Rachel was relieved that Charlotte had agreed to go to her schoolmate’s birthday party this weekend; that way, she would be able to tell her that Justin wouldn’t be in Riverdale at a later time. Charlotte would forget about it when she was exhausted. By delaying the revelation, Rachel could let the young kid enjoy some happy days.
Meanwhile, to make sure that Jolly wouldn’t stay at home and become shrouded in misery, Rachel brought her out for meals almost every day.
“Have a taste of it, Godmother. It’s delicious.” Charlotte’s hands were covered in grease when she picked up some French fries and dipped them in the ice cream before stuffing them into Jolly’s mouth.
“Oh! Good grief! Thank you!”
“What do you mean by good grief?”
“It’s just an exclamation.”
“What is an exclamation?”
“It’s like saying ‘Wow!’ or ‘Fantastic!’, just things. like that.”
It was difficult for Jolly to take care of a kid, but it was the best idea to distract her. Samuel didn’t need anyone to take care of him. After he learned to walk, he would help cover Jolly and Rachel up with quilts in the middle of the night from time to time. Therefore, Charlotte’s naughtiness finally proved to be useful at this point.
After all the dishes were served, Rachel started taking photos of them. While feeding Charlotte some food, Jolly asked, “When did you become one of those people who would take photos of the dishes before having them? You hated those people in the past.”
“I’m sending these photos to Justin. I suppose he misses the kids now,” Rachel replied without lifting her head, then sent all the photos to Justin. Jolly uttered impassively, “I think he misses a certain someone, not the kids.”
“Can’t the food keep your mouth shut?”
“How can you be so fierce to me when I’ve just fallen out of love?”
“Have more food, then. I’ll pay the bill.”
“Stop treating me in such a perfunctory way.” Jolly shook her head as she watched Rachel reply to the messages. “Well, it’s spring now. I guess it’s the season to watch Animal Planet.”
Rachel wasn’t interested in responding to her. After Jolly’s breakup with Leroy, whenever she saw the secretaries speaking to the new male apprentices in the office, she would go over and ask about their progress. She would also tell them to find out whether their horoscopes were a match.
If Jolly keeps doing this, everyone in the office will go mad while she’s still clear-headed, Rachel thought.
Darkness finally descended. Le Grandeur was a city in the north where it would take a person three hours to travel from Riverdale by plane. The lights outside the office gradually went out. Other than Frankie, who was still handling some documents, Justin was the only one left in the office. After he was done going through the documents, he leaned against the chair and stroked his temples. There was a hint of tiredness on his face.
He had to start everything anew in this place. Even though he had brought with him the name of Burton Group, he hadn’t managed to gain a footing here due to various reasons. There were quite some predicaments he had to face.
The office here was about half the size of the previous headquarters of Burton Group. Not only were the windows small, but the smell of new furniture also lingered in this place.
Frankie was initially displeased with this place as he wanted to tear down the walls and get the office renovated, but the suggestion was turned down by Justin. They were just starting out with this new company, so it was pointless to do anything that didn’t yield any meaningful results. He didn’t have any demands when it came to the looks of the office.
Not long after he closed his eyes, his phone screen suddenly lit up and displayed Rachel’s messages. There were more than ten photos that showed the kids having a meal under some yellowish lights. Charlotte insisted on stuffing French fries into Jolly’s mouth while the woman sported a look of disdain.
‘Today, Charlotte’s schoolmate invited her to attend his birthday party this weekend. Did you know what she said?’
‘She demanded the kind of cake she wanted, and she even asked the young kid to prepare the snacks she loved.’
‘Those who have no idea what’s going on might think that she’s a princess who is visiting her subject’s house instead of attending a birthday party.’
The messages kept popping up on Justin’s phone screen. He slowly scrolled down as though he didn’t want to finish reading the messages so soon. He wasn’t aware that he no longer looked tired as there was a faint smile on his face.
‘Have you had dinner?’
Justin subconsciously typed that he hadn’t had his dinner, but he deleted it at the last minute. The message he sent was, ‘I’m going to have my dinner.’
‘You have to have your meals on time. Be mindful of what you eat.’
‘Alright, you too. You’ve been working hard lately.’ After that, Rachel did not send him any more messages.
Justin stared at the phone screen for a long time before he took another look at the photos sent to him by Rachel. The kids were having – fast food like pizzas, which didn’t look like a healthy meal. Rachel was good at persuading others to eat healthily, but she would spoil the kids when it came to their food choices.
Just then, someone was heard knocking on the door. Frankie said, “It’s getting late now, President Burton. I’ll order a meal for you.”
“Order a pizza, then.”
“Huh?” Frankie thought he heard it wrong.
“I’d also like some spaghetti, a fried chicken platter, and iced juice.” Justin listed the food he wanted nonchalantly. He looked at the phone screen as though he was going through the menu of a fast food restaurant.
Frankie scratched his head. Although he was puzzled, he didn’t ask any questions. He nodded and said, “I’ll order everything right away.”
It would take the delivery guy some time to send their food to this place, so Frankie decided to report to Justin about the progress of the project. “All other problems have been solved except for fire control. It entirely depends on the subjective view of the other party. If they don’t approve it, our proposal will be dismissed directly.”
“Arrange a meal with Mr. Miller this weekend.”
– “President Burton…” Frankie was hesitant. “You’re fully aware of what Mr. Miller is like. Other than being an alcoholic, he also loves going to those places…”
“It’s fine. I’ll have a meal with him this weekend.”
Frankie had no choice but to agree to it while feeling bitter in his heart. One of the reasons for the north’s stagnant economy was its geographical environment. Other than that, corruption was rampant in those departments. Although such a problem existed in all parts of the country, it was the worst in the north.
Justin was born with a golden spoon, and he was the heir to the Burton Family. He could basically do anything he wanted in Riverdale, so there had never been a need for him to entertain any corrupt officials over dinner.
However, he had to start everything anew in this place. “There’s one more thing, President Burton. Julian has returned to Riverdale.”
“How long did he stay overseas this time?”
“He spent the entire spring overseas. From what I’ve gathered, he visited your aunt at the nursing home once, and he left Montenegro after that.”
“Where did he go?”
“According to his flight information, he came back from Los Anglia. If it wasn’t a direct flight, he probably changed planes in Seranka.”
Justin frowned. If his memory served him right, the elderly couple from the Carter Family had spent the spring holidays in Seranka. An idea flashed through his mind, but he couldn’t quite grasp it. “What is Leroy doing lately?”
“He has turned down all his jobs for the next few months. His company told the media that he’s taking a break due to health reasons. I’ve talked to them, and they said that they’re not going to expose the news that he and Miss Carter have separated for the time being. However, negative comments about Miss Carter have started circulating online following his break from work.”
“Talk to the media outlets that are on good terms with us and tell them not to write about it.”
“Don’t worry. I already called them yesterday, and they’re willing to not write anything about Miss Carter for your sake.”
Justin nodded and set his mind at ease.
