Chapter 81: Internal Strife
"It seems that our etiquette is not that bad as compared to the one on your side." Anthony finally spoke up as he looked at Angelo, who was the leader of the three.
Angelo's expression shifted after hearing that. He understood that the current situation between the two families was temporary. If the Johnsons decided to go all out, not caring about the losses, it was definitely impossible for the Williams to be able to completely suppress them.
So, the Williams were basically taking advantage of the fact that the Johnsons could not go all out in order to deal with them. So, they were currently planning on a minute that they were going to be able to take down the Johnsons in one fell swoop.
That was the exact reason why they had accepted the negotiation to happen. The negotiation was just something that they were going to use in order to buy time. By the time that they would have already made enough arrangements, they would be able to deal with the Johnsons once and for all.
So, right now, Angelo could not have the negotiation between them just fail. Otherwise, he did not know what the Johnsons would end up doing if the negotiation failed.
This was the exact reason why they had not left despite the fact that Anthony was not acting as if he was at a disadvantage at all. So, when Ruth began thinking that they were holding the superior position here, she was definitely trying to make things difficult for them.
Additionally, there was another thing that Angelo had to deal with. That was the fact that other than being here to deal with Anthony, he had to deal with Andrew.
There was a form of competition between the two of them. Angelo's father was none other than Philip, while Andrew's father was Ruben. Just like how Philip and Andrew were competing against each other, the two youngsters were also competing with each other.
So, it was obvious that whenever there was a chance, Andrew would take it. And right now, Ruth's action had already given Andrew an advantage in this situation. After all, Ruth was Angelo's younger sister.
"Cousin, why don't you control your sister? She should not speak in this situation, right?" Andrew asked with a hint of concern on his face, but his voice was devoid of it.
Angelo did not respond. He understood that while Andrew was silent most of the time, this guy was quite intelligent, and was scheming. So, it was better for him not to speak too much. Otherwise, Andrew would take an opportunity to throw a blow at him.
"Ruth, you will have to maintain silence during this period. You are not allowed to speak." Angelo stated resolutely as he looked at Ruth.
"Why should I not speak? You guys are being so lenient on these people. Why are you even listening to them? They should be the ones listening to each and every command that we give, so that they can avoid having their family being destroyed." Ruth was not willing to give up. So, she immediately argued with Angelo.
Angelo could not help but feel the veins popping up on his face. Had it not been for the fact that Ruth was being pampered by his parents, he would have already beaten her up. Did she have to become an idiot and speak so stupidly and arrogantly in matters that she did not even understand?
"I have told you that you will have to keep quiet here. Otherwise, I'm going to throw you out of here." Angelo stated with a cold expression on his face.
Andrew did not say anything, and only observed as the two siblings bickered with each other. This was something that he had been aiming for. So, even though it was not much of a success to him, still, it was quite exciting to see the two siblings arguing with each other.
Anthony did not say anything, and waited for the two to stop bickering with each other. Scarlet on the other hand seemed to continue chatting with someone on her phone, while Jaden remained silent as he continued observing the situation.
Not help but feel a little weird when he looked at how the two siblings were arguing with each other. It was clear that this young lady was not supposed to be here where negotiations of great importance were being held. But somehow, she had come over.
Of course, what disqualified her from being in this place was not the position that she held, but instead, it was simply because of her character. That character would definitely cost them a lot.
Still, he did not say anything, and continued enjoying the show. To him, nothing mattered other than Scarlet's security. So, that was what he was going to pay attention to.
While Angelo was still arguing with Ruth, the food was served. Just like in Blue Seal hotel, the food here was of high quality and of different varieties.
It was only when the food was served that the two siblings stopped arguing with each other. Angelo was feeling a little helpless and embarrassed in this situation. If he had known, he would have definitely convinced his father not to allow Ruth to come over.
But now, it was too late. So, he decided that he would have to hurry things up. That way, they would be able to complete the negotiation as soon as possible, before leaving. Otherwise, who knew what Ruth was going to say next, and she might end up provoking Anthony.
Scarlet finally turned attention from the phone the moment that the food was served. Without hesitation, she immediately took a plate, selected a few dishes, before she began eating.
Anthony also went ahead and did the same, as he began eating. Jaden could not help but wonder if the two of them were not afraid that the food might be poisoned.
But when he thought deeply about it, he realized that it was definitely not going to be possible for that to happen. During the past few days that he had been going through the internet when looking for the information about the Johnsons, it was clear that he had already gone through the information related to the Williams as well.
And so, he understood that this hotel was not related to any of the two families. In fact, it could be said that Star Complex hotel was the biggest hotel present within the entire city. Despite the fact that it did not have any branches within the city, the influence that it possessed was not something that the other hotels within the city could compete with.
Additionally, it seemed that the owner of the hotel was somebody that none of the two families could provoke. Since that was the case, it was definitely going to be extremely difficult if not impossible for the Williams to be able to poison the food that was being served within this hotel.
At the end of the day, if the two people died, the reputation of this hotel was going to diminish. Even though the Johnsons were only well established within Faru city, that did not imply that they were not known within the other cities.
So, if two members of the Johnsons suddenly died within the Star Complex hotel, and it was found out that it was due to poisoning, this issue would definitely escalate. And more than that, the reputation of the Star Complex hotel would definitely receive a huge hit.
According to all the information that he possessed, Jaden believed that it was going to be impossible for the owner of the hotel to collaborate with the Williams in order to poison the Johnsons.
So, he followed suit, to complete and served himself with a few dishes and began eating. On the other hand, Andrew also had already began eating, while Ruth and Angelo did not eat at all. None of the two was in the mood to eat after the argument.
After more than 15 minutes, they had finally stopped eating. They did not come to the hotel to eat anyway, so, they would not eat that much. So, the moment that they finished eating, it was time for the serious negotiation to begin.
"Okay. I'll go straight to the point. The war that has already began in the business field between our two families is not something that can be stopped at all for the time being. So, that is an impossibility for us to retreat so suddenly.
We will have to continue competing against each other, considering that we are opponents in the business world anyway. The only thing that we can do right now is to avoid using any other method to deal with your family. What do you think?" Angelo asked as he looked at Anthony.
Anthony frowned upon hearing that. The reason why he came here for the negotiation was not only to make sure that the Williams stopped attacking his sister, but instead, it was also to find out the reason why they were attacking them.
It might be true that the two of them were competing with each other, and there was even a feud between them. But it was definitely not enough for them to fight to the death.
That's right. With the strategy that the Williams were using right now, it was clear that they were willing to die together with the Johnsons. Still, what advantage were they going to get? Well, the Johnsons did not know about the real reason behind the Williams' attack on them.
"It's good that you are not going to target my sister again. Still, that's not enough. I want to know the reason why your family is targeting my family. I do believe that while we do compete in the business world, it is not enough for you to sabotage our businesses to such an extent, right?" Anthony asked with furrowed brows.