Chapter 5 Thank You, Dear
Nora's brother-in-law, Willie, worked at a company called Apex Technologies Corporation, which was located in the Golden Tower. It was a cross-border e-commerce company with about 30 employees.
Nora put her lunchbox on her desk and told her best friend, Amelia Martinez, "Guess what? My husband came back last night!"
Amelia had been her best friend for many years.
Nora's sister, Olivia, was currently at home resting because she was pregnant.
"Wait, what? Your husband came back?" Amelia knew that Nora had a whirlwind marriage to a corporate executive, who reportedly earned over $4,000 a month, giving them a pretty comfortable lifestyle.
"Yeah, he got back last night."
"So, when do I get to meet this mystery man?" Amelia was super curious. Nora had sung Steven's praises, saying he was handsome, a gentleman, and very generous!
"Let me get to know him a bit better first." They were still getting acquainted.
Nora opened her computer and logged onto Facebook, where she saw a message from Steven.
Mr. York: [I transferred the living expenses to you.]
She had saved his contact as Mr. York.
She glanced at her phone and saw the transfer notification from Steven.
Steven had sent her $8,000.
Nora was momentarily stunned and then replied with a sweet smile: [Mr. York, this is way too much for this month. $4,000 is more than enough.]
She was a "savings expert" and could save $2,000 even if it was for two people!
Compared to other men who split expenses after marriage, Steven was super considerate!
Mr. York: [Just keep it.]
He was always concise, and Nora was used to it!
She accepted the money and shyly sent Steven a cute emoji: [Thanks, boss!]
She had originally typed "Thanks, dear," but in her haste, it turned into "Thanks, boss." After sending it, she was too embarrassed to correct herself!
Her cheeks flushed.
She actually wanted to get closer to Steven.
Since they were married, Nora naturally hoped to develop their relationship positively. Although there were no feelings yet, she believed they could cultivate them!
Steven was a bit aloof, so she had to take the initiative.
Steven didn't reply again, possibly because he was busy.
Nora didn't think much of it, closed Facebook, and opened her online store to start working.
Her online store was given to her by Willie.
A year ago, when Nora was a senior in college, her sister Olivia and brother-in-law Willie decided to start a business.
Willie suggested that Nora skip her internship and come help at his company, promising to teach her about business.
Olivia said, "Nora, instead of working for someone else, why not start your own business? If it takes off, you'll have more freedom and won't have to answer to anyone."
Nora thought Olivia made a good point.
She agreed.
Willie gave her an online store and told her that any profits would be hers.
Nora started working for Willie for free while managing her online store.
Willie's family background wasn't great, but he was capable and successfully grew the company.
Eventually, Willie became super busy, always chasing investments, meeting suppliers, and networking, leaving little time to stay at the office.
Nora learned some operations on her own and grew the store, earning around $6,000 a month.
However, her grandfather's liver cancer treatment had drained her savings, and Olivia also chipped in half the money, but they couldn't save him.
Currently, Nora still didn't have a salary, but the money from her online store was hers.
A few months ago, Olivia got pregnant, and Willie brought his mother, Eleanor Mitchell, from their hometown to South City to take care of Olivia.
Eleanor was very opinionated and said Nora was an outsider and shouldn't handle important company documents.
Previously, Olivia managed Willie's important documents, but after she got pregnant, Nora took over.
Eleanor said, "If this keeps up, Nora might empty the entire company without us even knowing!"
So Eleanor brought her eldest son, Terry Reed, and daughter, Bianca Reed, to work at Willie's company, supposedly to keep an eye on Nora.
They were very wary of Nora and often made snide remarks to belittle her.
Nora found it quite annoying, but she couldn't leave Willie's company because her store was under Willie's name, and she needed his account to withdraw money.
If she left, the family might not let her keep the store.
And she couldn't just abandon the store she had worked so hard to build.
Olivia also advised her, "Just ignore them. Willie will still give you the money. Their words don't matter; what matters is earning money."
"And if they really force you out, where would you go to do business? Rent is so expensive now. Willie's company alone costs tens of thousands of dollars a month in rent. If you leave, you'll need to register a company, rent a place, build a warehouse, and stock up. That's a lot of money."
Nora admitted Olivia was right.
When Willie started the business, he borrowed a lot of money, including from the entire village, amounting to tens of thousands of dollars. He was under immense pressure for a year or two, but he eventually succeeded.
Olivia said, "Besides, you worked for him for free for a year during the startup phase and contributed a lot. Willie owes you that. You don't have to listen to their nonsense."
So Nora felt more at ease.
Olivia was right. Since she wasn't capable of starting her own business, she would endure a bit longer and save enough money before leaving.
After lunch, someone came to the company to deliver chips.
Nora returned from outside and saw Philip Thompson at the door, inspecting the chips.
It was said that the Thompson family had a large and wealthy business.
But Philip wasn't interested in business and refused to work at the company. He preferred algorithms and research, but he spent all his time at home. Philip's parents were worried he might turn into a recluse, so they sought help from outside, hoping to find a company to take him in.
Willie, eager to connect with the influential Thompson family, invited the precious Philip to join his company.
Initially, Philip refused, but somehow, he eventually agreed.