Chapter 102 - Bet

J was rather disappointed that after a few texts Samuel had stopped responding to him and hadn't bothered to answer the few questions that he had asked about him. He was hoping to have an interesting conversation to distract him during the drive, but alas such was evidently not going to happen.

He sighed as he put his phone down. At least Sam seemed to have an interesting personality which he presumed would continue to not disappoint him over time. So long as they did stay in touch. 

The scenery that passed by in the car while beautiful did nothing to lift his mood as he thought about everything that was on his mind.

He was pretty sure he had the younger man hooked by bringing his mother into the equation. After all what child wouldn't want to know something major that their parent/parents were keeping from them if they were really close? 

If he was in the same situation, he knew that he would want to know what was going on, either directly from the source or his parents.

He tired to cut that route off and thankfully he didn't even have to lie about it. The reaction that came from the little call he had given to Sam's mother on his birthday proved that she didn't want to rekindle any kind of relationship with him or them rather. 

It was just a matter of waiting and seeing how everything played out. He would have another connection to stay in touch with the other anyways even if he didn't want to keep in touch with him.

"Julian Scarlet." He could deny that he liked the way that the name rolled off his tongue. The younger not so quite harsh brother of Zane Scarlet. 

Though not quite as heavy of a reputation as his older brother, he had still been quite successful for himself over the years. Managing to carve out his own space in the family despite not being the one to take over.

He had a business meeting with this younger brother which he hoped would go well barring any suspicions from him. At least he had his driver to take him there rather than doing it himself.

He couldn't deny that he was rather envious of the fact that the two Scarlet brothers seemed to get along so well. He hoped that would've been how he and his cousin turned out when they got older considering how close they were. Somehow though their ideas, ideals, and goals for the future somehow became polar opposites as they grew older which lead to them parting ways and only staying distantly in touch.

It was no fault of J's of course. His cousin just wanted to approach everything from a harder route than what he was interested in taking.

He preferred a more soft-handed approach and only using force when it was absolutely necessary to get his point across. 

The only reason he was going through with the silly bet his cousin suggested was because he saw opportunity to turn things around. If he won.

Currently he felt like he had a strong chance of doing that with the quick progress he was making.

The 'give the enemy no information' rule his cousin set forth made it hard though to know what level of progress his cousin was at.

Knowing how the other operated however, he was certain that they would not take as direct approach as J chose to. Underhanded was their preferred method to approach a situation to win.

He sighed again as the thought about this. Life was so much easier at a younger age when his parents took care of everything and he didn't have to be so responsible. 

"Sir, do you perhaps need a pick-me-up today?" His driver inquired, noting how he was sighing more than usually when though it hadn't been a bad day as far as he was aware.

"Not quite yet Charles, perhaps after this meeting we can consider it, but right now I have to be on point in order to make sure that I don't mess anything up. It would be a horrible opportunity to let go to waste." J replied. His driver was as observant and kind as always.

He should remember to give him a raise next month as a reward for his loyalty. 

If he could be successful in cinching the business deal, he'd have one foot halfway they the door that would give him opportunity to approach the princess next without raising her suspicions. She was a rather sharp he knew he'd have to watch himself around.

The girl took after her father in that way, he knew that much because he'd always kept a close eye on the Scarlet family when they started taking over more territory. J needed to know if they could be enemy or ally before he decided what to do next.

In the end it worked out to his benefit anyways. If he hadn't been watching them, he would've not been the first one to hear about the arranged marriage and decide to do some digging to find out who this Samuel was.

His network wasn't the best, but his people gave their best effort to deliver what he wanted from them and in return for that they were well rewarded. Appreciation and rewards were what kept people around after all.

His phone suddenly buzzed in his pocket and the gloomy expression was lifted slightly by a smile. Perhaps this one would come through for him if given a chance.

"Charles, I definitely we should plan a small celebration if the meeting tonight goes well." He told his driver as he typed out a quickly reply on his phone.

"Where should it be at, sir?" Charles inquired knowing he would be the one to set the appointment.

"At my favorite bar would work perfectly." J replied, a grin now on his face. Maybe one step closer to winning this bet. He just needed to proceed cautiously.