Alex looked smitten, her earlier defiance lted into awe. Her eyes held a mix of disbelief and reluctant admiration.
Paige rolled hers. "He's bullshitting you, Alex. Wake up."
Before Alex could respond, Claire moved quickly and wrapped an arm around her daughter, pulling her into a protective side hug. She shot a look that could only be described as full-on mama bear mode—like she was silently warning to back off from emotionally destabilizing her child.
I held my hands up slightly and smiled. "Hey, I'm just answering questions. And she challenged ."
"Wow, that is new," Haley said, amused by her sister's reaction.
"Thank God my son has a better moral compass than Charlie, or I'd be dodging angry dads now," said Alan. "...or already be a grandpa."
"Maybe because he's my son," he added, trying to explain why I'm not that much of a scumbag.
"As if, Alan. It's already impressive that he's related to you," said Charlie.
"Hey, you're also related to !" Alan replied, indignant and astonished.
"I always wondered if Mom made a mistake sowhere along the way…" Charlie muttered.
Just then, music began to play faintly from the speakers. I reached over and turned the volu up, letting the beat fill the patio.
No Money (Galantis)
♪ Sorry, I ain't got no money
I'm not trying to be funny
But I left it all at ho today ♪
"This song seems inspired by you, Alan," Charlie smirked.
Alan glared at him and replied, "Now I have money."
"Yet you sotis still forget your wallet when we go out to eat," Charlie retorted.
♪You can call what you wanna
I ain't giving you a dollar
This ti I ain't gonna run away♪
♪You might knock down
You might knock down
But I will get back up again♪
"This is the new song that Marshllo released?!" Haley said rhetorically, already dancing on the couch.
They stayed for a little while longer, chatting and laughing as the music played. Eventually, people began to say their goodbyes and head out.
As Alex left, she glanced back at , still looking unsure.
"You chard Claire's two daughters," Charlie said, laughing.
Gramma, who was standing nearby, also seed amused by the idea, a small smirk playing on her lips.
I looked at Charlie. "Sorry, Uncle, but Phil is a good person. I will not go on mother-daughter dating if you get it."
Uncle Charlie shook his head. "I have no interest in Claire—she's too bossy," he said, then muttered under his breath, "...but she was rough."
---
We went out that day, and once more on Sunday. Finally, Monday arrived—Regina's birthday.
Paige and I were in the car, both looking sharp in our outfits for the occasion. Jimmy was driving, his eyes on the road as the city rolled past the windows.
When we arrived at Regina's house, Paige and I stepped out and made our way to the door. We both greeted her with a cheerful "Happy birthday!"
Regina gave Paige a big hug, then turned to with a grin and pulled into an even longer one.
"Co, I'll introduce you to my dad," Regina said, grabbing my hand.
"Are you sure?" I said jokingly.
She glared at with that smile-not-a-smile. "Don't start, Jake. It's my birthday."
"Hey, I gave you that beautiful car," I said, pointing to the pale pink one parked nearby. "And I might have another surprise for you today," I added with a smirk.
"What is it?" she asked eagerly—she knew I didn't do half-assed gifts or surprises.
"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you," I smiled.
"You are insufferable," she muttered.
Then Regina led us over to her father. He extended his hand and said, "Henry Samueli."
Paige's eyes widened the mont she heard the na. We both introduced ourselves politely, and I gave him a firm handshake.
As Henry turned to greet other guests, Paige leaned toward and murmured, "198 Samueli, Henry George 2.3 46 Broadcom."
That ant: 198th on the Forbes ranking, his full na, an estimated net worth of $2.3 billion, 46 years old, and the origin of his wealth—Broadcom.
"This one I already know," I said to Paige. I already knew who Regina's father was, she told last year.
"Why didn't you tell ?" she asked.
"Nah, it was funnier this way," I replied with a grin.
She pinched —hard.
"Jake, co here, I'll introduce you to my friends," Henry said.
I nodded, and he placed a hand on my shoulder, guiding toward a group of three people nearby. Paige followed close behind.
Henry gestured toward the group. "These are my daughter's friends," he said.
"Paige Swanson," Paige introduced herself.
"Jake Harper," I added, shaking each of their hands.
They took turns introducing themselves: "Thomas Siebel," "Ralph Lauren," and "John Doerr."
Other guests ca over to greet them, giving us a mont to ourselves.
Paige leaned in again and murmured, "209 Siebel, Thomas M. 2.2 48 Siebel System; 490 Doerr, L. John 1.0 50 venture capital; 198 Lauren, Ralph 2.3 61 Polo."
I made Paige morize the full Forbes billionaire list. I knew there'd be so of them here.
Henry, who was standing close, glanced over. He looked slightly impressed by Paige—and amused, clearly picking up the context of what she had just listed.
"Wow, they're all billionaires..." Paige murmured.
I looked at her—if only she knew the full story. JD Company is already holding 100 million Enron shares short (we quintupled our position), with an average price of $51.5. That's roughly 12.5% of all Enron's shares.
With today's price—November 12th—at $9.24, I'm sitting on a $4.22 billion profit, before taxes, $2.6 billion after (yes, 38,6%, a kick in the nuts). I could be on top—but then again, that's just Forbes' estimation. I don't really know how much they actually have.
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