America 1919

Chapter 705: 242, Pandora Oil Company is not given much attention.

If the directors of the Sinclair Oil Corporation had heard Archie Roosevelt’s words, they should have deeply realized what it means to invite the wolf into the house!

Donnie could never agree to Archie Roosevelt’s words, after all, Donnie himself still had his sights set on the Sinclair Oil Corporation!

So, Donnie refused Archie Roosevelt’s proposal.

He refused directly!

Such a response naturally made Archie Roosevelt dissatisfied.

“Donnie, you should know that without the help of the Sinclair Oil Corporation, Pandora Oil Company would not possibly be successful in this matter, and even without the help of Pandora Oil, the Sinclair Oil Corporation certainly has a higher chance of success than you!”

Donnie did not deny this, but he still did not agree to Archie Roosevelt’s request for cooperation.

If it had been a year ago, faced with such an opportunity, Donnie might have actively sought cooperation with Archie Roosevelt or young Rockefeller, but now, Donnie would not do so.

Cooperation is mutual, and right now, they clearly want to arrange things from a superior position.

Put simply, whether it was the earlier young Rockefeller or the current Archie Roosevelt, they wanted Pandora Oil to serve as the vanguard in the charge, while they were planning to sit back and reap the fruits of victory from afar.

“Donnie, this isn’t a matter of pride or rivalry. I know you must have your own ideas about the oil sector. If you succeed this time, you can jointly own the Baku Oil Field with Sinclair Oil Corporation. Isn’t that the best outcome for you?”

Faced with Donnie’s refusal to cooperate, Archie Roosevelt’s demeanor shifted from initial anger to earnest persuasion.@@novelbin@@

Donnie, sitting back on the sofa, asked a direct, fatal question: “Archie, if we do end up taking the exploration rights to the Baku Oil Field from Shell in the end, who will call the shots for the new oil fields? Sinclair Oil Corporation or Pandora Oil Company? You should know that in any company, there’s only one ruling voice, right?”

Archie Roosevelt’s expression froze; he did not expect Donnie to be so blunt.

“Donnie, we could learn from the Hearst Corporation and set up a new company together. Of course, in the new company’s stock distribution, the Sinclair Oil Corporation definitely will hold the majority, but didn’t I just mention it earlier?

With your support, in no more than five years, our shares in Sinclair Oil Corporation could exceed 50 percent. Then you and I could control the Sinclair Oil Corporation.

At that time, what else is there to worry about!”

Of course there’s something to worry about!

Donnie silently answered Archie Roosevelt’s question in his heart. In this entire affair, Archie Roosevelt just wanted to make him into his own sword.

First to help him take the exploration rights to the Baku Oil Field, then to assist in taking control of the Sinclair Oil Corporation.

The catch is that both these items were things he had wanted beforehand, and regarding control of the Sinclair Oil Corporation, he had already started to plan. How could Donnie just abandon his previous plans simply because of a few words from Archie Roosevelt!

So, in the end, Donnie still refused Archie Roosevelt’s request for cooperation, which left the latter somewhat angrily departing from the place.

Archie Roosevelt’s departure made Donnie all the more unhappy. This man was not even as good as his brother, little Theodore Roosevelt, who at least knew to take Alice’s feelings into account.

Before Donnie’s return, Archie Roosevelt and Alice had appeared quite friendly with each other; yet just after Donnie refused him, Archie Roosevelt left without even saying goodbye to Alice.

“Archie is not like Theo. Even though he appears cheerful to others, I know he has a rather gloomy mind. When we were kids, he always tried to snatch away the toys I liked!”

Alice said to Donnie.

Donnie, with his arm around Alice’s shoulder, said with a smile, “Don’t worry, whatever they do, they won’t go too far!”

Donnie was not taking Archie Roosevelt’s actions to heart; Archie Roosevelt’s performance was a personal one and did not represent the entire Roosevelt Family.

Alice thought it over briefly and understood what Donnie meant.

Now, with Alice there, Donnie naturally had an ally in the Roosevelt Family, an unchangeable fact. Perhaps when Donnie had first been with Alice, there might have been the suspicion of leveraging the Roosevelt Family.

But now, the relationship can only be described as mutually beneficial. While the Block Family might still have some power gap compared to the Roosevelt Family, this gap was no longer so pronounced.

In some minor matters, the interests of both could differ, but in major issues, the interests of the two families had to align.

This constraint applied not only to Donnie but also to the Roosevelt Family.

After all, with someone like Alice involved, if there were conflicts over core interests, the other allies would be even less trusting!

“By the way, how is Franklin doing over in Georgia?”