Realizing that he had said the wrong thing, Conrad sighed deeply and leaned back in the soft car seat with his eyes closed. He muttered under his breath, “I said the wrong thing. I’m sorry.”
“You’re my son. You don’t need to apologize to me.”
Steven sighed as well.
“I thought you were mature enough to step in and handle the family business for me, but now it seems you’re still a little too inexperienced. You’re too obsessed when it comes to dealing with Jasper.”
Conrad opened his eyes and asked, “What do you mean? Are you saying that I shouldn’t go against him, Dad?”
Steven put his hands behind his back and said in a deep voice, “Think about it. Would you have had a conflict with Jasper if the guys from Harbor City hadn’t persuaded you to form an ally with them for some benefits?
“You wouldn’t have! Now, the Lancasters and Langdons are gone, leaving this mess behind. They’ve returned to Harbor City while you continue to suffer crushing defeats over and over again. Can you even calculate the losses you’ve suffered?”
After hearing what Steven said, Conrad said unwillingly, “I can’t afford to lose to Jasper!”
“That’s why I said you’re obsessed.”
Steven shook his head, looking even more disappointed.
“You must know that the Monty family does business. We’re businessmen and so is Jasper. The greatest taboo in the business field is letting your emotions affect your decision.
“When you can finally talk and laugh with Jasper, perhaps even sit down and discuss a business partnership with him, that’s when you have truly matured.”
Conrad said angrily, “No way! I will trample Jasper to the ground!”
“I’m not saying that you’re wrong to think that way. There are no absolute friends or absolute enemies in the business field. Wherever profit is involved, partnerships and enemies can be formed. You, however, have failed in this respect.
“If there’s a partnership right now that you and Jasper can do together that’ll potentially earn you lots of benefits, then from my understanding of your character, you’d rather give up on those benefits than let Jasper have them, right?”
After hearing the question, Conrad opened his mouth to retort but eventually replied dejectedly, “Yeah.”
Conrad’s innermost thoughts would always be exposed in front of his father.
His father’s words were exactly his thoughts and also what he would do.
“That’s why I say you’re immature. Remember what Jasper did last time when you approached him with the fake partnership? He merely suspected your motives but did not reject your partnership. Instead, he went and investigated the matter. If it turned out to be genuine, he was not going to refuse.
“This is why you’ve repeatedly lost to Jasper. You’re not worse than Jasper, you were just born into the wrong family.”
Conrad said in disdain, “What do you mean by that, Dad? I’m your son. Jasper is nothing but a poor man born into an ordinary family of farmers yet you’re saying that I was born into the wrong family?”
Steven shook his head. “You’re my son, hence everything has been smooth sailing for you. You grew up having everything that you wanted. Even though you work hard unlike other hedonistic sons of wealthy families, you don’t need to grind and rarely get knocked down by society. These are all things that the Monty family can’t offer you.
“Look at Jasper. He grew up in an environment where he was surrounded by malicious people. If he wanted to rise, then he would need to understand the intentions of everyone who came knocking at his door. You never need to worry about these things.
“That’s because you know that those people won’t harm you or lie to you, hence you’ve grown accustomed to being praised and to the label of the so-called genius that only appears once every 50 years. These are all your shackles.
“Maybe it’s not usually that noticeable, but once you face someone like Jasper, he’ll be your jinx and you’ll suffer a crushing defeat.”
