Bob Rickman had once been a salesman from Smallville more than a decade ago—and an especially terrible one at that. But ever since the meteor shower descended upon Smallville over a decade ago, he had become a top-tier salesman. Not only that, over the past ten-plus years, he had struck out on his own and established Rickman Enterprises, gradually becoming a millionaire.
If that were all, Lex would not have found the man so objectionable. But the key was that every factory Bob Rickman built turned the local land and environment into wasteland. Many of Lex's company's industries required materials obtained from those specific environments, and as a result, those ruined lands had negatively affected Lex's businesses.
By rights, Bob Rickman should have been invited in for a chat by the relevant authorities. Unfortunately, the laws of this era were not thorough enough when it came to such matters, and Bob Rickman had always carried out construction according to legal requirements. So even if Lex wanted to use legal means to cause him trouble, it would ultimately come to nothing.
That was precisely why Lex found him particularly distasteful.
"Lex, just because you live in this town and have factories here doesn't mean everything in this town belongs to you."
After hearing Lex's words, Bob's face showed a smug smile. "For example, this café doesn't belong to you. You have no right to make me leave."
"Oh?"
Rather than getting angry, Lex smiled. "So what? What are you doing here? Has business gotten so bad that you're back to working as a salesman in this town with that disgusting fake smile of yours?"
"Honestly, Bob. I've seen your sales tactics. They're unbelievably terrible. Yet someone like you has managed to persuade people again and again. Don't tell me you're a