Adrien felt a chill. He couldn't understand Lucas anymore.
Before, Lucas would stand before him, meek and submissive. Now, he was neither humble nor arrogant, even wearing a faint smile.
Gone was the past flattery; now there was only calm detachment.
Adrien steadied his emotions and said solemnly, "Do you understand the consequences of your choice?"
"Break with me, and no one in the entire Jiang City will cooperate with you again!"
He had the confidence to say this.
In all of Jiang City, there were three families with hundreds of billions in assets.
But each wielded immense influence. If they didn't want a company to survive, a single word from them
would send a crowd of people scrambling to do their bidding.
Lucas waved a hand dismissively. "It's fine. I don't need to cooperate with other companies in Jiang City."
"You go ahead and make your arrangements."
He was laying his cards on the table.
No more pretending. Since his confidence was now solid, why would he need to read anyone's expression?
What was he thinking?
If not forced by circumstances, who would want to play the sycophant?
Now that his plans were beginning to show results, at least on the surface, he could straighten his back and speak his mind.
Lucas grinned. "Young Master Lefèvre, since you've come to cancel our cooperation, do I still need to grovel and beg for your mercy?"
"If we're breaking it off, let's make it clean. A clean break is best."
Those measly projects with Adrien—Lucas didn't consider them important in the slightest.
Sure, they brought in tens of millions, maybe even a hundred million.
But...
That's it?
Forget it, forget it. To have to watch your expression for that little money...
Unless you were giving me billions.
Adrien's face was extremely gloomy, his gaze sharp.
"Do you think hooking up with that woman, Camille Laurent, will guarantee you smooth sailing?"
"In Jiang City, my word carries more weight than hers."
Camille's family ran a pharmaceutical company, with relatively few opportunities for collaboration with other enterprises.
Not like his Lefèvre family, which had interests in every industry.
Lucas glanced at him, sounding resigned. "If you want to think that way, I can't help it."
"Miss Laurent and I really have nothing going on."
"If you don't believe me, I won't say more."
Lucas's words were just like the explanations of a cheating partner caught red-handed—utterly generic.
Too much of a non-answer.
Seeing his unyielding attitude, Adrien was instantly furious, wanting to curse.
"Fine! You just wait!"
Adrien threw down the threat and turned to leave.
"Sure thing, Mr. Lefèvre. Take care on your way out. Remember to transfer the penalty for your breach of contract later. That'll save me a hundred million in expenses."
Lucas waved behind him, smiling with narrowed eyes.
Hearing this, Adrien nearly stumbled.
Fine!
You're ruthless, you're impressive, you're so noble, alright?!
Adrien stormed out. Lucas watched quietly from behind. Only after he left did the smile at the corner of Lucas's mouth slowly fade.
"Show me what you've got?"
What was there to see?
Besides, what he said was the truth. He wasn't collaborating with Camille.
He was collaborating with the great CEO, Claire Dubois.
If Adrien found out about that...
Wouldn't he just die of rage?
Tsk.
Oh well.
The cold glint in Lucas's eyes vanished in an instant. He glanced at his little secretary, who was still stunned and shocked, and couldn't help calling out, "What are you staring at?"
"Huh?"
Sophie Li snapped back to reality and hurriedly said, "Mr. Lucas, you and Mr. Lefèvre..."
"You've broken ties?"
This was a major incident.
If Mr. Lucas and Mr. Lefèvre fell out, the company's valuation would surely plummet.
After all, cooperation with the Su Corporation was the main revenue stream.
If everything was canceled now, the company's business would instantly shrink by three-fifths.
This, this...
Sophie was getting anxious.
This was cutting off their own financial lifeline.
Lucas snorted. "This is grown-up business. You, a child, should keep quiet."
He'd deal with her later...
Sophie was still very worried. "Mr. Lucas, we really—"
Before she could finish, Lucas raised a hand to stop her, saying calmly, "Xiao Fei, you have to remember: when it's time to cut ties, cut them."
"If we keep relying on this kind of unstable business, what will happen to our company?"
"He cancels when he's unhappy, cancels when he's unhappy."
"And the result? Our company goes bankrupt, while they remain unscathed. So, it's better to sever ties all at once and use our remaining assets to develop our core business."
Lucas offered earnest instruction. "You have to look at the long term and be steady."
"This kind of relationship has cooled off. When it's time to end it, end it."
Mainly because he didn't want to be anyone's lackey.
You get it, right?
Even though he couldn't say it outright, as his personal secretary, she shouldn't be so clueless.
Sophie fell into thought. It seemed... Mr. Lucas was right.
Canceling the cooperation was indeed more beneficial than harmful.
It's just... in the future, probably few companies in Jiang City would be willing to collaborate with Tian Ying.
Wait, no!
If the graphene data really came out, and once their production equipment was manufactured, wouldn't that mean a complete turnaround?
They could completely bypass the Su Corporation.
That Qin Xiao from earlier probably came for this reason, right?
And Wei Ting yesterday...
Thinking of these possibilities, Sophie's eyes grew brighter and brighter. "Mr. Lucas, you're right. I didn't think it through."
Indeed.
Mr. Lucas was still the Mr. Lucas she admired.
Thinking three steps ahead for every one he took.
Now he wasn't even being harsh anymore, and her own backbone felt stronger.
This was good.
Lucas nodded with satisfaction. "The student can be taught. Alright, you may go. Come to my place another day, and I'll give you some proper tutoring."
Sophie said happily, "Sure!"
She left, but...
As she walked out the door, she began to mull over his words.
What Mr. Lucas had just said...
Ew.
Sophie gave a slight shudder. "No way, no way. Is Mr. Lucas asking me to go to his house?"
She glanced back at Lucas's office. For a moment, she thought maybe her own mind was in the gutter, or perhaps Mr. Lucas was about to turn "bad."
But, why was she feeling so anticipatory?
Never mind.
They'd talk about it another day.
Anyway, Mr. Lucas was a good person, quite upright, not like others who might covet her body.
Mr. Lucas was a good man (a straight man)!
He didn't have so many ulterior motives.
In the CEO's office, Lucas sat on the sofa, sipping tea and pondering deeply.
"Although there are many ways to break the deadlock, it's better to choose a steady plan."
For example, it was time to activate the Liu Tianxiang connection.
At the same time, he needed to help that young married woman, Vivian Wei, gather a group of usable talents.
Otherwise, how could she compete?
After thinking for a while, Lucas couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"Ah, a good man like me naturally helps women rise to success."