After Rebirth, I Accept The Arranged Marriage-Chapter 31: The Jennings Family

"They offered me a billion at the end of the year, plus the townhouse near the tech park and the luxury condo by the sea. They said the money would be enough for me to live on for the rest of my life, and that I should stay out of company business after that," Lynn Jennings said.

A billion seemed like a fortune to most, but for people like them, a one-time cash payment was far less valuable than continuing to receive dividends from the corporation.

Jessie Sterling frowned.

While she didn’t participate in her family’s corporate management either, that had been her own choice.

Besides, she was at least a shareholder in name.

"Did you tell your family you wanted to work at the company?" Jessie asked.

The Jennings family had built their fortune on medical care and pharmaceuticals. They were the nation’s largest producer of medical devices, and their pharmaceutical company was one of the most well-known domestic manufacturers of targeted therapy drugs.

Lynn Jennings’s field of study was a perfect match. Not working at her family’s own pharmaceutical company was a real waste.

"Yeah, I mentioned it." Lynn Jennings lay bonelessly on the sofa. The hand that had been covering her face was now draped over her forehead. She looked like a fish stranded on the shore, slowly drying out under the sun. "But my mom thinks that if I so much as set foot in the pharmaceutical company, even just for a technical position, I’ll eventually try to wrestle for power with my second brother."

Her eldest brother handled the medical device division, while her second brother was in charge of the pharmaceutical company.

Jessie’s expression soured. "Your second brother doesn’t know the first thing about pharmaceuticals. What’s wrong with letting you help manage it?"

Furious, she grabbed a throw pillow and punched it twice as if to vent her anger.

Lynn couldn’t help but laugh, looking a little less dejected than before.

"At first, I just thought it was all so pointless, and honestly, I still do. Yesterday, my mom told my second brother I wanted to work at the pharma company, and he immediately came to me, saying he wanted to set me up with someone." Lynn sneered. "Does he really think no one can see what he’s scheming? He assumes everyone is as much of a stupid pig as he is."

Jessie: "Who did he try to set you up with?"

Lynn: "One was his college classmate. His family is in the oil or defense industry, I forget which. But the guy is of Chinese descent and has lived abroad his whole life. The other one is a senior executive at the pharmaceutical company."

"Is he nuts?" Jessie’s eyes blazed with anger. "Is he trying to get you to stay abroad forever and never come back? Or, failing that, make sure he has you under his thumb even if you do get involved with the company?"

Hearing Jessie say that, Lynn couldn’t help but laugh again.

"What are you laughing at?!" Jessie shot her an irritated glance.

Lynn giggled. "Nothing. Just thinking how smart you are, sweetie!"

Jessie: "..."

Then, the smile on Lynn’s face faded. "But my brother thinks everyone in the world is a useless, stupid pig just like him, and he even thinks he’s doing me some huge favor. Oh, right. That executive from the pharma company? He told me he’s the top dog... you know, the top dog in Mumbai."

"He’s a psycho," Jessie blurted out, forgetting all about Lynn’s "smart" compliment. "Did you tell your family about this?"

’It’s a shame I don’t have any brothers,’ she thought. ’Otherwise, having Lynn as my sister-in-law would be great.’

Lynn sat up on the sofa. "Of course I did. Why wouldn’t I?"

’I’m not the type to just suffer in silence. All that does is give you a stress-induced illness.’

"I didn’t tell my mom, though. I just had a chat with my dad and told him my dear second brother was trying to marry me off to someone in Mumbai." A smug look appeared on Lynn’s face. "You know how this trip to the United States was for negotiating a deal on imported drugs? And you know why my second brother is nowhere to be seen? Haha, my dad was originally going to bring him along, but first thing yesterday morning, he got him shipped off somewhere else. Serves him right."

There were many rifts within the blended family. As the only biological child of both her parents, she had once only wanted to patch things up and keep their family of five happy and harmonious.

"No wonder they say money is the true measure of love." Lynn poured a glass of whiskey that had likely been left on the coffee table from Quincy Sterling’s last visit. "Who the hell wants family harmony now? Damn it, that ’harmony’ requires me to be the one to shut up and compromise. Right now, I’d rather just flip the whole damn table."

Jessie poured herself a glass to join her. "It’s okay. Tomorrow, we’ll go buy out an entire street!"

Her way of blowing off steam was to shop till she dropped, and Director Sterling’s credit card was notoriously hard to max out. "Or," Jessie suggested, coming up with a terrible idea, "how about you try to max out Victor Morgan’s card tomorrow?"

Lynn, who had just been praising her friend’s intelligence, now wore an indescribable expression.

’Director Sterling’s card is hard to max out, but you think Victor Morgan’s will be easy?’

’If Victor Morgan knew his fiancée had such thoughts, he’d probably have a heart attack.’

Just then, on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, Victor Morgan, who had returned to the old family home for dinner, abruptly sneezed.

Mrs. Morgan: "Caught a cold?"

"No." Victor Morgan shook his head. "My nose was just a little itchy."

"Good. So, Jessie didn’t think the courtyard house needed any modifications?" Mrs. Morgan quickly moved on from her son’s health.

"She didn’t," Victor Morgan confirmed.

The only reason he was home for dinner today was because Mrs. Morgan had called and demanded a detailed report on Jessie’s house-viewing from a few days prior.

If his mother hadn’t been away on a business trip those two days, she probably wouldn’t have even needed to ask him.

Mrs. Morgan: "Even though Jessie didn’t say anything, it’s probably because the poor girl was too shy, this being her first time in Aethelburg. You need to be more attentive. Don’t be like you usually are, never at home. Understand?"

Victor Morgan nodded.

"Max out Victor Morgan’s card?" Lynn rolled her eyes. "What on earth is going on in that head of yours? If I got busted by your President Morgan, I’d die of embarrassment. Besides, I’m not a human money shredder like you."

Jessie: "Then what about my card?"

Lynn: "..."

"Anyway, whatever you like tomorrow, I’ll pay for it, okay?" Jessie said, hugging Lynn’s arm coaxingly.

Lynn couldn’t help but laugh at her friend’s antics.

’Who else in the world is as eager to spend money on someone as Jessie is?’

"Alright, alright, I get it..." Lynn patted the head resting on her arm, exasperated.

The next day, when Jessie and Lynn got up, both were still half-asleep.

The masseuses and makeup artists they had booked were already at the house. After being pampered until almost ten o’clock, the two finally came downstairs.

New York Fashion Week was a huge event, and plenty of celebrities from both home and abroad were attending.

By the time Lynn and Jessie arrived at the venue, the red carpet event at the entrance was almost over.

Jessie didn’t pay much attention to celebrities, so after a quick glance out the car window, she looked away.

Lynn, however, let out a small "Huh?" from beside her.