Peterson already had a few grandchildren, both girls and boys. But he never gave them much affection.
There was no shortage of children in the Tang family. Peterson had recently fathered a child, too, now more than a year old. He had kids and grandchildren of all different ages. So a kid was nothing special in his eyes. Gwyn, on the other hand, was special. He found himself growing fond of her, in spite of himself.
Sheffield held his daughter in his arms and kissed her forehead. "Did you miss me, Gwyn?"
"Yes." Gwyn nodded and replied in a cute voice, clinging to Sheffield's neck. "Miss Daddy…" was what she could manage at such a young age.
"Good girl!"
After playing with his daughter for a while, he entertained thoughts about coaching her to call Peterson "Grandpa." But Peterson was busy greeting Carlos and the other people. He wouldn't be around to hear it.
Evelyn walked through the crowd to Sheffield and said with a smile, "Gwyn's not as shy as she used to be. You're probably a good influence on her." Evelyn was wearing a light-colored dress. She had her make-up and hair done by a professional stylist.
Today was a day to be happy, and Evelyn looked the part—charming, energetic, and smiling.
"My Gwyn is so awesome!" Sheffield exclaimed dramatically as he looked at his daughter. "Daddy just can't help himself. I'm going to get you a present!"
Gwyn smiled shyly and leaned her little head on his shoulder without saying a word.
There were tons of presents stacked on the table near Sheffield, along with a dozen or more boxes of expensive wines and cigarettes.
He scanned the tables, then found the special, colorful bag he'd bought. He handed it to Gwyn. "Check this out, sweetie. Daddy picked this out just for you!"
When the little girl took the paper bag and looked inside curiously, Sheffield gave the little girl to Evelyn and whispered, "Honey, please take care of her. I have to go be sociable."
"Okay!" Evelyn took the toddler from him.
With a carton of expensive cigarettes in hand, Sheffield joined the crowd and stood beside Peterson. At an appropriate break in the conversation, Peterson introduced him. "This is my son, Sheffield Tang."
Birds of a feather flock together. Everyone here was either rich or powerful, and they were all Carlos' good friends. So Sheffield greeted all of them respectfully.
The ladies sat off to one side, chatting and munching on the appetizers. Peterson and Sheffield also walked over to them and greeted everyone politely.
Sheffield was so well-mannered on occasions like this, unlike his usual playful self. He was a polite, decent gentleman now. He was a veritable chameleon. He earned everyone's praise. Debbie, as his mother-in-law, had a huge smile on her face the whole time.
When everyone arrived, they all found a seat in the living room. Peterson asked Tobias to place the betrothal gifts on the table. He greeted everyone and said to them, "I'm pleased to meet you all. This is a little gift from me. I hope you don't mind."
Tobias opened a folder and took out the papers inside. "Mr. and Mrs. Huo, here's a check to Miss Huo." There were nine 9s written on the check—999, 999, 999 dollars, just a dollar shy of a billion.
"And a real estate certificate, car title, fifteen percent share transfer contract with Theo Group, and some other immovable property. They are all under Miss Evelyn Huo's name now." After putting all the documents in front of Carlos and Debbie, Tobias took a few steps back and stood next to Sheffield.
Sheffield grabbed another file folder and presented it to Tobias so he could open it.
"Uncle Carlos, Aunt Debbie, here is another transfer contract of fifteen percent shares of Theo Group and it's transferred to Evelyn, as well. So, she has thirty percent ownership of Theo Group now. I also have thirty percent of the shares. We have the same. And I bought an island in M Country. It's warm all year around. It's in Evelyn's name now, as well. The last thing is that I bought the guesthouse where Evelyn and I first met. This guesthouse is also in Evelyn's name. These are from me. I hope you like them."
Joshua couldn't help but whisper to Gifford, "Sheffield really went all out, didn't he? That's quite a gift for Evelyn. I wonder if this is what it's normally like when CEOs get together?"
Gifford raised the corners of his mouth and said, "Don't be jealous. After Sheffield gets married, he will be as poor as we are."
"Idiot! Theo Group is showing pretty high profits every quarter. He'll only get richer and richer!" Joshua wondered if he should go into business with Sheffield.
"Well, it seems we need to rely on Sheffield in the future!" Gifford chuckled.
"Can't disagree with you there." In fact, they had said such words countless times.
Evelyn had never thought of asking for any shares of Theo Group, nor did she expect that the Tang family would actually give it to her. The wedding gifts were certainly exorbitant.
'Thirty percent…' She only had twenty-seven percent of the shares in ZL Group.
It was not good to turn them down during the party, so the Huo family had to accept the gifts first.
The betrothal gifts were settled then. Sheffield and Evelyn had nailed down a wedding date already. Since Sheffield couldn't wait any longer, the wedding date was about three months away.
The other details would be settled later on.
The guests had lunch at the Huo family's manor. Carlos had hired several chefs to cook lunch.
The men were indulging their liquor habit at a large, round table, while the women were drinking red wine at the rectangular table in the dining room.
Everyone was in a good mood that day, so lunchtime went on longer, and it was well into the afternoon when it was over.
When Peterson was about to leave, Carlos told him, "Sheffield gave Evelyn a pretty major chunk of his company. What if he can't afford to support my daughter later on? I've discussed it with Debbie and we'll give him ten percent shares of ZL Group as a gift in return."
Ten percent shares of ZL Group was worth much more than thirty percent of Theo Group's.
Peterson was surprised. He shook hands with Carlos and said a bit excitedly, "That's really good of you, Carlos. You raised Evelyn so well. Now that she's going to marry into our family, we should give her those gifts as our gratitude to you folks. You don't need to give Sheffield anything."
"Please accept it. For Evelyn and Gwyn's sakes," Carlos insisted.
Peterson called Sheffield's name and gestured for him to come over. Sheffield broke off his conversation with Damon, and set down his drink. His father told him all about it. He wanted Sheffield to thank Carlos.
On hearing about the ten percent stock in ZL Group, Sheffield thought he was hearing things. He had drunk a lot, after all. He shook his head to make sure that he heard it right. "Uncle Carlos, that's generous of you. But I don't need it. I can support my wife and daughter."
"If I say you need it, you do. Just take it!" Carlos' order was non-negotiable. He didn't give Sheffield any chance to refuse.
After thinking for a while, Sheffield proposed, "How about this, Uncle Carlos? Write Gwyn's name on the share transfer contract. I'm her guardian, and she's the beneficiary. What do you think?"
That was a good idea too. Carlos agreed to it readily.
