Chapter 1176 - Friends And Traitors (4)

Jasper entered a private VIP room in an exclusive members-only club and found Christopher fiddling with his phone while waiting for him.

"You are a member here?" Jasper found it strange that Christopher will pay a hefty membership in a city he doesn't visit often. Everyone knows that out of six of them, he is the one tight with money.

"No.", Christopher smiled. "Jeff is. Remember that he told us we can come here on his VIP account?"

"Why are we here?", Jasper asked while taking a seat on the sofa chair across the table from Christopher.

Christopher kept his phone on the side. "Don't you think that Jeff is… unreasonable?"

"What makes you think so?"

"This is not about what I think. I want to know what you are thinking."

Jasper realized that Christopher is testing him. He expected this but he thought that Christopher will be more refined about it. "I told you already that lately he is not focused on his business or on his friends as he used to be. Are you expecting me to say more?"

"Yes." Christopher admitted. The goal of this meeting is to figure out if Jasper is willing to abandon Jeff. Jasper is the one with most power (after Jeff), and if Jeff loses Jasper as his support, it will be easier to accomplish their missions of helping Marcus. After all, they are not getting anything until Marcus takes over Jeff's position.

Jasper shook his head. "I am not the one to talk behind other's back."

"But we came here to talk."

"Talk or gossip?"

Christopher shrugged. "Is it gossip if it's the truth?"

"What do you want, Christopher?"

"You don't approve of Jeff. What if I can make that… profitable?"

Jasper chuckled. "You would dare to act against Jeffrey White? Are you trying to trick me into something?"

"No tricks."

"Really? We all know that Jeff is facing Marcus, his own uncle who is plotting to take everything Jeff has. Both Marcus and Jeff have spies. How do I know that you are not working with Jeff in an attempt to find out if I am one of people who will turn against Jeff?"

Christopher was stunned for few seconds. He didn't expect Jasper to be so blunt about it. "No wonder you were always the best student. Cautious. Smart."

"Yes. I was. And I remember that I was always neck-in-neck with Jeff if not falling slightly behind."

"Are you afraid of him?", Christopher taunted Jasper.

"I would be a fool not to be afraid. Also, I will never underestimate him."

"Does that mean that you will stay by Jeff's side?"

"I didn't know that you called me here to pick sides…", Jasper scrutinized Christopher for few seconds before speaking again: "I don't believe in sides, only in profits. That said, I will not act against Jeff without a good backer and a foolproof plan."

Christopher's eyes lit up. "What if I tell you that there is a good backer? And we have a plan."

"I would ask you to tell me who he is because not everyone can be powerful enough to back me up. And I need to know what you are up to…"

…

Jeff is in his office, watching on his laptop Christopher and Jasper talking. It is a live video feed provided by a drone which entered the VIP room together with Jasper.

Sarah is also listening from her laptop while observing data provided by Eve which helps them see Eve's calculations on lie vs truth while the two men are talking.

At first, Jeff was in disbelief, hoping that it's not true and that Jasper is wrong. Or that maybe this whole thing is a mistake and Bradley and Christopher are not working against him. Or that his Uncle will just give up and call off everything. But Jeff knows that he can't deceive himself, because it is happening and he needs to steel himself and protect his position, because that means protecting his wife and his friends and family as well... the real friends and the family members worth protecting.

Marcus started a war which is not only an attack on Jeff, but it provided an opportunity to all the people with ulterior motives, and hidden agenda to reveal themselves.

Marcus is ashamed to share his failures with his henchmen, and that works in Jeff's favor because they believe that Marcus has an advantage, and in an effort to take whatever they can, his enemies are exposing themselves, making them an easy target. If Christopher is not convinced that Marcus is winning, he would never approach Jasper like this. Christopher believes that if Jasper joins them, Jeff will fall faster and he will get his rewards sooner, but if Japer refuses, they will take care of him when Marcus takes over.

As Christopher's talk with Jasper continued, Jeff's disbelief shifted to dejection before it morphed into rage.

"There. I said it all. Will you join us?", Christopher asked Jasper.

Jasper was silent for some time, thinking about what Christopher told him. "I heard you say that your backer is Marcus White. And I heard what you promised to do for him, even though I believe there is more to it. But there is one thing I don't understand. I can ignore our decade of friendship for the sake of profits. But that friendship allowed us to get close and find out how powerful Jeff is. Why would you risk Jeff's fury?"

By now, Christopher was convinced that Jasper will switch sides, and he spoke openly: "The art business is not as profitable as people think. It's about connections, and reputation. There are few families who are in it for generations and no matter what I tried, I don't stand a chance. Customers come to me, smile, pat me on the back, but when the time for a purchase comes, they go to my competition."

"You will rather go against Jeff than ask your family for help?"

Christopher snorted. "You don't think I tried? My father laughed, and my mom told me that they will give me all the help I want as long as I drop it and return to the family company."

Jasper was confused. "Is this about the money? Or connections and reputation? How can Marcus help you?"

"I need the money. But art is so much more than money. Marcus promised me several treasures which will definitely improve my reputation. Did you hear about 'Poppy Flowers' by Van Gogh, or 'The Concert' by Vermeer, or 'Reading Girl in White and Yellow' by Matisse? Those are all priceless treasures without a price tag. When Marcus gives me those…"

Sarah frowned at the mention of those paintings. She got Eve to investigate and a wicked smile bloomed on Sarah's face.

"Jeff… Hey, Jeff…", Sarah nudged him. "Those paintings that Christopher mentioned. We have them."

Jeff was not sure he understood Sarah correctly. "What?"

"Remember when we raided that underground bunker on the Morgan property in Dallas? Or was it in Austin? … Well, that is not important. It's important that the bunker had a lot of artwork, and the paintings which Christopher named were in there. And we took them."

"Where are they now?"

"In our warehouse."

Jeff sighed. "What a fool. Sold himself to Marcus for a price that Marcus is unable to pay."

"We took those more than a month ago. And considering that Marcus ousted Morgans shortly after that, there is no way that Marcus is not aware that Morgans lost the pieces…", Sarah's face lit up. "What will happen if Christopher finds out that he is risking his livelihood for an employer who can't pay for his services?"

"We can tell him now and hope that he goes to Marcus, demanding and explanation…", JoAnna spoke from the sofa she is resting on. "Or we can tell him as a final blow when he finds out that he lost whatever he has and gained nothing."

Jeff's brows furrowed. "I thought you are sleeping."

He asked JoAnna to go to the suite which is attached to his office. It's more comfortable in the bed there, but JoAnna refused. She said that she wants to be close to him and that sofa is just fine.

JoAnna smiled. "I can't sleep, but I'm resting my eyes and my body. I'm fine and I know that the babies are fine as well. Trust me on this, I am a doctor."

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