How had he never noticed before that Daniel was such a two-faced man?

Joseph snapped back quickly, “I already said I’m willing to let the past go. But if you want me to truly drop my anger, you’ll have to give me twenty percent of the profits.”

“Mr. Hunt, twenty percent is out of the question,” Daniel replied, deliberately toying with him.

“Then how much are you willing to give?” Joseph frowned, irritation rising.

This time, Daniel had been the one to reach out to him. So, what if he set a few conditions? Wasn’t that only fair?

But Daniel’s tone stayed leisurely. “Not only will there be no profit concessions, but I won’t be giving you the project at all.”

Joseph’s brows furrowed, but Daniel’s answer came firm and unyielding. “Because I never intended to work with you on this project in the first place.”

Anger edged into Joseph’s voice. “Daniel, what exactly do you mean by that?” He didn’t even bother with the formal Mr. Lewis anymore. The patience he’d been feigning collapsed in an instant.

Daniel sneered inwardly. No wonder Lucas didn’t want him working with Joseph. With a man this petty, even if they struck a deal, chaos would surely follow. Of course, Lucas was a business giant—his vision was sharp enough to see what others couldn’t.

“Mr. Hunt, I couldn’t have been clearer,” Daniel said. “The meaning is obvious—I don’t want to work with you.”

“And what about everything I gave you before?” Joseph demanded, dragging old favors into it.

But Daniel had no patience left. “Mr. Hunt, gifts in business are always reciprocal. If you insist on bringing that up, there’s nothing more I can argue. After all, you gave them willingly. I never forced you.”

At those words, Joseph’s grip tightened painfully around his phone. Joseph ground his teeth and spat, “Daniel, do you have no shame?”

“Hey now, what’s with the insults?” Daniel deliberately raised his voice. “Whatever I am has nothing to do with you.”

“So the only reason you called me today was to disgust me?”

At last, Joseph saw Daniel’s true colors.

“No,” Daniel replied smoothly, “I called to tell you this project won’t be yours. But if there are other projects in the future, I might consider you.”

Joseph froze. So, Daniel had thought about working with him on something else. But after the things he had just blurted out, chances were slim Daniel would ever follow through.

Sure enough, Daniel continued, “But I heard every word you just said. Clearly, you’ve been harboring a lot of resentment toward me. If that’s how you feel, why should I work with you? Better we stop contacting each other now and keep a little dignity while we can.” He was ready to hang up.

“It’s him, isn’t it? Lucas, right?” Joseph suddenly blurted out. “He’s the one who told you not to work with me, isn’t he?”

He couldn’t wrap his head around it otherwise. But the words left his mouth before he could stop them, and the moment they did, regret hit. After all, Lucas was nothing more than a so-called pretty face. How could he possibly wield that much influence?