Chapter 5
Watching her sob like a kid who'd been wronged, I felt a wave of irritation wash over me.
I pulled a pack of tissues from my pocket, yanked one out, and roughly pressed it to her face.
"Stop crying," I said, my voice a little harsh.
Olivia froze, startled by my tone, and stared at me, still sniffling.
"People can run their mouths all they want," I said, roughly wiping her tears away. "You care, you lose."
"But they're saying such nasty things about you," she sobbed. "They say I'm using you to get close to Henry, and that you're..."
"So what am I?" I arched a brow.
She bit her lip, couldn't bring herself to say it.
"That I'm the poor guy stuck with leftovers?" I finished for her.
Her tears streamed down even more.
"So what?" I looked her dead in the eye, spacing out my words. "Olivia, tell me. Are you the person they say you are?"
She shook her head desperately, looking at me. "I'm not. I never did. I haven't felt anything for Henry in ages. I..."
She was so worked up that she could barely speak, her face flushed bright red.
"That's settled," I cut her short. "You're not that person, and I'm not that sucker. We know what's real. Fuck the haters."
She stared at me, looking a bit dazed, like my words had totally scrambled her thoughts.
Looking at her tear-streaked, round face, I suddenly found it amusing.
I reached out and gave her cheek a gentle pinch. It was so soft. "Alright, quit crying. If you keep it up, there won't be any lobster rolls for you tomorrow."
Olivia snorted a laugh, even though there were still tears in her eyes.
Just then, my phone rang. It was Jack.
I stepped aside to answer, my tone slipping back into its usual indifference.
"Mr. Lynn, we've found out who posted on the campus wall. It was a girl named Mandy Lee, Henry's biggest fan. She took those photos secretly," Jack reported.
"Yeah," I replied.
"Should I deal with her? Just say the word, and I can have her expelled within an hour. She won't be able to set foot in any school in Riverside ever again," Jack said, his voice cold and decisive.
I looked back at Olivia, who was standing not far away.
She was holding my jacket, looking like a delicate white flower after a rain shower.
"No need," I said calmly. "I'll take care of it myself."
After hanging up, I headed back. "Come on, dinner's on me."
"What?" Olivia looked genuinely surprised.
"Think of it as hush money." I met her eyes. "No more crying, alright?"
She paused for a second, then gave a big nod, her face lighting up with a brilliant smile. "Okay."
At that moment, sunlight filtered through the leaves, landing right on her smiling face. It was so dazzling that it made me squint.
I suddenly thought, maybe meddling in someone else's business wasn't as bad as I imagined.
*****
What I meant by "taking care of it myself" was actually pretty simple.
I had Jack anonymously package up all of Mandy's dirt and send it straight to her biggest rival.
Less than half a day later, a new exposé post blew up the campus wall: [Digging Up the Real Story Behind Campus Queen Mandy: Juggling Three Guys, Serial Photoshop Junkie, Exam Cheater.]
The post was loaded with receipts: chat logs, unedited photos, and side-by-side comparisons. It set the campus forum on fire in no time.
Mandy's queen status crashed overnight. She became public enemy number one. Everyone wanted to tear her apart.
She was so busy scrambling to clean up the mess that she didn't have time to bother Olivia or me anymore.
The new gossip quickly drowned out the old post. Nobody cared anymore.
Peace at last.
I was sprawled out on my dorm bed, listening to Jack give his usual report while casually scrolling through my phone.
"Mr. Lynn, that youth director fund you wanted is up and running, and the first 20 million has already landed in the account. Which project do you want to fund first?" Jack asked.
"Whatever," I replied, rolling over lazily. "Just pick a few that seem alright and throw the money in. Don't bug me with this kind of trivial stuff."
"Yes, sir," Jack replied, sounding helpless. "By the way, that game company you wanted us to acquire—we've already secured 51% of the shares, so you're now the biggest shareholder.
"Here are a few project proposals from the company. Do you want to take a look?"
"No, just handle it however you see fit."
"About that land in Eastford—the Spencer family and the Wilson family are both bidding for it. What do you want us to do?"
"The Wilson family?" I arched a brow. "Henry's family?"
"Yeah, Mr. Lynn. The Wilson Group isn't that big, but they're really determined to get this land."
Henry's smug face popped into my head.
"Well," I replied, keeping it casual. "Just let them have it."
Jack was stunned. "Mr. Lynn, that land's going to be worth a fortune down the line. We've already put in a ton of prep work."
"I said, let them have it," I cut him off. "But bump up the price. Don't let them walk away with it too easily."
"Got it."