Ace didn't take Joanna's warning seriously. He figured that the most she could do was make him jealous by being with other men.
The next day.
Ace arrived at Golden Tea House according to plan. He had a business meeting with Samuel Sunny, the chairman of Sunny Group.
Sunny Group was one of the three major distributors of electronic products in the country. Starlight Group, which used to have a close business relationship with Moran Group, was on the same level as Sunny Group. However, now that Starlight Group had been pried away by Joanna, Ace had to quickly find a new partner so that Moran Group's electronic products wouldn't experience a drop in sales.
Samuel had been waiting for a long time in the VIP room of the tea house. As soon as he saw Ace, he stood up and shook Ace's hand with a smile on his face. "Ace, it's been a long time. Do you finally have time to sit down for a cup of tea with your uncle?"
"I'd be delighted, Samuel." Ace had an undeniable aura of authority and aloofness. After shaking Samuel's hand, he sat down.
"Ace, try this oolong tea from the west. It's very fragrant; I'm sure you'll like it." Samuel poured a cup of tea for Ace. He was obviously trying to play the good host.
Although Samuel had a greater negotiating power from a business point of view, Moran Group was far more established. Ace was at least twenty years younger than Samuel, but his authoritative manner put him in a superior position. Most importantly, electronic products manufactured by Moran Group were top-
notch. They had an enormous customer base that was loyal to the brand. Anyone who became their distributor would have direct access to the largest market of electronic products.
Starlight Group had reaped all the benefits over the past few years. Now, it was finally Sunny Group's turn. Naturally, Samuel didn't want there to be any mishaps.
"I didn't expect Jor to end their partnership with Moran Group. He said he wanted to work with another company that's barely known in the industry. Such a stupid move…" Samuel sighed, sipping his cup of tea.
"Well, it's his loss, and Sunny Group's gain. I'm looking forward to our partnership," he added chirpily.
"Likewise." Ace nodded indifferently, seeming a little distracted.
Although Samuel was old, he was still as cunning as ever. He secretly observed Ace for a while, then coughed softly. "Since you and I have made up our minds, why don't we sign the contract today? For the next three years, Moran Group will distribute 80 percent of their electronic products to Sunny Group. In return… Apart from the basic purchase price, Sunny Group will also distribute 10% of our profits to Moran Group every quarter. What do you think?"
Samuel was being nice, but Ace still showed no expression. To be honest, he was still hesitant about working with Sunny Group.
It wasn't because he had any particular dislike of Sunny Group, but his grandfather had, for some reason, forbidden the Moran family from having any sort of relationship with the Sunny family. Hence, even if Sunny Group had given a much better offer three years ago, Moran Group had still chosen to work with Starlight Group.
Samuel began to feel a little anxious when Ace still didn't respond. "What's the matter, Ace? Do you have something else on your mind?"
Ace looked at Samuel with a piercing gaze. "Samuel, to tell you the truth, Grandpa forbade Moran Group from cooperating with Sunny Group. Naturally, I'm curious, so I'd like to know… What exactly happened between the two of you?"
When Samuel heard this, he squinted a little before smiling. "Ace, it has to be a
misunderstanding. Your grandfather is a great wartime hero, and I admire him. Why would there be any bad blood between us?"
"Is that so?" Ace asked slowly. He took a sip of his tea, wondering whether Samuel was telling the truth. In reality, he had already carried out a thorough investigation on Sunny Group before deciding to work with them, and the results hadn't given him any reason to think that there was any bad blood between the Sunny family and the Moran family.
However, Ace also hadn't had the best relationship with his grandfather. The latter had refused to see him for a long time, so Ace couldn't ask him about this in person.
"Of course, it's true," Samuel said firmly. However, he seemed a little guilty. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to be frank. "Back then, I used to be a young and energetic man, so my deceased father–in–law." might have had a bit of conflict with your
"Joanna's father?" Ace's eyes turned cold. "What happened between you two?"
"What else could happen between two grown men? It's either business… or women!" Samuel replied with a sigh.
"That was a long time ago. At the time, your father–in–law wasn't in a relationship with your mother–in– law yet. He and I had been business rivals for many years, but we also ended up falling for the same woman, and fought over her big time. In the end, that woman had us both fooled. She ended up not choosing either of us and just disappeared…" Samuel's eyes glazed over in disappointment as he talked about his past.
The thing that upset him the most wasn't what happened between him and Joanna's father – was the woman who had played both him and Joanna's father for fools.
"Ace, you might not know it, but women are good at pretending to be weak and vulnerable. They can drain you dry with their lies if you're not careful. Don't ever let a woman control you, otherwise…"
For some reason, Samuel's words instantly reminded Ace of Joanna. Joanna was a completely different woman now compared to when they had gotten married.
Ace felt that no truer words had been said… Women were indeed creatures who were good at pretending.
"Don't worry, Ace. The Sunny family and the Moran family don't have anything against each other. Even if there's bad blood between your father–in–law and I, that happened many years ago. Your father–in–law has been gone for three years now, so there's no point in holding a
grudge against the Sunny family, is there?" Samuel sounded rather disappointed.
"Besides, our families have not been in touch for years. You're being considerate towards your wife, but has your wife ever been considerate towards you? I heard that your wife was the one who pried away Starlight Group and linked them up with the Blackwood family. She seems to have a much more complicated relationship with Robin's son than we might think. Why should you care about a traitor like that?" The older man scoffed.
Ace's expression turned even colder after hearing what Samuel said, and the atmosphere became tense.
Samuel raised his brows and decided to go all out. "Ace, don't be mad. I'm not trying to sow discord between you and your wife because I want the partnership with Moran Group. It's just that I think women shouldn't be given too much respect, or else they might stab you in the back! We don't have to sign the contract today, but you must take in what I said," he added.
After that, Samuel started packing his things to leave.
Ace frowned. He didn't plan to stay either. He could sense that the bad blood between Samuel and his father–in–law wasn't as simple as Samuel described. He needed to investigate this further before deciding to work with Sunny Group.
Suddenly, Ace received a call from Jack.
"Mr. Moran, something's happened! Are you in front of the television? Hurry up and switch it on … Has Mrs. Moran gone mad?!"