselves, then it would’ve been doable. But the problem here is that the president who only initially intended to inform the headquarters did not expect them to reject it straight away. Since this is the case, it will now be inappropriate for us to force the partnership.”
Jasper asked with a frown, “Do you know why it got rejected?”
Vita replied frankly without holding any information back, “When things like that are involved, the headquarters will need to have a meeting to seek permission. You know that ICBS’ shareholder structure is slightly complicated, but almost all of them are state-owned enterprise holdings… All but one.
“Harbor City Trade Settlement Center!
“This trade settlement center holds 31% of ICBS’ shares, making them the third-largest shareholder. Hence, they have a say in making decisions.
“The trade settlement center’s representative was the one who opposed this proposal in the meeting. They’re pretty firm about it. Mr. Laine, under normal circumstances, state-owned enterprises, especially one with a complex shareholder structure like ICBS, would choose to respect the opinions of major shareholders if they ever oppose.”
Jasper finally understood what was going on after listening to Vita’s explanation.
This problem might seem complicated but was actually pretty easy to understand.
ICBS’ headquarters had held a shareholders meeting specifically about his application and Harbor City Trade Settlement Center strongly opposed it. As such, the partnership was considered to have fallen through.
However, Jasper bore no grudge against Harbor City Trade Settlement Center, so why did the other party oppose it?
Jasper had a feeling that something fishy was going on.
At this moment, Vita’s voice rang out. “Mr. Laine, I suggest you find out if there’s any misunderstanding between you and Harbor City Trade Settlement Center, especially the aristocrats who hold the shares. They are the ones who have a say in this.”
“Do you know which aristocratic families hold the trade settlement center’s shares?” Jasper asked.
“I do. One of them is the Half-the-Harbor Langdon family, holding 25% of shares. Then, there’s the infrastructure magnate, the Atticus family, holding 24% of shares. The rest of the 51% of shares shouldn’t be much of a problem because they’re all under state-owned enterprises that can’t even beat you. I don’t think they’ll make things difficult for you on purpose.”
The Atticus family!
Jasper’s eyes lit up.
He finally knew who was behind this.
Fabian Atticus!
