Chapter 15

Logan remembered Jacob's current secretary's last name was Lynch or something like that. He didn't remember her first name, but it was good enough he could remember her last name. It was only because she had worked for Jacob long enough. Of course, it wasn't to say things had always been easy for Sonia. She suffered a lot when she first started working for Jacob, but she ultimately endured it and became his trusted subordinate. Logan didn't expect Sonia to be Lorraine's best friend. He said, "I've heard of Ernest Incorporated before. Your friend must be good at what she does to work there." In fact, she had to be great at her job if she could stand Jacob's tics. "Sonia had a hard time when she first started working there. It's good that she's overcome all her difficulties to get to where she is now." When Sonia first joined Ernest Incorporated, she would constantly complain to Lorraine about Jacob. She had complained about his cold demeanor. With the frigid air he was always giving off, they didn't need the A/C on, not even in the middle of summer. She also ranted about Jacob always leaving his office door open. Sonia was sure it was because he wanted to watch them at all times and make sure they weren't slacking. Whatever it was, it hadn't been easy for Sonia to stick it out for so long and finally settle on a rhythm with Jacob. Logan smiled. He didn't doubt Lorraine's words. He knew what Jacob was like, after all. Lorraine wanted to continue picking cherries after eating breakfast. But when she checked the time and realized Sonia would arrive soon, she changed her mind. After all, she had hired workers to help with the orchards' operations. Her absence wouldn't affect the handing over of goods. A few minutes later, her phone rang. When she saw the caller ID, she told Logan, "Sonia's arrived with her boss. Let's go welcome them." The wolfhounds beat them to it. The worker in charge of handling them ran after them. He wasn't as fast as them, but when he caught up, all he saw was them barking at Jacob. None of them dared to pounce on him. Sonia looked at him and chuckled. "Even dogs are afraid of your expression and demeanor, Mr. Moore. You have no idea how often these dogs have pounced on people visiting the orchards for the first time. So many of them almost collapsed out of fear." She didn't dare to come to the orchards alone on her first time. She made sure to follow Lorraine so that the wolfhounds wouldn't dare pounce on her. They didn't care how pretty she was—they would pounce on her regardless. They had been trained well, so they wouldn't bite even if they were to pounce on anyone. Still, they were fierce enough that anyone would wet themselves after being pounced on. Jacob shot Sonia a look, and she quickly put on a stern expression as she told the wolfhounds off. Just then, the worker handling them showed up. When he saw Sonia, he grinned. "Hi, Ms. Lynch." "Hi. Where's Lorraine? I brought my boss to look around the orchards." As she spoke, she saw Lorraine come over. She stepped forward to hug her friend. "Man, I've missed you. It's been ages since we saw each other! You're heartless, you know. Why haven't you come to see me? You forgot about me after having someone deliver cherries to my place!" Sonia complained. One good thing about having a friend who owned orchards was that when the fruits ripened, Lorraine would bring her fresh fruits whenever she went to the city. They were more than enough for her to eat. "I've been busy, haven't I?" Lorraine let go of Sonia. She pushed her glasses higher up on her nose before introducing Logan to Sonia, "This is my husband, Logan Moore." Sonia looked at him. At first sight, she thought he was a perfect gentleman and almost outrageously handsome. When she looked a second time, she found his features familiar. He reminded her of… She turned to look at Jacob. His and Logan's features were similar, perhaps because they both had bushy brows and deep-set eyes. The only difference was that Logan's demeanor was much gentler, unlike Jacob's. Jacob always looked stern and grumpy. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Logan. I'm Lorraine's best friend, Sonia Lynch." Sonia had a good impression of Logan. It was no wonder Lorraine had married him on a whim—he was so good-looking. If she were in Lorraine's shoes, she would've done the same and claimed him as her own before anyone else could. She held out a hand, which Logan shook politely. Then, she introduced Jacob to Lorraine and Logan. Jacob was stunned to see Logan suddenly become the husband of a woman from the countryside, but he didn't let it show. He was as serious and steady as he always was. The two cousins exchanged a meaningful look before nodding at each other in greeting. "Come with me, Mr. Jacob." Lorraine invited Jacob to her cottage inside the orchards. When everyone was seated, she made him a cup of tea. Sonia's expression shifted when she saw that. Jacob didn't drink tea, but it was too late for her to remind Lorraine. She could only watch as Lorraine gave her and Jacob each a cup of tea. Then, she saw Jacob accept the tea without looking the slightest bit displeased. His expression was as stoic as always, but he drank the tea without complaint. Sonia's heart settled in her chest at the sight. Jacob might've had a lot of tics, but he did grow up in an affluent family. The Moore family was Glendale's most affluent family, and it showed in Jacob's upbringing and manners. He didn't explode on Lorraine. Jacob had no idea what Sonia was thinking. All he knew was that his cousin-in-law had given him tea. Logan would give him a shelling if he refused to drink it, and he wouldn't have anyone to blame but himself. He didn't drink tea but knew he had to do it so that he wouldn't humiliate Lorraine. After some small talk, Lorraine left to pick some cherries. Sonia followed her out. "I forgot to tell you, Lorraine. The Ice King doesn't drink tea. If anyone at the office dares make him tea, he'll smash the teapot on their heads. "You almost scared the living daylights out of me earlier. Fortunately, nothing went wrong. I think he even took two sips of the tea!" Lorraine was taken aback. "Why didn't you tell me about that earlier? I don't have any good tea bags here, so I used homegrown tea leaves to make that tea. It's a lot more bitter than regular tea." Sonia said, "Well, I suppose he got up on the right side of the bed for once today." Lorraine's homegrown tea was bitter but also helped wake one up. That was why she loved drinking it. Sonia continued, "It's okay, I guess. Since he drank it, I don't think he'll get mad at you for it." Lorraine brought her to the cherry trees. As she picked some, she said, "I keep hearing you talk about your boss, but it's only now that I've seen him in person that I understand what you mean. It's been hard on you, Sonia. I can't believe you've been working for him for so long and even gotten a few raises." "He's not too hard to handle once you get a grasp of his personality," Sonia said while eating some cherries. Damn, they were sweet. There were various types of cherries, but the ones available now were the Bing and Meteor cherries. The Bing cherries had a tinge of sourness amidst the sweetness, which Sonia loved. She couldn't stop eating them.