William grinned as he looked at Rain and teased, "I confird your profile with the GIS, and guess what?" His smile widened mischievously before he shalessly blurted, "Sister-in-law, I almost wanted to marry you myself!"
Alexander growled in response, his eyes narrowing. William imdiately pressed his lips together, realizing he’d overstepped. "So, how exactly did you forge my signature, steal my seal, and use my identification, huh? You’re nothing but a thief, a fraud, and an impersonator," Alexander accused, his tone icy.
William gulped and stuttered, "B-but brother... Look at you now, and sister-in-law. You two are a match made in heaven!"
"What you did is theft, forgery, and fraud, and you should rot in jail," Alexander reiterated, his voice calm but laced with nace.
Rain didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as she watched William’s face pale.
He turned toward Father Rock, silently pleading for help. But his father simply shrugged and humd, "It’s not on , Son. I never told you to pull off what you did, though I’ll admit, you made happy by marrying your brother to a woman who suits him well."
Rain’s face flushed, and when she glanced at Alexander, she was startled to see him blushing too. He cleared his throat, still stern. "I want you to face punishnt for your wrongdoing, despite how things turned out. Just think of the chaos if it hadn’t worked out so well. Honestly, you should rot in jail, but thank Rain for saving you."
"Big brother! Are you really planning to send to jail if not for my sister-in-law?" William asked, wide-eyed with disbelief.
"And why not?" Alexander responded coldly. "You—" he trailed off.
"You’ll be punished another way. No more carefree lifestyle for you. It’s ti you grow up and work. You’ll take over managing Sinclair Winery and Vineyard, and I’m appointing you as President and CEO of Orion Worldwide Inc."
Orion Worldwide Inc. was a marketing company under the Lancaster Group, handling advertising, public relations, digital marketing, and more.
Rain glanced at Alexander, impressed by how he skillfully managed such a vast and powerful group like Lancaster Group. Her father-in-law was still the Chairman, but it was clear that Alexander was the one doing the heavy lifting, while his father mostly attended board etings and offered occasional guidance.
"No!" William burst out, panicking. "That’s too much responsibility! You know I hate working in an office!"
"You don’t want to work and take responsibility for the business?" Alexander’s tone was sharp as he questioned his brother, and William nodded hastily in response.
"Then get a wife and settle down! Give Father a grandchild, and I’ll keep letting you off the hook with business matters," Alexander demanded, his tone serious and straightforward.
Everyone’s jaws dropped at his bold statent. Rain was the first to regain her composure, glancing at her father-in-law, who was now grinning, clearly pleased with Alexander’s condition.
"Are you trying to get back at ?" William exclaid. "How co your demand is even worse—asking to give Father a grandchild? I’m only twenty-eight! I’m still in my pri years! I’m a man, and my sperm has no expiration!"
Rain nearly choked on her own saliva at William’s last sentence, trying hard to suppress her laughter. She was the only one who fully understood why Alexander made such a demand of William.
Then she frowned and turned toward Alexander. ’Was William his backup plan if I kept ignoring his insistence on having a baby?’ she wondered, alard by the thought.
"You know I could throw the sa words back at you. I’m older, but only by two years, William. Take it or leave my offer... Or would you rather handle this legally?" Alexander stated coldly before standing up. Looking at Rain, he suddenly said, "I’m starving."
"Oh right! Let’s all get dinner now," their father-in-law said with enthusiasm, rising from his seat. Rain stood to follow Alexander into the dining area, realizing she, too, was quite hungry.
"I feel like I’ve lost my appetite," William muttered, only to wince when his father gave him a firm pat on the back. "Co on, Son. Eat up. Maybe your brother’s just grumpy from hunger. Who knows, he might change his mind once he’s full."
Rain smiled, listening to the playful banter between William and her father-in-law. The two had such an easy rapport, like two peas in a pod. She imagined that if Alexander’s mother were alive, she’d probably be the one who understood Alexander best, since her father-in-law had once ntioned how much of Alexander’s personality mirrored his mother’s.
******
At Smith Residence
"What is going on?" Paul’s father barked the mont the call ended. "Most of our clients are pulling out, Paul! I trusted you with a simple task. I thought you were handling everything well, so what’s been happening?"
Paul had no idea how things had spiralled so quickly. This week had been a disaster for their business. Major clients, the ones they relied on as exclusive legal consultants, were cutting ties left and right. The firm was taking a serious hit, and they were losing money.
"I’m running for Congress, and we need funds! Even so of our sponsors are backing out!" his father growled, his fists clenched in frustration.
"I’ll check on it," Paul mumbled, his voice weak. It felt like soone was targeting their family and business. He wouldn’t stand for it. As he tried to reassure his father, his phone rang again.
"What?!" Paul’s eyes widened as he received complaints about cases he had handled in the past—accusations of bribery and more serious issues.
The colour drained from his face as he hissed, "I’ll handle it!"
His father, still fuming, demanded, "What is it now?"
Paul swallowed hard, his throat dry. "It’s bad... I’m receiving complaints about past cases. They’re accusing of bribery."
His father’s face twisted in disbelief. "I can’t believe this! Fix it—fix all of this ss imdiately!"
"I will," Paul muttered grimly, rushing out to face the storm of problems that had suddenly crashed down on him. The pressure was suffocating, but he knew he had no choice but to fix it—before everything crumbled.
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