After the secretary brought two cups of tea over, Jasper spoke, “Mr. Paulson, I’d like to know how Colossal views Celine.”
Paulson chuckled and spoke, “Before I tell you that, I’d like to know how you view Celine.’
Jasper arched his brow slightly and replied, “She is my friend. When it comes to our working relationship, she has capabilities that others could only wish to possess, and thus, is able to save a lot of my time. In terms of our private life, she has a very unique personality and charisma, and I am fortunate to call her my friend.”
Paulson nodded. Leaning against the sofa, he replied, “That’s a great answer. Honestly, I think I’m starting to envy you for having such a great friend. But Laine, you have to understand that the investment industry is very different from other industries.
“I encourage my employees to be friends with their clients, but they can only be friends professionally. The moment a client oversteps what we consider a normal friendship, it becomes a problem for both the investment company and the employee themself.”
Jasper replied calmly, “I understand the investment industry has its own rules of survival. But don’t you think it’s a bit too much to suspect Celine, who had just brought the investment company such a huge business deal, Mr. Paulson?”
“It’s a necessary review. You have to understand that Colossal has its reasons too. Firstly, the biggest issue now is that neither you nor Celine can explain the reason behind the reduction in 20commission fee.
“There are clearly stated regulations within Colossal Investments. Someone in as high a position as Celine does indeed have the authority to reduce commission fee, and her limit coincidentally happens to be 20%… however, while she does have the authority to do so, it is also crucial she provides us a reasonable explanation when she does.
“She has to explain why she did it, and what benefits her action will bring the company. The truth now is that she cannot come up with a reasonable explanation for the 20% discount, so an internal review has to be conducted.”
Jasper’s mind went back to that night, of how Celine reminded her of a stubborn girl who wanted the pair of high heels in the showcase window. He could not possibly tell Colossal that Celine had given him a 20% decrease in commission fees because he had broken the glass and gotten Celine the pair of heels she wanted.
“You might not know this, Laine, but when a senior executive objected to her plan of helping Sena go public, Celine had promised me that she was willing to accept any investigation as long as the plan went through as stated.
“Moreover, she has also promised to resign immediately and compensate the Colossal three times the commission fee if Sena did not meet an IPO of 100 US Dollars.”
Jasper shot to his feet at Paulson’s words.
“Has she gone mad?” Jasper spoke angrily.
Jasper never had to cooperate with Colossal Investments, for they were not the only option available to him. There were other investment companies like Layman and Merlene elsewhere.
Jasper would never have agreed to work with these people if he knew that Celine had paid such a high price just to keep the deal going.
Jasper felt a nameless fury fester within him as he thought back to how carefree Celine had acted with him these days. She acted like nothing was wrong, despite the immense pressure she was under.
Jasper could still accept it if Celine was under review because of the 20% decrease in commission fees. However, if William was the one who was causing the problem that resulted in Celine paying such a high price and betting her entire professional career, then this was something Jasper could not accept.
He was both angry and frustrated.
Angry at himself for not knowing about this earlier, and frustrated at Celine for making her own decisions without first informing him.
