Free Web NovelChapter 547: Can’t Spend Your Money
"Which partnership only informs the other party about their plans only after a contract is established?" Michael probed once more. "You have to first inform me of your plans before I decide whether or not to work with you."
Clement was mainly involved in shady and illegal dealings.
Michael had guessed that, this time, he wanted to break into Zeilheim City’s market.
Michael never made illegal contracts.
It was impossible for him to work with Clement in the first place.
All he wanted was to draw information out from Clement.
"Mr. Lucas, stop putting me on the spot and forget about trying to gain information through me," Clement laughed heartily. "Even if I were removed from my position, it would only be a disadvantage to you.
"You would definitely receive some backlash from my cohorts.
"Moreover, we don’t have enough between us for me to go to that extreme.
"As long as you let me go this time, I’ll grant you a favor in the future. What do you say?
"For me to grant favors is quite a big deal..."
"To grant me a favor?" Michael’s gaze narrowed as he asked icily, "Would I dare take you up on such a thing?"
"I may not be doing anything legal, but those in our line value trust." Clement was flustered by Michael’s doubt over his sincerity. "Our brotherhood touts the strength of our loyalty."
"Clement, I know what your plans with Christian are. I know them all. Do you think I’ll let you go?" Michael sneered. "I won’t allow you to continue treating our country like a playground for your underground business!"
"I didn’t expect Mr. Lucas to be this much of a patriot and to have the nation’s interest in mind!" By now, Clement was losing control over his emotions.
No matter what he had thrown on the table, Michael seemed resolute about keeping him there.
Almost out of patience, Clement hissed, "Michael, not letting me go and using money to keep me here, won’t all that bring doom to your doorstep too?"
"Since when did I use money to keep you here?" Michael retorted.
"Not removing me or locking me up or letting me go, what do you mean by this?"
Clement was utterly at a loss.
He had no idea what Michael’s objective was.
"I plan to turn you in to Interpol!" Michael articulated each word meaningfully while staring into Clement’s eyes emotionlessly.
As someone who worked beyond the law, it was about time that Clement had a taste of the law.
"You!" Clement had not expected Michael to intend to do so.
As Clement was about to speak once more, a bodyguard marched in and whispered a report in Michael’s ear, "Mr. Lucas, Christian Lucas has brought company."
"How many of them are there?" Michael probed.
"About a hundred."
"Hah!" Michael laughed snidely. "Looks like he intends to bring Clement away by force!"
Upon hearing that Christian had come, Clement’s eyes glimmered with anticipation.
Christian was finally here.
If he were any later, he would have been finished.
"I couldn’t tell that you were so important to Christian," Michael directed his remark at Clement.
Turning, he instructed the bodyguard, "Since Christian is here, let him in. But only let him in alone. If he isn’t willing, he can activate all the others and fight it out."
"Yes, Mr. Lucas." With that, the bodyguard left.
For Christian to be able to find his way here was no surprise to Michael at all.
Michael turned and held Wendy’s hand.
Helping her to a seat, he gently asked, "Wendy, would you like to wait in the car? I can take things from here on my own."
Wendy shook her head. "I’d like to face him with you."
"Okay." Michael nodded without forcing Wendy to leave.
...
If this were the past, Michael would have first required Wendy to leave for her safety.
Even if she were unwilling, he would have gotten someone to drag her out.
Now, Michael knew better than to do so.
He respected all of Wendy’s wishes.
He no longer forced her to do anything for the sake of doing it for her benefit.
If only he had been less egoistic then, he would not have kept everything from Wendy and faced Christian alone.
It would have saved them a lot of misunderstanding and heartache too.
Thankfully, all that had since been cleared up.
If something really did go wrong then, Michael would have felt sorry toward Wendy for the rest of his life.
Therefore, when Wendy said that she wanted to face this with him, he agreed without second thoughts.
"Just watch from your seat," Michael spoke warmly.
The scene in the warehouse was an uncanny mix.
Clement was lying on the ground, Wendy sat on a chair, while others around them stood rigidly in attention.
In the spacious warehouse, all fell silent.
It seemed as though they were all awaiting Christian’s arrival.
By now, Christian was at the door of the warehouse.
Naturally, he was stopped.
"Mr. Lucas instructed that you have to enter alone. Otherwise, he would activate all the other bodyguards," the bodyguard at the entrance to the warehouse spoke, conveying Michael’s message to Christian.
"Sir, it’s too dangerous for you to enter alone," voiced someone worriedly behind Christian. "You must not go in alone."
Christian closed his eyes, as though deep in thought.
Soon, he turned to those behind him and said, "You all wait here, I’ll enter on my own."
"But, Sir..." the men behind Christian yelled in dissent, seemingly wanting to advise him otherwise.
This space was Michael’s direct authority, and Michael had the entire warehouse surrounded by guards.
Getting Christian to step in alone without a bodyguard at all was to strip him of the ability to retaliate if Michael did anything to him.
Waving a raised hand, Christian indicated that his mind was made up.
With that, Christian strutted into the warehouse.
Seeing Christian step in was within Michael’s expectations.
Clement was definitely an important figure to Christian.
Moreover, Michael was not Christian, so he would not go too far with threatening Clement.
Christian had nothing much to fear by entering the warehouse since his life was not at risk.
"You’re finally here, Christian." Clement lit up upon seeing Christian.
Now only Christian could save him.
Clement was already deep in regret over his decision to come to Lake City personally.
If he had known that Michael had repeatedly sent people to look for him because of that night, he would not have come.
Struggling to stand, Clement wanted to get to his feet and walk over to Christian.
However, before he could stand, he was kept pinned to the ground by a bodyguard.
Clement found himself flat on the ground once more.
Seeing the state Clement was in, Christian looked over at Michael and spoke, "Mr.
Lucas, Clement is my guest. If he has no other matters with you, I’d like to take him with me."
"Oh, what a coincidence! Your guest is my opponent, and we haven’t fully settled our scores yet," Michael sneered. "How about you wait a few days? When I’m done settling my affairs with him, you can come back again."
At this roundabout speech, Christian felt his patience being tested.
With furrowed brows, he said, "Let’s get straight to the point. What do you want in exchange for his release?"
...
"Well with the history of our interactions, you don’t have the authority yet to let me release him without paying a price, do you?" Michael shot Christian an icy glare as he spoke.
He had gone to lengths to capture Clement, so it was impossible for him to let Clement go so easily.
"Exactly. Give me your terms," Christian replied. "Lay out whatever your conditions are, and we can discuss them."
"I have no idea that Clement was this important to you," Michael snorted. "It all depends on how much you can give up for him."
Christian had stepped in alone because he was prepared to negotiate.
This was Lake City after all, and Christian did not dare do as he willed.
He had brought much company with himself merely to raise the stakes in his favor.
On the surface, Christian’s image was one who collaborated with the government.
He could not let this clean public image be destroyed so easily.
"Well, you shouldn’t stoop so low before Wendy Stewart’s very eyes, should you?"
Christian responded. "After locking Clement up for quite a while, all your personal scores should be considered even by now, shouldn’t they?"
"I can always send Wendy away and stoop lower," Michael emotionlessly retorted.
"Michael, I know that you won’t do anything rash. Just speak more frankly. State your terms." Christian understood Michael well enough.
Compared to himself, Michael had a lower limit to his actions.
Michael had monopolized Lake City’s market for many years and never resorted to underhanded means.
Although Michael had to take extreme measures at times, he never dabbled with matters beyond the law.
Moreover, Clement was not from Lake City.
To be involved with the underground because of him was going to spell trouble.
"You came looking for me and you’re asking for my terms?" Michael jabbed at Christian. "Is that how you express your sincerity?"
What Michael really meant was for Christian to decide on the terms himself.
Both of them were business moguls, and neither wanted to first lay down their terms.
Everyone knew that on a negotiation table, whoever first brought up their terms was already losing half the battle.
"Don’t you just want money? Is one billion enough?" Christian began.
If money could be used to settle this, that would be for the best.
Although Christian did not have much funds on hand, Clement did. freeweɓnøvel.com
"Do you actually have any cash?" Michael mocked Christian openly. "Not to mention one billion... Can you even afford to hand me 100 million right now?"
"If he can’t, I can!" Clement quickly offered. "I’ll get one billion to you if you let me go.
"Moreover, I can guarantee that after you release me, you’ll get the money within a week."
"If the money is yours, I can’t spend it with peace of mind," Michael retorted.
Clement’s means of finances were clear to Michael.
Moreover, he was not short on cash.
Michael would not even bat his eyelashes at 10 billion, more so at one billion dollars.
"Michael, if you don’t want money, tell me what you’d like. I walked in alone, and that was my display of sincerity to negotiate with you." Christian was at his limit now.
He had been clenching and releasing his fist behind his back.
And the first step in negotiation was to cause the opponent to lose control of their emotions... that meant winning yet another half the battle.
A smile was apparent on Michael’s face.
With arms folded and a laid-back tone, he responded, "Since you’re here to negotiate with me, you should be the one giving me the terms.
"If it works, it’s a done deal.
"Otherwise, you can show yourself out."
"Michael!" Christian roared, finally unable to hold his emotions back.
He warned gravely, "Stop using negotiation tactics on me.
"What point is there to drag this out! ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
"What do you want?
"Just give it to me as it is, and I’ll give you what I can.
"If I can’t, we can stop wasting each other’s time at least!"
Clement’s mood was soured upon seeing Christian blow his top.
He had clearly fallen into Michael’s trap since Michael was obviously toying with his emotions.
