Chapter 244 - Lunch with Julian Anastasia (2)

Their conversations flowed smoothly after Julian stopped trying to place expensive orders. Jasper tried to fish for more information about EZ Express while Julian tried to find out more about Jasper's VR technology although neither party was too obvious about it. Wilmer sat there like an invisible wall, eating and listening to them talk. An hour passed easily in the comfortable discussion and the meal was done.

There were still three more hours and Jasper checked the time discreetly.

"So," Julian wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Shall we talk about business?"

The table quickly cleaned and Julian brought out his laptop to prepare his presentation. He wasn't confident in being able to entice the young CEO with Wilmer around so this was merely a formality. The real ace up his sleeve was reserved for later and Julian had to hide his excitement. He couldn't wait to see their expressions once he revealed it.

Wilmer and Jasper didn't speak and waited patiently for Julian to set up his laptop. Jasper's phone vibrated and he checked the caller. Wilmer and Julian glanced at the teen who quickly excused himself in a hurry. The number didn't have a saved name but he knew who was calling. This would be Edward's other number.

Jasper scrambled to the bathroom and locked himself in a stall before accepting the call.

"What is it? I'm still in a meeting with Julian and Wilmer. They're alone now, I left for the bathroom so I could pick your call."

Edward apologised on the other end. "I'm also calling from the bathroom, it was hard getting away from the boss but this is important! Julian's not there to talk business, he's there to spread dirt and threaten you with it. Wilmer's participation was within his calculations, I just found out."

Jasper cussed. He had a feeling he knew where this was going. Julian wasn't very subtle about it earlier and Edward's call confirmed his fears.

"What do we do now?

Edward sighed and thought about it for a while. "What do you want to do? My identity cannot be exposed. If it is exposed, I can no longer be with Scarlet for her safety."

Jasper bit his lips. That was true. He wasn't afraid of the scandal about himself and Alex but he was worried about the rumours of Scarlet and Edward. Julian might have already known about Scarlet's identity as Liu Xiu Wen in China because of Leah Yuan and CEO Zhu.

"I'm not afraid of trials in my relationship with Alex but both you and Scarlet will suffer if I declare war on EZ Express by not allying myself with them. Alternatively, I could play a time delaying tactic to sign an agreement with them. Do you think you can nab them all before I really have to sign a deal with them?"

Edward exhaled. "I want to but this would be out of my control. My father has given me orders to lay off the case after the internship period ends. The Interpol will take over completely and how fast they act depends on how much they discover."

With a heavy heart, Jasper thanked Edward for the tip-off and ended the call. From this point out, it would be up to him to shoulder the burden that everyone else had been carrying. To paint a target on his back and become the hook that can catch the Anastasia shark was proving to be more difficult than he thought. Scarlet and Alex made better hooks but it was too dangerous for the girls, especially Scarlet. Jasper had to find some other way to make Julian wary of him, enough to keep his eyes on Kiwi Cat Studio and Jasper so that his focus wouldn't be on the girls.

"Sorry, that took a while," Jasper apologised after he returned. He didn't know what happened while he was gone but the tension in the room was so thick that Jasper felt suffocated.

The smile on Julian's face never wavered and the CEO of EZ Express invited Jasper to be seated once more so that they could begin with EZ Express' formal proposal for the collaboration.

While Julian talked about his company and the trends of markets these days, Wilmer couldn't help but clench his fist under the table hard enough for his nails to cut into his palm. If Lucian Anastasia was like a slippery eel that cannot be caught, his son was like the shark that terrorised the waters. The combination of father and son was the very reason why Wilmer's family isn't safe.

After Jasper left to receive an urgent call, Julian turned to him and started talking about his wife and daughters as if he was their neighbour who lived next door. He even talked about things that Wilmer didn't know about until a few hours ago when Jasper filled him in. The fact that Julian was able to tell him all about his wife's movement and habits within the Wilde mansion alarmed the CEO greatly. There was a spy nearby and Wilmer wanted nothing more than to use a steak knife to slash this man's throat so that he stopped yapping. Yet, Wilmer had to restrain himself. He couldn't afford to make Orita sad, not when they were so close to putting the Anastasias behind bars forever.

Jasper paid attention to Julian's presentation about his company structure and raised a brow. "Doesn't EZ Express have dealings worldwide? Why isn't China's territory on your list? It's one of the biggest destinations for orders, isn't it?"

Nodding and slightly impressed at the teen's source of information, Julian agreed. "It is true that we have many deliveries to China. However, they aren't handled by our company entirely. The shipping routes that we cover are mostly within America, Canada, South America and Europe. For the East to West transfer, we engage the help of another partner."

Humming in thought, Jasper thanked Julian and let him continue on. The CEO of EZ Express noted Jasper's doubt and Wilmer's contemplation. He could tell that they were trying to fish for information but Julian wouldn't let them have that satisfaction. If there was one weakness that the Wilde Empire had, it would be their lack of connections with the East. The one person who could bridge that gap for them would be Scarlet and her meddling with Pineapple Group's CEO. Unfortunately for her, Julian wasn't going to give her that chance. He was going to ruin the Wilde family completely if negotiations broke down today. Unlike his father, he wasn't going to be soft-hearted about it. The law was beneath him and even if he plotted murder, he could stage their deaths and have his friends in high places to cover it up as an 'unfortunate accident'. Those people were always looking for new ways to line their pockets and Julian had just the thing for them.

The rest of Julian's presentation went smoothly and Jasper appeared to be interested while Wilmer looked like he'd eaten something foul. Throughout the thirty minutes of presenting, Wilmer listened half-heartedly but even so, he had to admit that Julian was good at what he did. He knew exactly what to say and present in order to capture the interest of his customers. If this wasn't Julian Anastasia from EZ Express, Wilmer might be keen to work together on the project as a major investor of Kiwi Cat Studio. However, they were on different sides of the battlefield so the CEO perished the thought. No matter how good the presentation was, Wilmer wasn't going to accept it.

Jasper listened to the presentation while his mind was turning itself inside out trying to think of a way that would help him get out of the sticky situation. There was no doubt about it. Julian wasn't the kind of person who would take 'no' as an answer. The CEO was shameless and would resort to even the lowest of methods to get an agreement just like how he persisted until Jasper gave in and met up with him.

Satisfied that he had at least shaken the teen up with his brilliant presentation, Julain was expecting a satisfactory answer.

"Thank you," Jasper said. "I think the presentation was rather well done but I have a question. Why is EZ Express, a logistics company, interested in acquiring VR technology for gaming purposes? Kiwi Cat Studio is a young start-up and as I said earlier, we are lacking in many areas. What could you possibly gain from investing in us?"

Julian was expecting the question. Jasper sounded like a very good businessman and even Wilmer wasn't expecting Jasper to take this so seriously. Why were they still entertaining Julian seriously? Sure, they had to buy time but Jasper appeared to be genuinely interested or even curious.

"Simple," the man replied. "I want to get my hands on VR technology because it will be very good for staff training. VR is a good way to cut on our training expenditure every year. Simulations will allow new employees to get accustomed to real-time situations in a safe environment. EZ Express is a very big company and apart from logistics, we also dabble in other fields such as warehousing and transportation. Every day we recruit new staff who do not work in the field so the human resource department has to train them from scratch. It's very labour intensive and time-consuming. With VR, that changes everything."

Jasper was surprised. Julian's reason made a lot of sense and if they weren't enemies, he would have been extremely interested to work together. Unfortunately, Jasper knew the truth. If VR technology was acquired, it would only be used to train new staff recruited for his illegal business.

"It's a noble idea," Jasper admitted. "Unfortunately, it's a shame."

Julian's face changed when he heard that. "How so?"

Jasper smiled. "It's a shame that you're not telling me the truth."

At that, Julian's polite facade disappeared and the friendly businessman disappeared, replaced by a dangerous mafia boss that made even Wilmer nervous. He looked over to Jasper who was slouched over in a relaxed pose.

"Really?" Julian asked with an edge in his voice. "I would like to hear your opinion on this matter, Mr Hopper."