Chapter 1503 - The Problem with Money
Skye didn’t think for long.
Maybe it was because Pheromone Control had lowered her guard.
Maybe it was because borrowing money wasn’t accepting a gift, which meant that Luke didn’t want to be her sugar daddy.
Or maybe she was aware that she couldn’t be a community volunteer forever.
She needed to make her own way, and she would have to leave sooner or later.
Luke had provided her with a better opportunity and a better environment, which gave her ample time to get things done.
Like he said, she should remember his kindness and return the favor, instead of staying here forever and relying on other people’s donations to survive.
After Christmas, Skye would leave the community center, the only place where she had felt safe and warm ever since she was young.
She would go to a school in New Jersey for half a year.
If she worked hard enough, Luke would find a way to send her to a good university.
If she slacked off, Luke would still help her ask around about a community college in New Jersey. As long as she paid, the community college would accept her.
It still depended on how hard Skye was willing to work, and whether or not she would use university as a springboard into a new life with college.
Before she left, Luke had a long chat with her to determine her future direction and ensure that this girl wouldn’t try to take short cuts.
After all, with her abilities, it really wouldn’t be hard for her to take more dishonest routes.
It was almost Christmas.
Luke and Selina gave their greetings to Walter beforehand, confirmed the time, and then flew back to Texas on Christmas Eve.
They no longer needed to take a regular flight. A private plane was waiting for them at the airport.
After they got on the plane, however, Selina gave Luke a strange look. “You didn’t say that you were taking someone back.”
Luke said with a smile, “We’re all acquaintances, there’s no need for introductions. Well, Jenny doesn’t have plans for Christmas this year, so she wants to meet Robert.”
Selina keenly caught the main point. “To meet Robert?”
Luke shrugged. “In any case, the Stark Industries shares are under Robert’s name, and Jenny needs to meet him.”
Selina was lost for words. She hadn’t thought of that at all.
Jenny kept smiling and didn’t say anything as they spoke in front of her.
Except for greeting Selina when the latter first boarded the plane, she didn’t say anything to her after that.
She relied on Luke for a living, but she didn’t owe Selina anything.
She had greeted her only to be polite; there was no need to act friendly since Selina didn’t have that intent either.
Luke was unperturbed. He started sketching on his tablet the moment he got on the plane.
Jenny was in a similar situation. This was a completely unexpected trip, and there were a lot of adjustments she had to make.
Selina and Gold Nugget watched a show on their own tablet on the side.
But every now and then, a certain dog head would respond to nudges from Selina’s foot to indicate that everything was normal with the fiend and that he wasn’t tangled up with the blonde woman with no chest or butt.
Thanks to its sharp ears and nose, it was no less worse at detective work than Luke.
But it wasn’t a good thing that the dog head had keen senses. During the flight, it was interrupted seven or eight times, and it couldn’t even keep track of the plot of the show it was watching.
In its heart, it could only silently mock Selina’s naivete. If the fiend was that stupid, he wouldn’t have boarded this plane.
In fact, the dog head was very smart in certain aspects.
When they arrived in Shackelford, Jenny was very nice to Luke’s family, but not overly clingy.
Apart from discussing Stark Industries with Robert, she spent most of her time with Catherine and Claire.
She had fun on the ranch.
Selina was confused. She couldn’t help but ask Luke, “Is she really here on vacation?”
Luke wasn’t in a hurry. He pulled her to a chair on the back porch and gave her one of the two meat skewers he was holding. “It’s probably because there’s a small conflict in her family. I don’t want her to spend Christmas alone in New York.”
Selina took the skewer and took a bite. “What conflict? Money?”
Jenny was Luke’s super moneybag, and Selina had seen the relevant information, so that was her first reaction.
Luke took a bite of his own skewer and nodded regretfully.
The meat wasn’t wholly done, and there was still some blood, but it was still edible.
Selina couldn’t help but knock her knee into his thigh. “Don’t beat around the bush. Just tell me.”
Luke said, “Her father made a big deal a few months ago, but because of the Battle of New York, he lost more than a billion dollars in future contracts.”
He said it calmly, as if Joseph had lost ten bucks.
Selina’s eyes widened. She tried to recall the information on Jenny’s father, and asked uncertainly, “It seems that her father only has about a billion in assets, so he… went bankrupt?”
Luke shrugged. “Pretty much, unless Jenny is willing to fish him out of it.”
Thinking about Miss Jenny’s past and personality, Selina asked, “So, Miss Jenny actually wants to help her father out?”
Luke nodded again. “Her mouth says no…”
As soon as he said that, he sensed that Selina was about to roll her eyes, and immediately said the second half. “But her heart wants to.”
Selina cut the meat and started eating again. “What a troublesome young lady. If she wants to do it, then do it, as long as she’s considered the consequences and issues beforehand. It’s not a big deal. There’s no need to look like she’s dying… cough cough.”
It was the holidays, and she couldn’t say random things.
Pleased, Luke nodded. “You’ve made a lot of progress. I think so, too. However, I don’t know when she’ll figure it out.”
Selina snorted. “I can get by on the salary of a minor detective; I will never understand the worries of the rich.”
Luke said, “That’s because nobody knows how much money we have. If you were on some ranking list of the rich, you would encounter no less trouble than she does.”
Thinking about her net worth being exposed, Selina couldn’t help but shiver. She immediately said, “I’m not some successful businesswoman. If anyone finds out about me, you can take back the shares. I’ll just be a poor detective.”
Looking at the woman acting as cowardly as Gold Nugget, Luke was lost for words. You’re not afraid of fighting tens of thousands of aliens, but you’re afraid of money?
Even as he mocked her, he could only admit: Fine, he was scared, too! He was scared that people would know that he was too rich.
The worries of the rich were indeed unimaginable for people without money — unimaginably comfortable.
He was so comfortable mostly because he was very rich.
Money didn’t just solve most problems, it also helped solve many problems created by people..
