For the past few years of his life, Jonathan had lived in the shadow of his cousin. During those times he
thought Jacob was having a great time being the CEO, but now that he sat in this position, he finally
knew why he was nothing compared to his cousin.
How could he be better than Jacob when he chose to have an easy and comfortable life instead of
working hard? While people were enduring hardship to get to where they were, he was still uncertain
about his position.
It even came to a point where Jonathan thought that the world was being unfair to him.
But who was he kidding? He caused his own problems! He could have spent the past few years of his
life working hard, but all he did was complain and blame others, which was why he hadn't learned
anything except hypocrisy.
Fortunately, he thought it was not too late for him to start learning. Looking at the puzzled look on
Thompson's face, he couldn't help but be a little pissed off.
"How to cooperate? You tell me. We'd better discuss about the investment later. After all, the working
capital was the most important part for the jewelry industry. If anything goes wrong, my money will
become a commodity that I can't sell. That will be a huge loss, right?"
With his legs crossed, Thompson glanced at Jonathan, obviously not taking his words seriously.
"Hey! If you want to work with me, show some respect. I won't be the one to please you. Besides, it's
you who came to me. I want to know what's in it for me."
As they spoke, Jonathan raised his head and crossed his arms, looking confident and arrogant.
But Thompson was not impressed at all. In fact, he even hated it. He thought people who were not
capable to help him had no right to be arrogant.
Even so, Thompson faked a smile. Then he stood up, and slowly walked towards Jonathan.
"You must be kidding, Mr. Jonathan. My attitude totally depends on you. If you think you are the one in
charge, then I have to refuse to cooperate with you."
"You!"
Shock was written all over Jonathan's face. He thought he wouldn't have a hard time making
Thompson agree to cooperate with him since he was now the CEO of the Shi Group.
But it turned out that he intended to ask more than just a simple favor. Obviously, Thompson was
targeting his weakness, not giving him a chance to object.
Jonathan was shocked and then he came to his sense, realizing that his attitude was indeed a little
inappropriate. Technically, Thompson was not working under him. He was going to be his partner.
However, Jonathan had made the situation so embarrassing that he couldn't find the right words to say.
He only looked at Thompson with an unreadable expression.
"Alright, for now I will let it slip. But next time, be careful with the words you say and the way you speak.
Not everyone is working for you."
This time, Jonathan didn't dare to retort.
Now that he had become the CEO, he realized that his situation only got worse. At least when he was
still a director, he could do everything he wanted to do.
Because now, he had no choice but to stay in his office and study countless documents every day.
Only then did he realize that being a CEO was more difficult than he thought it would be. It had only
been a few days since he had sat in this position, yet he was already disgusted with his job.
But regardless of all the hardship, Jonathan was still holding on to his dream of becoming the CEO of
this company.
"You are right. I have been thoughtless. I hope you won't take my words seriously. And please help me
with the investment."
Maybe it was because he knew that the person in front of him was far different from his cousin that he
immediately changed his behavior. If Jacob tolerated whatever he said, Thompson wouldn't. Thinking
of this, Jonathan couldn't help but admire Jacob.
Sometimes, Jonathan couldn't stand his own words. He was even easily offended whenever there was
a little disagreement during a meeting.
It was hard to imagine how Jacob managed to bear all of it. Jonathan sighed, feeling helpless as he
looked at Thompson.
Viciousness was evident in his pair of small eyes.
With the way he looked, Thompson figured that his words worked on Jonathan. There was a smile on
his face, but he despised Jonathan even more.
If he were honest, he thought Jacob was so much better than the person in front of him now. Anyone
with a discerning eye could tell it at a glance.
That was why he couldn't believe that Jonathan was able to steal Jacob's position as the CEO. Why did
Jacob resign?
Until now, Thompson couldn't figure out why Jacob did it. He only wanted to embarrass Jacob with that
ridiculous news.
Although the situation was too much to handle, he knew that Jacob could deal with it. If he couldn't, he
would have been easily slandered no matter how he explained his side. But most importantly, he would
probably have to live with that blot for the rest of his life.
This is what Thompson thought. Therefore, he was shocked when Jacob didn't attempt to prove his
innocence at all.
Just like him, Alice was also surprised with Jacob's immediate resignation. A part of her thought that
the reason why Jacob didn't deny it was because of her baby.
When Alice told this to Thompson, he only stood aside without saying anything.
For him, it was not that simple. There must have been a deeper reason why Jacob resigned without
any explanation.
No one was able to change his mind. This was beyond everyone's expectation. Everyone found it hard
to believe, including Thompson.
Who on earth would just give up his happiness and everything else he had to start over again? There
must be something behind Jacob's decision.
This was exactly what Jonathan was worried about. Maybe Jacob had a secret that no one knew
except him.
With a bored expression on his face, Thompson sat back on the sofa and looked up at Jonathan. "By
the way, I have another question for you."
Something that Jonathan learned from Jacob was squinting his eyes, trying to read the expression on
the face of the person he was talking to.
"Go ahead. I will tell you everything I know." The arrogance in Jonathan's voice earlier was now gone.
"Why did Jacob resign? Did you force him to quit?" As he waited for Jonathan's reply, Thompson
observed his every movement.
He wanted to know whether Jonathan was trying to hide something from him.
This sentence was enough to make Jonathan flinch, as if Thompson saw through him. What Thompson
said caught him off guard, but then he quickly recovered.
"Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?" Jonathan took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to
Thompson. And then he lit up his own.
In a daze, Jonathan took a puff of his cigarette, staring at the ceiling as if he was lost in thought. The
reason why he was trying to dodge this question was that he was afraid that Jacob would use his
words against him.
Over the years, he had no advantage except for his eloquence. And it would be a lie if he said that he
didn't know Jacob so well after fighting with him for so many years.
"You bet. Of course, I want to know the truth. What happened?" The smoke of their cigarettes circled
the room.
"I don't know."
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