Summer did not know much about Carl; they had only met a couple of times. If the rumors online were anything to go by, Carl was a playboy with tons of girlfriends. However, they were mostly hearsay accompanied by questionable photographic “evidence”.
Hence, they were just gossip about him as he had never admitted to having any real girlfriend. He had been Leonardo’s partner in crime in lying to her, and due to his complicated relationship with Jessica, her impression of Carl was not the best. Despite that, she did not follow Jessica in condemning him.
Taking a close look at the photo, Summer started to analyze things for Jessica. “This photo was taken in front of the Golden Cauldron at night. That meant someone had been trailing him for a long time. Considering that Carl is a big cheese in the entertainment industry, average media outlets should be very cautious when it comes to writing about him. They wouldn’t dare offend him.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.” Jessica was calmer now. “He really brought two women to the club and spent the whole there.”
Jessica had a point, Summer thought. Although she did not know what happened between Jessica and Carl, she could feel that they had yet to let go of each other. Otherwise, Carl would not have asked her about Jessica every time they met, and Jessica would not have called her to pour out her anger and frustration toward Carl.
…
The rumors immediately took a life of their own when news about Carl broke out. Some comments in his Weibo account were as follows:
“Our President Jones is now into threesomes?”
“Why don’t you get into a serious relationship?”
“Isn’t he afraid of an STD?”
“Big Brother Jones, how can I join Tip Top Entertainment?”
“I wonder why it isn’t actresses this time.”
“Everyone’s become a rubberneck here. Have you all forgotten about the Jarrett Group factory incident? #Jarrett Group Factory Exposed.”
That last comment had many replies.
“I think he has a point.”
“So, President Jones is just a scapegoat?”
“If that’s the case, then the Jarretts really hit below the belt!”
“Poor President Jones.”
Summer had just finished reading the comments before she checked on the topic ranking. The entry about Jarrett Group’s factory exposure was no longer there.
She screenshot the comments and sent it to Jessica, telling her, “If you still care, why don’t you listen to what he has to say?”
She did not know Carl very well, but she knew Jessica almost like the back of her hand. Jessica was her senior by two years, and they met when they were still in high school. It had been six years since, during which tons of guys had been queuing up to pursue Jessica. Among the many admirers were wealthy gentlemen, but Jessica had never been moved by any of them. Summer could not make sense of it until she saw the way Jessica looked at Carl. If your heart was occupied, no other man would ever get to enter.
“Only a fool would listen to that piece of trash.” Jessica was still up in arms, but her tone of voice had softened a lot.
…
After work, Tim came to pick Summer up as usual. Douglas was also in the car. Tim had probably gone to pick him up from school first before he came for her.
“Hi, Summer,” Douglas greeted her, then went back to digging his school bag, seemingly looking for something. He took out some books, opened the calculator on his phone, and started to hit the number pad.
“What are you doing?” Curious, Summer tilted her head over to take a peek. It was primary-school homework.
Douglas put the workbooks back into his school bag, then leaned over to whisper in her ear, “Don’t tell my elder cousin.”
“Don’t tell him what?” Summer asked. “What are you doing with those primary-school workbooks?”
“Some side income. I’m helping them with their homework. A hundred dollars per homework.”
It took Summer three seconds for things to sink in. This kid had business sense. “Are you strapped for money?” she asked.
“Leonardo has stopped giving me my allowance. I have no money for games now.” He pulled a sad face, then with a puzzled look, asked, “What’s going on between Leonardo and you? All I know is you guys have some kind of conflict, but I just don’t know about what. Besides, I can feel that Leonardo doesn’t like me too much. He’s been strict with me but he’s never cut all of my allowances like this time.”
That was likely because Douglas’s appearance had exposed Leonardo’s scam. Speaking of which, she had to thank Douglas for that. If not for him, she would have still been living in Leonardo’s lie. Even so, that was between the adults, and there was no need to tell Douglas about it.
Patting Douglas on the shoulder, she said, “Tell me if you need money…”
“You’re earning just as much.” He put his hand up in derision.
Summer took a glimpse of the stack of workbooks in his bag. It looked like there were about ten of them, which meant the kid earned at least a thousand dollars a day? It appeared that he was earning more than her.
“Are primary school children this wealthy nowadays?” A hundred dollars per workbook was no small amount.
“They’re from the elite school at the back of my school.” Douglas nodded.
Poverty must have limited her imagination.
…
Back at home, Douglas disappeared into his room and started to work on his money-making project. Seeing the kid’s enterprising spirit, Summer found herself having no excuse to abandon her profession, so she began to work on her scriptwriting. She was working on a thriller. Once she was done, Jessica would assist her in contacting directors and companies to see if anyone was interested in her work. She figured that staying in Jarrett Group was not something she was aiming for in the long term.
After working on it for a while, she was running out of ideas. She got to her feet and left the room to do a little stretching. That was when she heard voices in the living room; apparently Leonardo had come home and was now having a discussion with Carl. Not interested in what they were saying, Summer turned around. Just then, she heard them talking about Jarrett Group, which grabbed her attention. She quietly went closer to the stairs and heard Carl’s angry voice.
“Are the Jarretts mad or what? Instead of solving their own sh*t, they’re dragging me into this to divert public attention. Something must be wrong with their heads! Don’t stop me, I’ll make them pay!”
“My wife is a Jarrett too,” Leonardo replied faintly.
Carl calmed down a little, clearing his throat. “Summer is an exception. All the other Jarretts have something wrong with their heads.”