"Shouldn't it be to protect Alex? Despite everything he said just now, his seat as the chairman really is not solid yet. I have to know what and who to look out for, don't I?"
Sharon voiced her confusion with a slight frown on her face, making Lance look at her with slight incredulity, before reacting. He tried to hold back, but the serious she spoke with made him ended up shaking his restraint:
"Pfft!"
And when her frown deepened at his reaction, his composure failed him, the lid he had been holding back burst open:
"Hahahahahaha… hahahahahaha… hahahahahaha…"
_ _ _
_ _ _
Back in the chairman's office, Alex reduced the dark interface on the computer's monitor and focused on the bundle of energy across from him. Even though she had not taken long to clean herself and come back, meaning she barely took the time to put on any make-up at all, she only looked fresher, without being any less attractive than before, with her youth and vivaciousness on full display.
After giving her a once-over, Alex asked, his face daring her to speak any nonsense:
"Alright, now tell me what the surprise you have taken a month to prepare is. Did mom help you?"
His brown eyes carried across his certainty that his mother had known about her return way earlier, even before Mark who had informed him not long ago. Jenny fidgeted under his gaze, then raised a finger:
"It actually took more than one month, and I only came back a month ago."
Alex's gaze congealed, and Jenny explained without being prompted, before her cousin's displeasure could transition into true anger:
"I stopped by Second's place before doing anything. It was him who helped pretend that I have not left the campus at all. You know that I don't have the resources to cheat you. And he said that you will not dig deeper as long as I do nothing that will give me away."
Alex gave the younger woman a long look, then commented flatly:
"So you used my trust in you. I get it. Go on. When did you come back, and what is that surprise you then went around preparing to shock me?"
Jenny's expression of a child who had done something wrong worsened, and she fiddled with her fingers as she confessed:
"I came back a month ago. That is when I went to see Aunt Grace at the mansion. I knew you would never attend the family gathering, so…"
"Tch…"
His reaction made Jenny laugh, and she relaxed:
"After knowing that I wanted to surprise you, Aunt Grace–"
"And Leyna."
Jenny froze, and avoided Alex's gaze, whistling as she looked at the beautiful sky through the windows, because they both knew that wherever Grace Lenner was, her assistant would never have been far, and that meant that the latter had known about Jenny's return too, but had said nothing.
Then thinking about the painting from this morning, Alex gritted his teeth:
"Good! Good! Good! Everyone has agreed to plot against me, huh? Now spit it out, what is that damn surprise?"
Jenny forced a smile, and stole a glance at Alex, before speaking in a low voice:
"Actually, it is because I didn't want to give myself away by going home that I went to the mansion where we all have rooms…"
Looking at the impatience bleeding into Alex's expression, Jenny stopped stalling:
"I built a company."
The air in the office suddenly stagnated. Alex's expression froze, before he asked, just to confirm what he just heard:
"You, what!?"
Seeing his reaction, Jenny stopped being nervous, and pouted:
"Why are you so surprised? Can Jenny Lenner build a company and strive to be independent?"
Alex scrutinized the pouty face, and replied seriously:
"You know why. That is exactly the reason that made you think that it will be a surprise."
Jenny paused, then pouted more fiercely. That finally broke the gloom Alex had been carrying, and he laughed:
"Hahahahaha…."
Jenny smiled, and asked when he calmed down:
"At least I made you laugh, brother Third. Why were you in a bad mood so early in the morning? Did one of your conquests go wrong last night?"
Alex relaxed, and leaned back in his seat. The image of the painting from the morning fleeted through his mind, along with the memories connected to it, before he shook his head with a smile:
"Do you think any conquest of mine can go wrong? Don't you know who I am?"
"Hehe… You are Alex Lenner, the undefeated playboy. Even overseas, I heard your reputation."
"See? No girl can escape my grasp. Now let's come back to you. What kind of company did you build? Are you serious or do you just want to play?"
Jenny nodded, and replied with a bright smile, now that the thunderous cloud above her head had drifted away:
"It is a company of cosmetics, and I want to manage it seriously. I'm not just a little girl who only knows to play. I want to have the option to become independent, like you. I don't want to be like cousin Gilem, cousin Sepp and cousin Kris who don't even have it."
Alex's gaze softened, along with his voice:
"But you didn't have to hide it. I could have helped you, and even if you want to try by yourself, I would not have said anything. No one would have said anything."
Jenny gently smiled, her smile blooming not with energy this time, but with sweetness:
"I know. But I just wanted to be a big girl for once."
Alex looked at her deeply, smiled, and dropped the subject. Then his face changed, his expression transitioning into a serious one:
"Then, is your company into sales or production? What is the size? What model are you following? How have you organized the management? What is your strategy? Have you debuted on the market yet? What is the expected turnover? Who are your targets? What share of the market are you aiming–"
"Brother!!!"
Jenny pouted fiercely, glaring at her cousin who was more of a brother to her, doing her best to express her dissatisfaction in full. Alex was forced to pause, then smiled helplessly. But Jenny still found it necessary to drive her point home:
"Brother Third, I'm majoring in business management. I can manage everything you have asked about, and I will accept it if I truly fail. Please…"
Alex looked at her for a while, then smiled:
"You have grown up."
Only then did Jenny drop her indignant expression and let it go. She tried to take the compliment in stride, but the tilting corner of her lips betrayed the secretion of happy hormones she was trying to hide. She breathed in, and spoke to shift the attention, especially as Alex's smile was starting to make her feel embarrassed:
"Research, development, production and distribution of cosmetics based on natural ingredients. That is the path my company is following."
Alex didn't bust her pretense. He nodded at her words, then shook his head:
"I see. But that is nothing new. And the market is not easy to penetrate, much less expand in. It is not a bad challenge per se, but what about what you used to like? You used to be passionate about something else. Are you abandoning that? If that is the surprise, I am indeed shocked."
Jenny's expression changed, and she lowered her head, and her face that had turned pale as her heart exploded, and sank slowly:
"Brother Third, I…"