Chapter 18 Mr. M

Tiffany’s thoughts kept her awake until late at night. When she woke up the next day, it was already noon. She stretched and then suddenly remembered that she had not written a thesis for an advisor. Still in her nightdress, she hurriedly jumped off the bed, planning to eat something from the dining room and then come back to write it. Wearing slippers and her nightdress, she opened the fridge in a daze. When she turned, she saw not just Mortimer in the living room, but also a few guests. Although Tiffany didn’t know their names, she knew that anyone who could sit next to Mortimer was extremely wealthy. She hurriedly smoothed her clothes so that she would appear more presentable, but with her tousled hair and the piece of bread in her hands, she looked wild. The guests were doing their best to control the twitches around their lips. If not for Mortimer, they would have burst out into laughter. Tiffany was extremely embarrassed and wished that there was a hole for her to crawl into. She turned at once and fled. When Monroe and the household staff came to clean up her room, she asked, “Who are the people in the living room?” “They are the master’s business colleagues and friends.” “Alright. I’ll go out once they’re gone.” Their first impression of her was already embarrassing enough. Tiffany didn’t want to make the same mistake. Monroe looked at Tiffany and advised, “Madam, I know that things are awkward between you and the master. But you are still the mistress of this household. Some things have to be attended to by you.” Tiffany understood what Monroe meant. However, she was not Madam Kelly. She didn’t have the ability to support the Campbells. Besides, Mortimer probably wouldn’t want her to interfere. Monroe saw through her worries and encouraged her. “Aren’t you already beginning to traverse the business industry? Just think of it as obtaining experience. Besides, Mortimer is there. He will take care of you.” Tiffany was a little moved. After a bout of hesitation, she said, “Please get me some clothes that I can meet them in.” After a while, Tiffany put on a pretty dress and some light makeup. People found confidence in their outfits. So did Tiffany, after she was dressed up. She stood outside the living room, hoping to change the guests’ first impression of her by making a grand entrance. A discussion sounded from the living room. “That girl from before is your wife, isn’t she? Speaking of, I’ve talked with her before,” the guest said excitedly. “Just a few days ago, she got my number from somewhere and gave me a call. She wanted me to invest in NC company. She quoted five hundred million dollars at once. I don’t know if she’s best described as bold or stupid.” Someone chimed in. “That’s right. NC company is a tough nut to crack. I heard her father collapsed because of the company, yet she has the balls to take it on.” “And that new product of theirs. It’s some sort of driverless system. It sounds interesting, but people who work internally like us know that things involving technology are complicated and often encounter bugs. It’s impossible to be mass-produced.” “It’s such a big risk. Anyone investing might as well dump their money into a river.” The guests had originally held back, merely discussing business affairs. But when they saw that Mortimer had not uttered a word and had not displayed any displeasure on his face, they grew bolder with their words. “Truth be told, we didn’t think that you would actually marry this woman. Those women around you are all better at serving men than her.” Someone laughed. “Mortimer is a normal man. How could he complain about the women around him?” Their voices were like needles piercing into Tiffany’s heart. But compared to their mockery, what made Tiffany more upset was that Mortimer hadn’t spoken a word in her defense. She shouldn’t have had such frivolous fantasies, much less had any expectations of this man. She changed out of her dress and sat gloomily before her laptop. She forced herself to focus on the thesis, but the more she did so, the more she thought of Mortimer and the things those people had said. A few hours passed. She hadn’t made any progress on the thesis at all. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and relaxed her tense muscles. Then she went to pour herself a glass of warm milk. As she brought the milk over, she saw a notification appear at the bottom right of her screen. “You have received an email.” She clicked on it and saw that it was an email from someone named Mr. M. He expressed in the email that he was interested in the new product being developed by NC Company, and if Tiffany was willing, they could meet up for a chat. Two words appeared in Tiffany’s head at once. A scam. She moved her fingers, typing out a line of words. “This trap of yours has been overused. I’m sorry. I won’t fall for this.” Not long after she sent it, she received a reply. She mumbled to herself about how stubborn scammers were nowadays and opened the email. The contents nearly made her jaw drop off in shock. It was a bank statement. She calculated it several times, confirming that the total was indeed two billion dollars. Tiffany’s heartbeat began to quicken. Her fingers trembled. But she calmed down quickly. “Do you think I’ll believe you just because you edited a bank statement? You’re underestimating me.” Mr. M replied, “What should I do so that you will believe me?” Tiffany thought for a while. “If you can transfer ten million dollars to me as a deposit, we’ll continue talking.” “Alright. How much would you like?” No matter how clever a scammer, they could not steal one’s assets with just a bank account number. So Tiffany forwarded her number to him. Not more than five minutes later, Tiffany’s phone vibrated. It clearly stated that she had received ten million dollars from a Mr. M. Tiffany’s eyes widened. At this moment, Mr. M sent over a message. “If you have felt my sincerity, let us talk about the investment next weekend.” Tiffany screenshotted the transfer and sent it to Angus. He immediately gave her a call. “Tiffany! Have you found an investor?” “I suppose so. But I don’t know who he is, and which company he is from. But since he could transfer a million dollars in a second, I think he’s a very powerful director.” Although Angus didn’t know the identity of Mr. M either, he felt that Mr. M was probably the only hope that NC Company had. If Tiffany felt unsafe going out with Mr. M alone, he could accompany her. Tiffany thought of the dire situation that NC Company was currently in and then thought of her dead father. She nodded. “Alright. I'm going to put myself out there so that NC Company can rise from the ashes.”