Rachel almost slammed on the brakes as she gripped the wheel, rounding the large curve on the highway to the airport.
The car pulled up at the entrance to the terminal as Rachel gave Jolly a warning glare. “You seem to be complaining about me not treating Samuel as my biological son just moments ago, but now you’re proposing a marriage for my own son and my own daughter?”
Jolly blinked. “I’m just saying.” Rachel glared at her. “Do you know the correct term for this idea of yours?”
“What is it?”
“It’s incest!” In Rachel’s eyes, Samuel and Charlotte were like siblings, so Jolly’s idea was too dangerous. Jolly still wanted to argue that the two weren’t related by blood, but a figure had already emerged from the terminal, luggage in hand.
When Rachel caught sight of it, she instantly undid her seatbelt and went out of the car to welcome the person. Jolly could only swallow her words. Then, she turned around to look at the children, then couldn’t help but take another photo.
They look perfect for each other. Is it bad for childhood friends to get together? With Gloria in the car, on the way home, the children woke up.
“I want strawberry chocolate.”
Charlotte enthusiastically hugged Gloria’s arm as she waited for Gloria to open the packaging of the chocolate she had brought back.
Jolly looked at Charlotte as if the latter were her future daughter-in-law. “Charlotte, you have to share the good things you get. So why don’t you ask Aunt Gloria to give half of your chocolates to Samuel?”
“No.” Charlotte immediately shook her head, disregarding Jolly’s advice. Jolly frowned and looked at Rachel with a complicated expression.
With just a look from Jolly, Rachel knew what she was thinking. Jolly probably thought that with Charlotte’s stubborn personality, Samuel would definitely be at a disadvantage if the two really got married to each other. She was Samuel’s biological mother, after all. Hence, she wouldn’t want her son to face injustice.
“You should just give up.” Rachel averted her gaze, her expression calm. “They both have strong personalities, so they should just terrorize other people’s children. Why would we put our own children against each other?”
Jolly nodded thoughtfully. “You have a point.” Both Charlotte and Samuel were self-centered children, so anyone who got together with them would be in for a ride. They were truly suited to terrorize other children.
Meanwhile, in the backseat, Charlotte and Samuel were arguing about which chocolate tasted better, strawberry or rum. The mothers in front didn’t realize that Charlotte refused to give Samuel the chocolate not because of selfishness but simply because she knew that Samuel didn’t like strawberry chocolate.
Halfway through their journey, Gloria asked, “I couldn’t get in contact with my brother all this while. What’s he up to?”
Perhaps because she became more mature after her marriage, Gloria changed how she referred to Justin from the usual ‘Justin’ to a more respectful ‘brother.’
Jolly was also curious. “Yes, why didn’t Justin come along?” Rachel frowned a little, but her voice remained calm. “He should be at Burton Group right now.”
There were rarely companies like Hudson Group, which would finish up the yearly meetings just a few days before the new year, hence giving all the employees an extra day off for the new year. Most companies would hold their yearly meetings on this day, and Burton Group was no exception.
Justin was still a member of Burton Group, even though he had sold a part of his shares and transferred some under Charlotte’s name. On paper, he was still the general manager of the branch. This was an ‘illusion’ Julian maintained for the public eye.
However, no one thought that Justin would attend the year end general meeting today, including Julian. “What are you doing here?”
In the office, Julian was having a private conversation with Justin. The general meeting in the meeting room opposite them was put on hold, and through the windows, Julian and Justin could see the shareholders discussing among themselves. Justin said, “I’m here to make a deal with you.”
“A deal? Between you and me?”
“Julian, by the looks of it, you’re definitely going to be the president of Burton Group soon. Even though you’re the vice president on paper, Robin listens to you and does everything you say.”
“What are you getting at?”
“What I want to say is that there are many ways to earn money. However, you mustn’t earn them illegally even if you’re at your wit’s end.”
Justin’s gaze sharpened a little, and he emanated a chill that suppressed all others. He rarely looked at Julian like that, the way he used to glare at his rivals.
“A month ago, you bought some land in Riverside. It’s a large piece of land, but in Burton Group’s year-end audit reports on intangible assets, the estimated price was meager. Can you tell me why?”
Julian was visibly taken aback. A few seconds later, he said, “That’s a wasteland. It has no developmental value except to be rented out to the farmers nearby.”
“Really? Is that what Mr. Price from the Urban Construction Bureau told you?” Justin’s gaze was burning as Julian clenched his fists. “So you knew. Did you come here today to report me to the directors just with this land? What if I don’t admit to it? Let me tell you this: stop trying. It’s no use!”
“I already said before that I have no desire to take the position of president from you.”
“Then what are you trying to do?”
The time had finally come.
Despite Justin’s reluctance to stand against Julian like this, in reality, he couldn’t find a better way to resolve the situation.
“As long as you promise me two things, I won’t mention anything about that land in Riverside. First of all, remove Robin from the position as president, and take his place.”
Julian was a little stunned as he stayed silent for a bit. “And the second one?”
“Secondly, from the general meeting today onward, all of Burton Group’s branches under me will stand independent of Burton Group. However, they will still operate various businesses under the name of Burton Group. From today onward, Burton Group will be split in two, and those two parts will no longer be involved with each other.”
“What? Why should I give you half of Burton Group?”
“You can decline, but I also have other ways. For example, I can start removing the so-called connections you’ve built up over the last few months in Riverdale.”
There was a wintry chill in Justin’s eyes as he spoke in a low but firm tone. “You don’t have much time to consider. The shareholders are waiting for us.”
Julian clenched his fists tightly. Because he had gritted his teeth too strongly, his facial muscles were trembling as well. He hadn’t experienced this feeling of being blackmailed in a long time. Dang it! Dang this man! Argh!
However, he knew very well that Justin wasn’t joking. If he declined, as soon as the matter about the land in Riverside was exposed, it would have many complications.
Sometime later, Julian replied with a sullen expression, “I can agree to your terms, but I have my own terms as well.”
“Go ahead.” “Burton Group can be split in half, but Riverdale must serve as a boundary. In all the business dealings, everything on the southern side of Riverdale would be under me, and you can be in charge of the northern side. We would not cross paths.
Most of Burton Group’s workforce and supplies were located on the southern side of Riverdale. Julian’s words sounded fair, but in truth, he had simply tossed an empty husk to Justin.
“Sure,” With that simple, calm utterance, Justin agreed.
