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Chapter 75 Reprimanding Matt
In front of El Building, Mary Jane and Peter were already in the car. Leo and the others waved at them, bidding farewell.
As for Mary Jane, she received unexpected harvests in today’s tour of El Tech Company. Leo’s initial purpose, on the other hand, also had been achieved. Moreover, Peter’s appearance and his willingness to take up the role as a speaker for the product launch was an unforeseen surprise for both Mary Jane and Leo.
Before Mary Jane left, she promised Leo she would write a story regarding El Tech Company to promote its product in advance.
Leo naturally accepted Mary Jane’s good intentions.
After the car started, Mary Jane drove Peter leaving El Building.
“MJ, it’s getting late, how about we have dinner now? After eating, let’s have a stroll at New York University. At this time of the year, there’s always some small events in Washington Square, where we can reminisce about the past a bit.”
Mary Jane was fine with the plan, thus they went for a steak dinner.
After paying seventy dollars for the dinner, Peter’s wallet was left with less than a hundred dollars. All of a sudden, Peter recalled what Leo said in the parlor and finally understood the meaning of ‘satisfying material needs.’ This caused Peter to realize the importance of money.
If he could not pay his next month’s rent, there would not be any place for him to lovey-dovey with Mary Jane!
It was impossible for him to go to Mary Jane’s place every day, right?!
……
Returning to the time when Mary Jane left El Building.
“Mr. Erwin, if there’s nothing else I’m going back to the law firm.” Seeing the car disappearing in the corner, Matt bid his farewell to Leo.
“Hey, wait. Matt, don’t leave first. Come with me to the office, I want to consult you on something.” After sending Heather back to her work, Leo led Matt back to the chairman’s office.
In the office, Leo was sitting right in front of Matt. He remained silent, waiting for Matt to take the initiative. However, Matt also remained silent just like Leo.
Since Matt was unable to see, Leo casually closed his eyes. Although he was resting with his eyes closed, he was not going to let Matt leave.
Soon enough, Matt waved the white flag. There were still some documents for him to organize and a trial waiting for him the next morning. Unlike Leo who had too much free time in his hand, Matt was unable to wait for so long.
“Mr. Erwin, don’t you have something to consult me, why are you sleeping instead?”
“You know my questions, you can just be direct about it. As long as you’re here, besides your private life, you don’t have to keep any secret, it’s pointless anyway.” With his eyes shut, Leo uttered straight away.
However, Matt was still trying to feign ignorance. “Do you mean when I interrupted you? Are you angry? If that’s the case, I’ll apologize. But there are rules and regulations and I’m a law practitioner, it’s normal to be a bit rigid. I hope you can understand.”
“No, it’s not about you interrupting me. What I mean is why don’t you let me finish my sentence?”
“Erm… Don’t these two means the same things?”
Leo was frantically hinting at Matt, hoping Matt to be honest but he’s still feigning ignorance.
Leo twitched his lips, deciding to be direct with Matt, “I mean Peter, Peter Parker! How do you know him and what history do you have with him? Why are you targeting him today?”
Seeing Leo’s firm stance, Matt knew he could not continue acting like this. He sighed and told Leo the past exchanges he had with Peter, excluding the matter of him being thrashed.
“What?! You’re saying Peter Parker is Spider-man? The one swinging all over Queens every day?” Leo put on a shocked expression and even spat out the water he drank.
Shaking his head, Matt was speechless by Leo’s exaggerated pretense. “Mr. Erwin, when you lie, your heart is beating at an irregular rhythm. So you can stop pretending, you knew Peter Parker was Spider-man, right? And you even acted dramatically…”
Leo was surprised that Matt saw through him right away. He caressed his nose awkwardly, “Well, I know Peter Parker is Spider-man, that’s why I offered an olive branch to him. Besides, I want this man and you’re going to be colleagues soon. So, try to get along with him well.”
“But he will cause a mess just like he did to Hell’s Kitchen in the past. Our company doesn’t need such a person.” Matt was still haunted by the thrashing he received from Peter four years ago.
“Matt, time changes many things. Four years had passed, you’ve improved and so does Peter. How can be sure he’s still the same as he was four years ago? Moreover, you also understand he had no bad intentions. He was just trying to make Hell’s Kitchen a better place using his methods. However, the environment he grew up in was not as cruel and harsh as yours, so during that time he didn’t understand how society works.”
Leo was trying to convince Matt to put down the grudge he had with Peter. “I’m sure you are also clear that if you didn’t have a conflict with Peter, cooperating was a win-win situation. If four years ago, you didn’t shoo Peter away, and instead, were more patient with him and chose to cooperate. I believe Hell’s Kitchen won’t be as chaotic as it is right now.”
“B-b-but…” Matt was stuttering, trying to find a reason. “But now Hell’s Kitchen has both of us, even Boss Bucky. Since we can solve the problems with Hell’s Kitchen, why do we still need Spider-man to join us? His sudden joining may even disrupt the plan you told me before, bringing unknown variables to the future. I preferred a steady approach, at least before the chaos in Hell’s Kitchen was completely solved, I don’t wish him to stroll around Hell’s Kitchen.”
Matt’s constant excuses annoyed Leo. Fortunately, Leo already had the thought of reprimanding Matt lest he became too arrogant. “Matt, you’re being stubborn. It’s time for you to mature, you’re not young anymore. I have my own reason for creating El Tech Company and I have my own reasons for letting Peter join.”
In a slightly cold tone, Leo gradually said, “As I said, El Tech Company can develop Hell’s Kitchen and resolve the roots of Hell’s Kitchen’s chaos. But this was a side-effect brought by El Tech Company, my true motive isn’t just this. You may have misunderstood my recent friendliness to you and thought the reason I created El Tech Company is to help Hell’s Kitchen. However, you’re wrong! I allow you to treat me as a friend but I don’t wish to see you obstructing the choice I made for the company.”