Benjamin's Heirloom Ring

$20 Million Contract

Benjamin said something else, "What if I help you with the cooking?"

"You cook?" Valerie shook her head in concern. "You're my guest here; I can't trouble you to prepare your own food."

Benjamin laughed. "No problem. I've been accustomed to cooking for myself everydays for five years. It would feel very strange if I break out of my old habits."

Valerie let out a long sigh as she looked at Benjamin with sympathy. "Ben, you've been through a tough time with your ex-wife. Well, in that case, I'll let you handle the cooking."

Heading to the kitchen, Benjamin didn't imply that he had developed an addiction to cooking. He simply wanted to see if Valerie could cook for him, in reality.

Benjamin also planned to intentionally make some mistakes during the cooking. He wanted to see if Valerie could correct him properly or not.

Currently, he was chopping the onions without cutting the roots.

"Hey, Ben, what are you doing?" Valerie hurriedly stepped in. "You should remove the roots first before chopping this onion."

"Oh, so I messed up?" Benjamin scratched his head, grinning foolishly. "I guess I'm not too great at chopping onions. I'll handle the fish instead."

Benjamin took a frozen fish from the refrigerator and immediately cut it into two pieces.

"Hey, stop!" Valerie hastily prevented Benjamin from making the second cut. "The scales of this fish must be cleaned before you cut and cook it. If not, we'll get hurt by their sharp scales."

"Gosh, it seems I made another mistake."

Valerie chuckled awkwardly. "So, why don't you take a seat and wait for me to finish cooking?"

Benjamin nodded with a smile. "Alright, I won't bother you here anymore. I'll go to the terrace for a while to get some fresh air."

He headed to the house's terrace, ensuring Valerie didn't follow him. Once there, he grabbed his cell phone and called Joshua.

"Young Master, you called me," Joshua greeted. "Are you returning to the mansion tonight?"

"Unfortunately not," Benjamin replied promptly. "Even for the next few days, I'm likely to be a rare visitor to my mansion. That's why I'm calling you now, to keep you updated."

"What happened, Young Master?" Joshua's tone shifted slightly.

"I'm staying at Valerie's house to assist with her father's treatment. So, until her father is cured, I won't be returning to the mansion," Benjamin explained.

Joshua was silent for a moment before finally daring to ask, "Are you going to leave us once again?"

"Of course not," Benjamin responded firmly. "I've already embraced my fate; why would I consider backing down now? I won't leave you guys; it's just that I need to stay out of the sight of my family's old enemies. For that, I'll be with Valerie for a while."

Joshua could understand Benjamin's reasoning and felt relieved. The promise from his master not to leave them again was very reconciling.

"There's one more thing I want to tell you. Valerie's company, Morgan Co. Ltd., is facing financial difficulties, and I want to help them," Benjamin hummed. "Since they're an interior design company, what if we renovate my family company's old building using their services?"

"You want to revive the family company, Young Master?" Joshua became very enthusiastic. "But, there are so many companies in your family. Which company do you want to take?"

"Platinum Estate; we will move slowly in the real estate business," Benjamin replied. "After that, we can explore other businesses. As for the holding company, there's no need to dwell on that now."

"Good idea, Young Master. I will gather all the Frost Family's men to reincarnate the business as soon as possible!" exclaimed Joshua.

"I want all our real estate to utilize the interior services of Morgan Co. Ltd. Offer them a $20 million contract," Benjamin instructed.

While the significant amount did raise eyebrows, Joshua chose not to comment. "Yes, Master. Tonight, I'll send the proposal to them."

Benjamin smiled widely. "You are always reliable, Josh."

Right after hanging up the phone, Valerie came from behind him.

"Dinner is ready," said her cheerfully.

"I'm coming!" Benjamin replied.

Today's dinner was fish soup.

Putting the slices of meat together with the soup into his mouth, Benjamin's eyes widened. He then said solemnly,

"What a fantastic dish. Valerie, you're an excellent future chef! You should start thinking about opening a five-star restaurant business."

Benjamin didn't want to lie; Valerie's cooking was genuinely excellent. 

Valarie blushed as she heard the compliment. She waved her hand and said, "I was never that good. Five-star restaurant isn't a good idea. After all, I still want to expand the family business."

Benjamin asked,

"Speaking of your company, I heard there are financial issues. Is that true?"

Valerie smiled sadly. "It's true. In the past few months, since my father fell ill and couldn't manage the business, our sales have dropped quite sharply. It seems like I can never lead the company as well as my father."

Benjamin finally found the starting point of the financial problems of Morgan Co. Ltd.'s financial problems, namely since Mr. Morgan fell ill and could not lead the company, so he handed over the company to Valerie.

However, Benjamin still felt that the real problem was not because Valerie did not have business skills. There was still something else that was strange.

Benjamin inquired once more, "You got two older brothers, whereabouts are they?"

"They took off overseas a decade ago, right in the thick of our family's meltdown. Not just that, they severed ties completely. Dad never considered them his sons again, for bailing on the family when the going got tough."

Valerie offered further clarification, "But ever since word got out about my father's stroke, they just swooped back into town, claiming they wanted to tend to him. Naturally, he shot them down flat, the principle was crystal clear. They stormed out of the hospital swearing to force my father into a miserable demise. Since then, I'm clueless about their whereabouts."

Benjamin smiled silently. He knew where the main culprit in this matter lay.

"You've got a smirk on your face, Ben?" Valerie narrowed her brow.

"Nope, not a hint of a smile. Must be your interpretation," Benjamin retorted swiftly. "And hey, none of that pessimism, okay? Your old man's got all the faith in the world that you can steer the ship better than your brothers ever could. If he catches wind of you talkin' like this, he'll be more than just disappointed."

Valerie let out a long breath with a smile. She then said, "Thank you for the support, Ben."

After dinner was over and Benjamin was helping with the laundry, Valerie's cell phone suddenly rang.

"Charles?" Valerie squinted at her phone screen, a perplexed expression etched on her face. "Why's he ringin' me at this hour?"

"Who's Charles?" Benjamin asked spontaneously.

"He's a secretary at my company," Valerie replied. "Sorry, let me take this call real quick."

As Valerie swiped the green button on her phone screen, a male voice shouted hysterically from the speaker.

"Ms. Morgan, we just got a contract proposal for 20 million dollars!"