Chapter 655 Father-in-law
Chloe's mood had done a complete 180 since she went upstairs earlier. Her lips were now turned up in a smile. What really mattered to her was Donovan's attitude. If he was on board, adopting Jake could solve a lot of issues. But expecting Chloe to be totally fair? Yeah, not happening.
Over dinner, Donovan popped the question to Chloe, "So, are you in or out?"
"I'm still thinking about it," Chloe replied.
Then Donovan turned to Francis, "Hey buddy, how do you feel about getting a little brother?"
Francis's eyes lit up, "Is Mom having a baby?"
"Nope, it's someone who's already here, just a bit younger than you."
Being the only kid around, Francis was often bored and had been wishing for a playmate for ages.
"Awesome, awesome," Francis cheered. "When's he coming?"
"Soon, really soon."
Chloe kept quiet. Since she was still on the fence, Donovan just went ahead and brought the kid over. He glanced at Chloe, who was keeping her poker face on.
But ever since they decided to adopt Jake, Donovan had been extra sweet to Chloe.
When couples hit that middle-age mark, it's not just about love anymore. There's family stuff and all the other life things.
Chloe and Donovan weren't quite middle-aged yet, but they had a family and kids, so their relationship wasn't just about Donovan loving Chloe more. It was more like Donovan appreciated Chloe for giving in on this one, so he was treating her better.
Chloe felt this kind of niceness was more like a give-and-take deal between regular folks, not really about love. It was kind of a letdown. Plus, knowing Jake was coming soon just bummed her out more.
That morning, Donovan got a text from Charles. He sent over the pre-sale ad strategy for the Rebecca Residential Community.
Donovan checked it out and thought it was pretty solid. Charlotte definitely had skills.
"Check out this ad," Donovan said, handing his phone to Chloe.
Chloe took a good look, "Yeah, it's really good. Charles sure found himself a smart girlfriend."
Donovan just grinned and mumbled, "It's not even official yet."
"You're already getting Charlotte to do stuff for you before it's even a thing?"
"She knows her worth, so she's cool with it! They're all sharp," Donovan said.
Chloe was a bit taken aback, thinking, 'Am I the only one who's clueless? Everyone else seems to know how to get something out of love, but here I am, just being naive.'Donovan shot a text to Charles: [Alright, let's roll with this plan. The whole Angela thing is old news now. Some folks know about it, some don't. We'll just act like it never happened and keep hiking up the prices. Go ahead and drop the ad. If your father-in-law can lend a hand, awesome. But we can't really meddle in his stuff too much, or it might cost us later. Just let it ride.]
Charles shot back a quick reply: [Got it. I'll hit up the ad team now. Also, who's my father-in-law?]
Donovan texted back: [You don't know?]
Flashback to the day they got back from Pearl Peak City.
That evening, Charlotte was chilling in front of her TV, streaming her ad on the big screen.
Her dad, Orion, was hanging out nearby, watching TV too.
"Wow, I nailed this," Charlotte said, admiring the video she shot. The colors, the angles, the music—it was all on point.
"Don't toot your own horn!" Orion, ever the serious one, chimed in. "Where's this? Did you shoot this in Pearl Peak City yesterday?"
"Yep, what do you think, Dad?" Charlotte asked, beaming with pride.
"Not bad. How much is this place?" Orion asked, just making conversation since he couldn't switch to his favorite military channel with Charlotte hogging the TV.
"This is from New East Group, so it's definitely pricier than usual. But my friend said if any of my relatives want to buy, they can snag a 30% discount," Charlotte said, all excited.
"Why?" Orion asked, a bit taken aback. He always figured if someone was being super nice for no reason, there had to be a catch. He'd learned that the hard way over the years.
"Why? 'Cause I shot the video for them, duh!"
Orion's brow furrowed, a bit skeptical. A 30% discount on a house was huge. He had to wonder why they were so keen on Charlotte. Maybe it was because of him. But they hadn't even reached out to him; he didn't even know who they were.
"Show me their company info," Orion said to Charlotte.
"Dad, you thinking about buying a house? You should just stick around Maple Valley. Why go all the way to Pearl Peak City for a place?" Charlotte teased.
"They didn't say I should buy a house?"
Charlotte gave Orion a playful eye roll, "Don't flatter yourself. You're just an old guy; who's got you on their mind all the time? They probably don't even know who you are. I'll grab the house info for you now. Hang tight."
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