Iris followed her husband and sons to the grand hall, where they t Dom and the nannies. Once they stepped outside, the butlers held large black umbrellas over their heads.
The head butler and servants lined up to bid their new employer's family goodbye.
"Thank you, everyone," Iris told them. My family and I had a wonderful stay at the chateau. We're sad that we had to cut our trip short, but we'll definitely return next ti. Please take care of the place in our absence."
"Please leave everything here to us, Mada," the head butler replied on behalf of everyone. "Please have a safe trip. We're all looking forward to your return."
"Yah yah!" (Bye-bye!) Little Mochi waved his little hands at the head butler and the others.
Little Matcha followed suit, waving his little hand before resting his head on his father's shoulder and yawning. The gloomy weather was making him sleepy.
The head butler and his subordinates couldn't stop themselves from smiling and waving back at the adorable babies. They were such a joy to have around.
Little Mochi was a bit naughty, but his energy made the chateau feel so much livelier. Little Matcha was also very adorable in the way he lived his baby life at his own pace. Both were definitely the cutest babies that they had ever seen in their entire lives. They wished that their new employers would bring the babies back to the chateau soon.
Jin Liwei urged the others to hurry up. He didn't want his wife and sons exposed to the wet and chilly weather.
Once everyone was ready, the motorcade of vehicles finally left the chateau.
Iris couldn't help but look back at the chateau's beautiful scenery as they drove away. She felt sorry that they hadn't been able to enjoy the place to the fullest. It couldn't be helped. Hearing about the murders so close in connection with her friend, Ashandra, made her too worried.
Jin Liwei seed to know what she was thinking about. He held her hand and squeezed it. "We'll return here next ti for another family trip. The chateau should already be updated by then. We'll enjoy ourselves better next ti."
She nodded.
By afternoon, they finally returned to their Parisian residence. Chen Fei had been waiting for them. She imdiately hugged the twins, missing them. Grandpa Lu also called that he would be coming later with his packed luggage.
Everyone ate a quick lunch.
Iris had no ti to waste. Right after lunch, a household staff mber inford her that the guest she was expecting had arrived. She nodded and headed to the study.
Once she arrived there, she saw Sheikha Amira sipping tea.
"Iris!" Sheikha Amira stood up.
"Amira." Iris went for a hug and an air kiss. "Let's sit down."
"You have a beautiful ho," the sheikha said.
Iris smiled. "Thank you, Amira. I'm glad you ca today."
"How could I not co? I've been waiting for you to invite ." Amira handed Iris a gift bag. "This is for you."
"Oh, you didn't have to! Thank you!" Iris opened the gift. It was a vintage red wine—very expensive.
Her husband should like it.
Amira was pleased by her reaction to her gift. "I don't like wasting ti. Shall we get right down to business?"
"Sure, I also don't like wasting ti," Iris said. This ti, her smile was more genuine. She liked strong, independent won who knew exactly what they wanted.
Just like her.
"So have made your decision?" Amira asked, her eyes shining with anticipation.
"Yes." Iris nodded.
"Tell about it. I can't wait."
Iris chuckled. "I've decided to accept your proposal to cooperate with Liberté."
Amira's face blood with a bright smile. "Yes! This is the best news I've gotten in days!"
The woman's enthusiasm infected Iris. She montarily forgot her worries for her friend, Ashandra Knightson. Her entire focus was on this eting.
"I've decided to go ahead with this cooperation but I have a few conditions," Iris said.
Amira beca serious. "Let hear about your conditions."
"First of all, I want you to uphold Liberté's values of promoting inclusivity over exclusivity," Iris said.
"No problem. I might be a mber of my nation's royal family but I basically grew up in England. Please don't worry because my own personal values align with that of Liberté's."
Iris nodded. "I'm glad to hear that."
The two won continued their discussion which evolved into negotiations. They pushed and pulled until reaching a satisfying conclusion.
"I'll have a contract drafted and sent to Liberté," Amira said. "If you're satisfied, then we can go ahead with the cooperation."
"Yes." Iris stood up and offered her hand.
Amira took it.
The two won shook hands.
"I would love to invite you for dinner, but I'm pressed for ti today," Iris said. "My family and I are leaving France tonight. Tell you what. If you have ti, I want to invite you to my other company's launch in Germany."
"Orchidia, right?" It seed that the sheikha did her research.
"Yes."
"Sure, I would love to co," Amira said.
"I'll send you an invitation."
Iris personally walked Sheikha Amira to the door. The two won bid each other goodbye, feeling satisfied with the results of their negotiations. Before Amira left, Iris gave her so baked desserts that she requested the private chef to make in advance.
"Done?" Jin Liwei asked, appearing beside her.
She nodded. "Amira is one tough cookie. I'm starting to really like her."
He had no comnt about the woman. "As long as you're satisfied."
"She's an amateur when it cos to discussing specific details of starting a business, but she makes it up with her determination and willingness to learn. I hope that she follows through on her promise to fulfill my conditions for allowing her to open a Liberté franchise store in Dubai."
"So you've decided on the franchise route?" he asked.
"Yes. It's too risky for us to directly open a Liberté branch in Dubai by ourselves. A franchise store also has risks but at least we don't have to worry too much about running the daily operations by ourselves. Amira has that covered.
"Ketchup already ran a background check on her. No ruling family is completely devoid of shady businesses, but Amira herself is not bad. I've decided to trust her. As long as she doesn't allow herself to be too controlled by anyone in her family, then we'll have a happy cooperation with her. If not, I'll just treat it as a montary lapse in judgnt and accept my business losses. Hopefully, everything runs smoothly."
Jin Liwei nodded. "Jabar is coming in an hour. I already inford Chonglin about our decision. He also wants to join the project."
Iris was relieved. "Good. The more people we have, the more money we can raise to fund the project. Jabar's proposal is very ambitious. It's going to burn a lot of money. But if we do things just right, the rewards will also be incredible. If we're able to turn the project into a film franchise like what Jabar originally planned, then it's going to be super exciting."
"En. High risk, high reward." Then he said, "Once Chonglin heard about it, he imdiately wanted to jump on a plane and fly here directly to et Jabar. I told him to finish his work obligations first."
She laughed. "Your brother has grown more and more childish over the years."
"He has always been childish, always doing whatever he wants."
"But that's also one of the main reasons why he's so successful. His childishness adds to his charisma, endearing him to his fans. Of course, most of his fans believe that he's a cool man with only occasional bouts of childishness. They don't know that he's more childish than what they initially expected."
"Hm." Jin Liwei had already lost interest in the conversation.
It wasn't like he didn't care about his younger brother. In fact, he cared about Jin Chonglin very much and would always find ways to help him out as much as possible. Nevertheless, he still found his brother quite annoying especially when Jin Chongin acted like a childish diva.
"Brother Chonglin might have grown childish over the years, but it seems that he listens to Chen Fei well," Iris comnted. "I never expected that their relationship would work this smoothly."
"En. Chen Fei has her hands full with my brother. If they have a child together in the future, she might feel like she's raising two kids instead of one."
She snickered.
The husband and wife chatted while taking a walk. The dreary weather extended to Paris, but Iris' mood had improved a lot. Her successful negotiation with Sheikha Amira made her feel more enthusiastic.
Ten minutes before their appointnt, Director Jabar Wilkins finally arrived. Iris and Jin Liwei personally welcod him at the front door.
"I don't know what to bring you so I just bought whatever," he said, shoving a nicely-wrapped box to Jin Liwei. "Here you go."
Iris could already sll the sweet scent of freshly baked macarons. "Oh, my eldest twin son loves eating these!"
"Really?! Good!" The director bead, his straight white teeth looking brighter than usual. "Just tell what you like and I'll get it for you next ti."
Iris chuckled. She liked the man's fighting spirit and seemingly endless optimism. There was no need to act like strangers with a genuine person like him, so she said, "Okay. I won't stand on ceremony, then. My husband and I are fine, but our children would be ecstatic to receive presents."
Jabar Wilkins laughed. "Then Uncle Jabar will buy presents for the kiddos from now on!"
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