Jacob made an appointment to see Edward Ford, and after the two previous unpleasant experiences, both men had a friendly smile on their faces, giving no hint of the explicit rivalry involved.
“Jacob, I knew you’d be here.” Edward Ford nodded his head with a look of relief.
Jacob nodded in response, “Mr. Ford, we meet again.”
“That’s natural.” Edward Ford gestured to his seat and motioned for him to take it.
Jacob sat down at ease before speaking unhurriedly, “Mr Ford must have seen my sincerity, it’s just that ……” he smiled and looked over at him, “I wonder what Mr Ford’s current opinion is ……”
Edward Ford gave a flash of sharp eyes, “You mean that you are not satisfied with the terms I have offered?”
Jacob smiled and did not say anything, Edward Ford returned the same smile, “Jacob, don’t be too greedy, you have to take one step at a time, not to mention that I have given you full control of the branch under my name, this is already my limit!”
No one can reach the top in one step, not even he.
Jacob shook his head, “That’s a bit of a joke Mr Ford, we’re just out for a meal, we’re not talking about business matters that we shouldn’t.”
“You’re still not satisfied?” Edward Ford’s face sank with a swish of displeasure.
“No, it’s just that I don’t see Mr. Ford as being sincere, consider the piece of land acquired some time ago as a gift. What’s more, Mr Brown is already beginning to suspect me, and if Mr Ford can’t give a word, I won’t go on taking any more risks to save myself from being used in the end ……”
Jacob’s words hinted vaguely at something, and Edward Ford heard them loud and clear, clenching his thin lips in a movement that almost tasted of blood between his lips and teeth.
Not long after, the waiter had served the food, Jacob swept up and got up, “I’m sorry Mr. Ford, the food today is not to Jacob’s liking, so I’d better leave.”
“Wait!”
“Is there anything else Mr Ford can do?” Jacob turned to look at him, not a trace of anxiety or unease on his face.
Edward Ford was at his wits’ end with people like this, and his patience was always short.
At this point, he could only say through gritted teeth, “Jacob, what is it that you want? I don’t think I’m offering anything less, and besides, you must know that I don’t trust you completely yet.”
“Is Mr Ford still bringing that up?” He smiled and looked over at him, “Only if Mr Ford insists on bringing it up, then I’ll be blunt, and you should know full well that what I need is a guarantee, and you, on the other hand, can’t give me that.”
So …… why should he agree?
Edward Ford grimaced, “Do you think I can’t give you what you want? You are young, you have plenty of time, and you have plenty of time for me to believe in you and to promote you!”
“If that’s the case, then I’d rather choose to continue to live comfortably in KL, KL can give me what I want and it doesn’t take me any time, even everything I want is at my fingertips, so …… why should I go and give up KL and be loyal to the Fords Group? ”
He wasn’t stupid, much less a fool!
Edward Ford’s face suddenly changed and he had to admit that the terms he was offering were really no match for what he had now compared to KL ……
“If you want, I’ll personally give it away if you help me get KL later!”
“Why should I trust you?”
“KL is of no use to me, and I have no branch in H City, and my cooperation with H City is even less. Besides, I only need to secure the rest of my life, so the Fords Group is enough to secure my future and my daughter’s.”
Jacob snorted, “No, Mr Ford, you are a businessman, and businessmen never have too much money, you don’t trust me and I don’t trust you in the same way.”
Edward Ford looked at him coldly and asked directly, “So, what are your terms?”
“And what about Mr Ford’s sincerity?” He asked rhetorically.
Edward Ford waved his face, “Your ambition is so great that I don’t know what it will take to satisfy you, and what’s more, I don’t know what I should do.”
“It’s simple: at KL, I have a five per cent share, and likewise, the Fords Group I want a five per cent share. Also, the position of Vice President of the Fords Group ……”
The moment Jacob’s words came out, Edward Ford looked at him with incredulous eyes, “So, what you want in your heart is more power? What difference does that make to you in KL!”
“No difference, but did Mr Ford think I would be willing to get less than that after all those years with Mr Brown and finally betraying him?”
“I ……”
Edward Ford was dumbfounded for a moment, not knowing how he should refute him.
Jacob laughed, “Look, Mr. Ford is going to make me eat this dumb thing when he understands it himself, do you think, I’m going to say yes?”
Edward Ford fell silent and Jacob watched his movements carefully for a while before speaking again, “In fact, I have another idea in mind, and since Mr Ford has already said that KL is mine once Logan Brown is taken down, it’s not a bad deal for you to offer me the position of Vice President of the Fords Group. It’s not a loss.”
At that, Edward Ford frowned, not sure what he meant.
Jacob raised his lips, “It’s simple, my position as Vice President of the Fords Group is only temporary. KL, on the other hand, you and I can easily take him down when we join forces. I know all of KL’s weaknesses, and when Logan Brown is ousted and KL is without a master, then all you have to do is help me get the chairmanship of KL, and I will leave G City and the Fords Group on my own, and you and I will no longer be related!”
“No! I want you to help me too.” Edward Ford reiterated again and again that what he lacked was a most capable assistant, and he, too, happened to be the perfect candidate.
What was the point of doing all that if, as he said, he was going to get KL and go back to H City and never do it again?
Jacob was surprised, “And what does Mr Ford mean?”
“KL can be given to you, but you are my man after all, you need to help me!”
“That ……”
Edward Ford met his hesitant gaze and pressed on, “So, do you promise?”
Jacob stood there, his hand resting on the doorknob, he could easily leave with a slight twist, Edward Ford stared dead on at his movements, not daring to move away in the slightest.
Before Jacob could make a move, the door had been pushed open first before that, and the figure of Roger Scott appeared in front of the pair unannounced.
Roger Scott looked at the two men in the room and was furious, he glared at Jacob and questioned him, “Jacob, you did come to see Logan behind his back, you didn’t try to betray him did you?”