Chapter 7
Sebastian hated being touched by others. He found them dirty.
Brenda bristled at the thought that a mere illegitimate son had scorned her. However, when he looked at her, the silent oppression in his gaze made her feel like a hand had wrapped around her throat and clenched it tightly. She couldn’t say a word.
Just then, a lilting female voice rang out behind her. “What are you doing here, Brenda?”
Brenda whipped around to see Eleanor looking at her with her lip curled. Eleanor had put on makeup that day and looked even more beautiful than the night before. She practically glowed as she stood there, and even the sea breeze seemed more fragrant as it blew past her.
Brenda was insanely jealous. Even if she’d been reborn and given a second chance at life, she couldn’t change the fact that Eleanor was simply more beautiful than she was.
Eleanor sat down across from Sebastian and sipped her water. “Have you had breakfast, Brenda? Even if you haven’t, I don’t have food here for you.”
Brenda told herself to focus on the bigger picture. She forced out a smile and said, “Thanks for the offer, but you should enjoy your food. I’m here to give you the appointment letter on Dad’s behalf.”
Eleanor took it and flipped to the last page. After a glance, she threw it back at Brenda. “It’s not stamped.”
Brenda said, “Dad has agreed to appoint you as the deputy CEO, but changes to senior management are subject to the board of directors’ approval. Since you’re far from experienced, the board will probably object to this sudden promotion.”
“That’s why Dad said that the appointment letter can be stamped immediately if you sign the contract with Victory Tech within a week. It’ll be counted as your personal achievement.”
Sebastian raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly at the mention of Victory Tech.
Meanwhile, Eleanor said nonchalantly, “I’m the one who’s supposed to be making the requests here, not you. Why have things suddenly turned around?”
Brenda said, “Sandberg Group isn’t a small, family-owned business, after all. We can’t do whatever we want with it—it’s still important to follow the protocol set by the board of directors. Anyway, we all have faith in your abilities. Getting the deal with Victory Tech should be simple enough, right? I don’t think it’s really a request.”
Eleanor looked at her. The business deal with Victory Tech had also happened in her past life—she’d signed the contract with them, and things had gone smoothly.
Brenda added, “Dad’s put a lot of thought into this, you know. He’s even arranged for me to support you to make your achievement more convincing.”
Eleanor narrowed her eyes. “Are you saying that either one of us will be appointed as the deputy CEO depending on who scores that deal?”
Brenda smiled and nodded. “It’s definitely going to be you, Eleanor. I’m just in this to make things seem convincing.”
Eleanor speared a piece of bacon and placed it in her mouth before chewing slowly. Then, she smirked. “I can’t let you and Uncle Philip down when you’ve gone to such lengths to pave the path for me. Let’s do it, then.”
Brenda’s smile widened. Then, she turned to leave, her eyes glinting wickedly.
Eleanor didn’t take the conversation to heart. She said to Sebastian, “The bacon’s pretty good.”
He merely glanced at her without saying anything. He didn’t try the bacon despite her recommendation. He’d been acting like that since that morning. Was he still mad about last night?
Eleanor didn’t even know what he was mad about. Still, she’d never been one to fuss over these things or coax men. She continued with her day as planned.
When the cruise ship docked at noon, paparazzi were already waiting there like hungry sharks after hearing about the groom mix-up. They swarmed the Sandbergs and the Porters when they saw them disembarking.
“Ms. Eleanor, Ms. Brenda, we heard about things going wrong with the weddings. The grooms went into the wrong rooms, and both marriages were consummated. Is that true? Was it all a mix-up, or is something more sinister at play?”
“Are you saying Maurice is my groom?” Eleanor linked arms with Sebastian affectionately and laughed. “Do you think I’m that blind? Why would I be interested in someone like him?”
Maurice glared at her. She laughed again. “Come on, I’m just joking. Maurice and I grew up together—how could we get married? Sebastian is my husband. I have no idea how the rumors started. Well, we’re happy enough that they gave everyone a good laugh.”
The public opinion instantly changed after Eleanor’s admittance.
“This is much better. I heard about Crabapple marrying Maurice Porter earlier. I can’t deny that they’re good matches based on family background alone, but I just don’t think they look good together. Mr. Crabapple is gorgeous, though! Crabapple has great taste!”
“Did anyone else get the look in Mr. Crabapple’s eyes when Crabapple said she and Maurice grew up together? I suspect he would’ve silenced her with his lips if there hadn’t been any cameras and people around! He’s so possessive—I love it!”
“God, I’m squealing from the sex appeal! Mr. Crabapple looks like he’d be amazing in bed!”
“My thoughts exactly! The more refined and restrained they look on the surface, the wilder they are in bed. Can he and Crabapple give us a live performance?”
Eleanor couldn’t help feeling a little embarrassed as she read the online comments. Didn’t these netizens have any shame?
“Crabapple” was a nickname the netizens who liked her had given her. The full nickname was “Weston Crabapple,” and “Crabapple” was a shorter version. Naturally, “Mr. Crabapple” was Sebastian.
She liked someone’s comment saying that Sebastian looked like he was good in bed…with her secondary account, of course.
She had over five million followers on her main account, and each post would receive thousands of comments. She was almost as popular as a starlet in the entertainment industry, so she did have to maintain a semblance of an image.
Once Eleanor was done, she locked her phone and got out of the car. She looked at Sunshine Preschool, which was ahead of her.
Victory Tech was a subsidiary of Ransom Finance based in Wavenport City. The microchip it had developed had found widespread use in the drone industry. Their newest model, A22, had made a groundbreaking leap from its previous version. It outperformed all other domestic brands, even rivaling foreign editions in various performance aspects.
Drones were an important section of Sandberg Group’s businesses, so it was imperative that they signed this contract with Victory Tech and got their hands on the A22 microchip. It would help Sandberg Group become the largest drone brand in the country.
However, Victory Tech had already rejected a meeting with Sandberg Group twice. Eleanor had no choice but to seek out its person in charge, Lisa Granger, in private.
Lisa was a career woman who was divorced and raising a four-year-old daughter alone. No matter how busy she was, she would pick her daughter up from preschool, rain or shine.
In her past life, Eleanor had staked out the preschool just to see Lisa. She’d stumbled upon a little girl wailing because her mother had yet to arrive. Out of pity, she’d soothed the little girl and calmed her down. Unexpectedly, that girl had turned out to be Lisa’s daughter, Millie Danton.
Lisa had been so grateful to Eleanor that she’d given the latter 15 minutes to present Sandberg Group’s competitive advantage to her. Ultimately, Eleanor had won Lisa over and gotten the business deal.
In this life, Eleanor showed up at Sunshine Preschool at the same time as her past life. Sure enough, she heard a child crying. She immediately headed in the direction the cries came from.
The preschool’s security was tight, so outsiders weren’t allowed in. They could look inside through the fence, though.
Eleanor saw Millie crying beside the fence. She was about to head over to soothe her when a figure darted past her and stopped before Millie.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart? Stop crying, okay? Tell me what’s wrong, and I’ll help you.”
Eleanor focused on the scene before her. Then, she burst into laughter.
It was Brenda.
This was something Eleanor had expected. From the moment Brenda had talked about wanting to compete with her for the contract with Victory Tech, Eleanor had known what she was up to.
Brenda knew exactly how Eleanor had won over Victory Tech in her past life, so she’d imitated everything the latter had done, down to the bouquet of violets she held. Eleanor had given those to Lisa in her past life.
Eleanor didn’t continue forward. She merely stood there and watched Brenda with an unfathomable look in her eyes.