Conrad nodded but immediately shook his head afterward. “I want to use the Williams to deal with those two punks, but we can’t pin all our hopes on them. We must prepare for everything.

“But Rayson hates Lucas Gray much more than we do. If we suggest that we’ll work together with him to deal with those two punks, he’ll definitely be pleased.”

At the mention of Rayson, Derek recalled how Rayson had wanted to escape by himself today when he realized that the situation had turned unfavorable and felt incredibly displeased.

“Hah, Rayson Williams is such a bastard! We clearly agreed to join forces against the Howards, yet he still tried to make us win him over so that he could get more benefits. When the situation became unfavorable, he actually betrayed us and wanted to leave alone. He’s a scheming villain through and through!

“I don’t trust him enough to cooperate with him!”

Conrad sneered. “We’re just using each other. We don’t have to trust him. As long as he has the same goal as us to deal with that punk Lucas, it’s enough.

“I don’t know why, but I have an ominous feeling about that punk. We might not be able to defeat him with our strength alone, so we’d better do it together with the Williams!

“Of course, the premise of all this is that we must first find out his real background. We mustn’t act rashly and provoke him, lest we make a dreadful enemy for our family,” Conrad warned his son solemnly.

Although Derek was mad at Rayson and didn’t want to cooperate with him at all, what his father said made a lot of sense. It wasn’t exactly a cooperation. Rather, they would just be making use of each other to achieve a common goal. In that case, he could accept it.

But just two hours later, Rayson took the initiative to call Derek first.

“Derek, I need to speak to you in detail about the matter regarding the Howards. Do you have time for a drink tonight?” Rayson said with a smile, as if nothing had happened.

Derek cursed inwardly and called him a thick-skinned and sly old fox. He said indifferently, “Hah, Mr. Williams, you can drop the act. I’m afraid you might suddenly draw a clear line between us and backstab me again!”

No matter how thick-skinned Rayson was, he couldn’t help feeling a little awkward and embarrassed after Derek blatantly mocked him.

“C’mon, buddy, I didn’t mean for that to happen today! Are you still mad at me?”

“I can’t make it tonight. If there’s anything you want to say, just do it over the phone!” Derek said indifferently.

Although he had already decided to cooperate with Rayson to deal with Lucas, the method of cooperation was still very important. There was no way he could immediately agree to the cooperation as soon as Rayson called him to initiate it.

Derek wanted to be in control in this cooperation, so he deliberately behaved indifferent and aloof, as if it didn’t matter to him what Rayson had to say to him.

Rayson said, “Okay then. What I want to say is that I’ve just sent someone to investigate Lucas Gray. He’s not from any powerful family but an illegitimate son who got kicked out of the Huttons two decades ago. Even the Huttons don’t acknowledge him now!

“So that punk doesn’t have a powerful background at all! Even his subordinate Jordan is just an orphan. They’re worlds apart from families like ours!”

Derek snorted coldly. “Is that what you’ve found out after investigating? Think about it carefully. If he was really just an illegitimate son kicked out by the Huttons for many years and had no one to rely on, how could he have been able to do those things today? If that’s all you have to say, save it because the Piers have already found out about those things too!”

With that, he hung up.

On the other end, Rayson immediately frowned after hearing what Derek said.

Does that punk have another identity I haven’t found out yet?

No, I must make them investigate this properly!

After Derek hung up without hesitation, he smirked. “Hah, what a fool! If Lucas Gray really has such a simple identity, how could he have done what he did today? Didn’t you realize that even Michael Hutton could only watch him quietly?”

Conrad frowned with some displeasure and rebuked, “I’ve already told you to put aside your resentment toward him for the time being and work together with the Williams. Why did you hang up?”

Derek hurriedly said, “Father, this is what I think. That bastard Rayson is a sly old fox whose skin is even thicker than a wall. If we take the initiative to tell him that we want to cooperate, he might think that we’re begging him and even take advantage of us.

“I deliberately treated him coldly and made it look like I didn’t want to talk to him so that he’d beg to cooperate with us when he became anxious since he hates Lucas Gray more than we do. This way, we’ll be in control!”

“But Father, I’ll obey your instructions and not act rashly before finding out Lucas’s true background and backer.”

Conrad finally nodded. “Yes, that’s more like it. Alright, I’ll leave all these matters to you. Remember to tell your subordinates to do a thorough background check on Lucas no matter what!”

“Yes, Dad!” Derek immediately nodded in agreement before ordering his subordinates again.

…

On another side, Lucas didn’t know that the Piers and the Williams were already doing their best to find out everything about him.

At this moment, he and Cheyenne were already on a flight back to Orange County.

He had originally planned to return to Orange County today, but Felix had suddenly died from an acute illness last night. Thus, he had specially called Cheyenne over to DC to pay her last respects to Felix so that she wouldn’t have any regrets.

Since everything in DC had been settled, Lucas naturally wanted to bring Cheyenne home.

On the plane, Cheyenne was still feeling worried about what had happened today.

“Honey, the Piers and the Williams probably won’t let the matter rest just like that. Should we really be leaving?” Cheyenne asked worriedly with a frown.