It wasn't that this alone was enough to conclude that the Morris Conglomerate had some sinister designs on him. It was simply common knowledge in District 25 that the people who truly controlled the Wetting Conglomerate were those on the Board of Directors.
And as its heir, Jonas Wetting couldn't fully represent the Wetting Conglomerate.
Though Mr. Jonas was its legitimate successor in name, most of the Wetting Conglomerate's interests were in the Board of Directors' hands. That was a very real problem: the resources Jonas currently controlled weren't enough to earn him recognition from others.
Yet the Morris Conglomerate's behavior was highly unusual... as though the person it really wanted to invite wasn't a representative of the Wetting Conglomerate, but Jonas himself.
Of course, it was also possible that the Morris Conglomerate genuinely wanted to cultivate ties with the Wetting Conglomerate's increasingly renowned heir. That possibility was simply vanishingly small.
After all, befriending Jonas Wetting meant, in a sense, antagonizing the Wetting Conglomerate's Board of Directors. And Jonas wasn't yet important enough for the Morris Conglomerate to tie its interests to his.
From the perspective of someone in power, Jonas couldn't understand why the Morris Conglomerate would do this.
Any third party that involved itself in a conglomerate's internal struggles would inevitably become a sacrificial pawn, no matter which side it supported.
In other words, anyone with a modicum of sense wouldn't do something they knew would damage their own interests.
Once the prey was dead, the hunting dogs were discarded. Anyone who could establish a foothold in District 25 understood that principle to some degree.
And if the other party wasn't trying to involve itself in the Wetting Conglomerate's internal conflict, its motives merited considerable scrutiny.
Unsolicited favors always came with ulterior motives.
Jonas certainly didn't believe it