A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 211

"Why not pay more attention to the company's affairs instead of her?"

Rufus asked, grumpily. Cassandra's very name hit his sensitive nerve. His tone became aggressive as soon as Jasper mentioned her.

"Why? Is it true that your relationship has some problems?"

Jasper leaned forward, his eyes widening. He was amused to see Rufus act so out of his regular cold and calm way.

"What do you mean by 'some problems'? What have you heard?"

Rufus wanted to end this conversation right away but thought it was wise to face it, sooner or later these questions were bound to come up. Plus, he was aware Jasper had his tongue in his cheek.

"Isn't it all over the news? People are saying someone has stepped out and claimed he is dating Cassandra now and it is her who stole Lyndsy's boyfriend. Haven't you read about it? It's all over the internet!"

Jasper said in surprise. He had assumed Rufus might already have heard about it.

"No. I never pay attention to this kind of gossip,"

Rufus answered flatly, his eye brows knitting. Yet, he was surprised by whatever Jasper had just said.

"You know the man. That guy we met at the private club the other day? A Mr. Tong, does it ring a bell? He made an announcement to a big crowd of reporters that Cassandra is his girlfriend!"

Jasper explained hurriedly, while checking his phone for the article. He found it pretty easily and presented it to Rufus. Rufus's face turned cold just after casting a single glance at it.

After reading it, he remembered how Cassandra clung to Dylon's arm intimately and how closely they sat together at the club.

Then there was Cassandra staying in that man's apartment later the night. What was more, she was even with him in A City for the rescue operation after the earthquake.

"You see? I don't understand why your aunt likes her so much. The more I find out about Cassandra, the more convinced I am of her being a loose and easy woman," Jasper said, disgustingly.

"How could she have an affair with another man while being with you? And not just that! They're so shameless they even made it public in such a high-profile way!"

He kept going on and on, without noticing the effect on Rufus.

"Just forget about it. I don't want to hear her name now,"

Rufus interrupted him sharply. Jasper's careless words seemed to have hit him deeply. It was like he was stabbed in an already existing wound; only this time it went deeper into his soul. He just couldn't bear it anymore.

Finally now, Jasper noticed Rufus's stern face and shut his mouth.

Secretly, he had taken pleasure in fretting Rufus over this. It was rare for Rufus to lose his calmness and give in to his emotions, but it looked like love had made him too mellow, and too vulnerable.

"Well then...about work...From?what?we?know, all the companies and corporations of the Dark Night Group have been attacked by some unknown forces this time. So I don't think that there is any business competition involved. Honestly, it looks like someone is purposely trying to sabotage the Dark Night Group,"

Jasper said, stroking his chin to denote thoughtfulness. One could see he was back to talking about work in all seriousness, forgetting all about the gossip he was indulging in pleasure-fully until now.

"Yes. I have ordered some people to investigate into the matter but nothing has surfaced yet,"

Rufus replied. He, too, had put his mind back on the work.

The strangest thing about this matter was that all the companies known to have attacked the Dark Night Group in the past were seemingly ordinary yet they had the resources to carry out foul means to bring it down.

If it was truly all about competition, they were likely to be squeezed out of the market by their own peers because of all the dirty tricks they were using. In the end, they would have to sacrifice their own reputation and market shares. Whoever was behind all this didn't seem to care about the results at all, because they kept doing things which weren't particularly good to anyone but just worse to themselves.

Moreover, they seemed to be well funded, for they were trying to harm other companies at the cost of their own profits.

Considering that even the Dark Night Group couldn't find out the source of this nuisance, it could be said that the enemies hiding in the shadows were not just cautious but also extremely skilled.

"Obviously, they aim at taking the Dark Night Group down, and are intending to reach that point by attacking its member companies,"

Rufus asserted, thinking out loud. He kept trying to thread things together and this seemed like their only possible intention.

"You mean it isn't over yet?"

Jasper asked, his skin almost changing colors. Above everything else, a stab in the back was always hard to foresee and much less, to avoid. And that was what they were most susceptible to do in this business.

"Definitely. They are fighting a guerrilla war now, and I'm sure that they have a lot of other objectives. They won't stop until they get what they want,"

Rufus said, thumbing through the documents in his hands. From what he could tell, these enemies meant to throw the TY Group into a panic stage, so that they could make them play into their hands, eventually.

"What do you think we should do then?"

Jasper asked, looking at Rufus worriedly, hoping that he would come up with a way to solve the problem.

"We will meet changes with constancy," Rufus responded calmly. "Maintain the status quo and maintain the profits as they are.

Otherwise, we may fall into the trap they have set and mess things up ourselves."

Despite the urgency of the matter, Rufus managed to speak with rationale and make dispassionate, meaningful judgements, with his signature look-of-composure back into play.

"But...you know, many of our peers have followed their ways in the past..."

Jasper hesitated and looked up at Rufus, evidently embarrassed.

He knew it wouldn't be a problem for the TY Group even if they would lose some customers in this price war, but he still found it hard to swallow that doing nothing proactively would be a good idea. How could they just grin and bear it?

"Don't worry and just do as I say. I will find out who is behind these attacks as soon as possible,"

Rufus interrupted him and raised his hand to stop him from continuing.

Jasper just shook his head, saying nothing in return.

He realized that dropping the matter was all he could do right now. Thanks to his own self, Rufus wasn't in a great mood. Now that he had made up his mind, any argument further would only irritate him.