After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 288

Stanley paused.

‘Huh, guess that's true... he thought.

It wasn’t like he was just finding out that Jeffrey loved to cavesdrop.

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“Payback!” Stanley didn’t hesitate to hold out his hand to Mark, his face looking a little fierce.

Mark grinned, “You know, there's a nicknfor this kind of deal.”

Stanley blinked, “Huh?”

Gregory was just as lost. “Wait, what?”

Mark put on a dead-serious face. “It's called ‘liquid cash. Once you spend it, it's gone for good-like water

running away, can’t ever get it back.”

Stanley gritted his teeth.

‘Next time, I'm definitely hiring an even more annoying bodyguard-just so | can piss him off right back, he

thought.

“I'm guessing you wouldn't wanttelling Jeffrey all that stuff you said to my boss,” Mark said, not missing a

beat. “If you really want your money back, I'll have to spill the truth to Jeffrey about why my boss stuck around-

and that’s all because of you folks.”

“Forget it,” Stanley interrupted, shutting him down before he could finish. “Keep it. Spend it however you

want.”

Mark's face stayed totally blank. “Alright.”

The people caught up in their little had absolutely no idea what was happening.

Jeffrey kept wanting to talk to Rebecca, but every the saw her glued to her phone, replying to messages or

taking calls every half hour, he just couldn't bring himself to interrupt.

And sure enough, just as she finished replying to a message, her phone rang again.

She picked up right away.

Whatever the person on the other end said, Rebecca answered with calm etticiency, clearing up all their

questions in no time.

That was when it dawned on Jeffrey-after five years of seeing Rebecca as the sweet, dependent wife who always

clung to him at home, he was surprised to discover she had a powerful, take-charge side too. At home, she could

be gentle and considerate, but in the business world, she was a young CEO who totally owned the

room.

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“I'm trusting you guys to run things at the company for a while. If anything pops up, just givea call,”

Rebecca said, still on the phone. “There's a project in Jelasburg I'd like to take a shot at”

“You got it, boss. We'll handle things here,” the product manager replied quickly,

Rebecca responded with a simple hum.

With both the product manager and the tech director on board, she could relax and not worry about the project's

timeline.

Meditech had been running projects for years, and those two handled things way better than she ever could. All

she had to do was reel in the project, check on the progress from tto time, and then give it the final approval

once everything was done.

“If you need help getting a project, | can take care of it for you,” Jeffrey offered.

He hadn't really known what Rebecca was up to-sometimes Gregory or Stanley would fill him in, whether they

were just chatting or dropping hints on purpose.

Rebecca replied, “No, that’s alright.”

Jeffrey asked, “You afraid the Quinn family is going to give you a hard time?”

“It's a test to see if | can really earn those shares,” Rebecca replied easily. “I can’t use anyone else’s

connections. If they catch even a whiff of that, it could all blow up-even if | pass the test.”

“No one would ever know | was helping you,” Jeffrey said. “Whatever you want the Quinns to believe, | can

make them see it.”

If they wanted to watch her struggle to win the project, he could just stage a whole performance for them.

As long as the rumor spreads, that’s good enough.

Once the word gets out, it becomes the truth.

Rebecca just shook her head. “I said | don’t need it.”

“You don’t have to be so by-the-book,” Jeffrey reasoned with her. “As long as it’s not illegal, tapping into your

network is normal. They call it a test, but really, they just want to see if you know how to bend the rules when

you need to”

She frowned a little.

Jeffrey asked, “Do you really think Max completed that family mission as just an ordinary guy-with no backup

from the Quinns?”

Rebecca thought for a moment, a bit uncertain. “I mean, that’s what I figured...”

Jeffrey shook his head. “Nope.”

Rebecca blinked, puzzled. “Wait, what?”

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“No regular person would have those kinds of resources or that kind of vision,” Jeffrey said flatly, catching

Rebecca getting a little too caught up in the whole thing. “If the test was truly fair, they'd erase all your

memories and cut off every single connection you have. Only then would it be a real level playing field”

Rebecca was still turning it over in her mind.

Jeffrey continued, “And it’s not just Max-Liam and Jack are Quinns too. You really think folks in Honnala wouldn't

notice?”

She knew.

It clicked for Rebecca right away.

“Sure, it looks like they all passed their tests on their own, but behind the scenes, someone was always lending a

hand, Jeffrey said, used to this kind of thing since he'd grown up in circles like this. “You're the only one who had

to do it totally on your own.”

Even though plenty of people had been at that party back then, the outside world had no idea.

Rebecca grew up in Jelasburg; Honnala was just a place she’d never really known.

“You're just guessing,” Rebecca said, though she was already starting to buy it-she just needed a moment for all

this to sink in.

“The northwest suburbs of Jelasburg are gonna blow up soon,” Jeffrey said, laying out the facts. “They’re building

hospitals, condos, schools, amusement parks, malls, and tourist attractions-everything. But the official word isn’t

even out yet. Do you really think the average person could know about this before anyone else?”

Rebecca paused.

And just like that, everything finally clicked for her.

So that’s what that weird feeling was all about, Rebecca suddenly realized.

Resources... she thought.

“Max, Liam, and Jack’s projects might look plain on the surface,” Jeffrey said, not wanting Rebecca to get hung

up on it. But the folks who get the inside scoop on those resources? They're never just regular people. Those

sharp old hands-they know all about it.”

“Yeah. | get it now, Rebecca said, the realization hitting her at last.

“People around you are your biggest resource, Jeffrey said simply. “You've got to know how to make the most

of that.”

Rebecca went quiet.

Yeah, she understood exactly what Jeffrey meant.

But realizing it so late...that was a tough pill to swallow for her.

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“The only thing you really need to do is make sure Michael and the rest of the Quinns never catch on- whether

you're tapping into those resources openly or undercover,” Jeffrey said, cutting straight to the chase. “That's

actually the biggest test your family wants you to pass.”

Those words really stuck with Rebecca.

“Riverside City’s about to announce a big tender,” Jeffrey told her, revealing something new. “If you win it, your

team will be handling every hospital's system over there. And even if you don’t take on more new projects

afterward, just keeping those systems running will be more than enough to keep your company

solid.”

Rebecca was quietly turning all this over in her mind.

This project is worth almost fifty million, but after you factor in monthly bills, running costs, and equipment,

there’s barely anything left-not to mention we're still paying off the company’s loan.

Rebecca's eyes landed on Jeffrey, and he caught her look before she could even speak, clearly reading her mind.

“I'm just passing along the news. Whether you can snag the project or not, that’s all on you.”

“So you're really not going to step in?” Rebecca asked.

Jeffrey assured her, “I'm not getting involved.”

“Thanks,” Rebecca said, and she really meant it.

“You don’t have to thank me,” Jeffrey answered, looking at her with those gentle eyes. “Whenever you need me,

I'm always here for you-no tlimit on that.”

Rebecca skipped right past that and asked, “What about you?”

Jeffrey blinked, uncertain. “What do you mean?”

“You're great at seeing through other people’s problems-but when are you going to get real about your own?”

Rebecca asked, her gaze steady on him.

Jeffrey stayed silent.

His gaze deepened, his eyes growing distant and unreadable.

“By rights, | shouldn't be meddling in your affairs. What you choose is up to you,” Rebecca said, her voice calm

and almost detached, giving nothing away. “But | owed it to someone to look after you-and I'm just doing what |

promised

“So you're only doing this because someone asked you to?” Jeffrey asked, searching her face for anything

more.

Rebecca's voice was devoid of any warmth. “Yes.”

Jeffrey held her gaze. “You mean to tellyou don’t care aboutat all?”

Rebecca answered flatly, “Not even a little.”

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“Stanley and Gregory might buy your act, but I'm not fooled,” Jeffrey said, his gaze never wavering from her. “I

know you've been thinking about me-and worrying, too.”

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