The mansion became extremely lively with the arrival of the entire Chua family. Little Jun was delighted to meet his playmates from last year again. He didn’t remember the big sister and brother right away but gradually found them familiar. Grandpa Lu was also thrilled to have more children at home.
Reina Chua instructed her two eldest daughters, Marjorie and Linda, to bring many items from the Philippines for Iris. Marjorie, a two-time mother, recognized most of the items as ones for pregnant women.
“You’re pregnant?” she asked.
Iris smiled and touched her flat belly. “I am.”
“Congratulations! I’m so happy for you and Liwei. Where is he? Is he still at work?”
“Thank you, Marjorie. My husband is very busy at the company. You’ll see him when we eat dinner tonight. If you don’t mind, I want to talk to you about pregnancy, giving birth, and motherhood. I already talked to Sister Ying Yue and Auntie Reina and many of the household staff who are mothers about their experiences. I want to talk to as many mothers as I can. I feel so anxious. I don’t want to fail as a mother.”
Marjorie held her hands and squeezed them, trying to comfort her. “No problem, Xiulan. You can talk to me as much as you want. I’m no expert. I’m not a perfect mother either, but I do my best. My husband and our families also help out a lot. Knowing you, I can already see you being a great mother. Liwei will also surely support you every step of the way.”
Iris couldn’t help it. Her eyes watered. She released a sheepish sigh. “You know how it is. I can barely control my emotions. I cry at the littlest things.”
“That’s normal. Don’t worry about it.”
While the new arrivals were catching up with Iris and the others, Reina and Dom were coordinating with the butler, the chefs, and the entire household staff to prepare for the upcoming Christmas gathering. Iris wanted to help out at first but the mother and son duo stopped her, telling her that she should focus on relaxing and regaining all the weight that she lost since becoming pregnant.
Iris glanced at Clover who was playing with the children and cats. “How’s your progress in France?”
Clover gave her a double thumbs up. “Excellent, Boss! My perfumery and French studies are going very well. Having the experts personally mentor me is so awesome. I love it!”
“Good. Continue working hard. The most important thing for you to do right now is to finish your studies. Only then can we go ahead to the next stage of our plan. I’m depending on you to lead Liberté in the future.”
“Don’t worry, Boss! I won’t waste the resources you arranged for me.”
Marjorie and Linda looked proud of Clover. Imagine, their youngest sister was going to be a COO of a perfume company. That was too impressive!
Of course, this wouldn’t have happened without the hard work and loyalty of their only brother, Dom, who paved the way for all of them to get in the good graces of Iris.
Although technically speaking, Clover would have a higher position than her brother as COO of a company, Dom still held more power than her as the executive assistant and right-hand man of Iris, the big boss. As Iris’ representative, his words held almost the same authority as Iris herself.
Of course, this kind of comparison meant nothing to the Chua siblings. One sibling’s achievement was the achievement of everyone.
This was also one of the reasons why Iris and Jin Liwei loved the Chuas. They were extremely family-oriented and loyal. Iris wanted them around her children because they were a great influence.
Later that evening, everyone ate dinner together. Reina personally cooked some of the dishes in cooperation with tonight’s chef.
Actually, she was training the chefs to cook authentic Filipino dishes for Iris. Jin Liwei was the one who requested that Reina do this after noticing that his wife didn’t have any issues eating the food that Dom’s mother cooked. Reina accepted his request without any second thoughts and even scolded him for offering to pay her, saying that it was an insult. He apologized but there was an approving smile on his face. His trust towards the Chua family deepened.
During after-dinner tea, Iris and Jin Liwei requested to speak to the entire Chua family about something important. Grandpa Lu was also present as a witness. Except for Dom, the other members of the Chua family had no idea what the couple wanted to speak to them about. They thought that the husband and wife only wanted to chat and continue catching up with them.
“Linda, you’re a marketing professional, right?” Iris asked.
“Yes.”
“I heard from Dom that you’ve just been promoted to Marketing Vice President at the company you’re currently working in.”
“Yes. It was very hard because of some company politics but I fought tooth and nail for the position and showed off my abilities because I know that I deserve it.”
Iris approved of the woman’s calm confidence. Linda wasn’t cocky at all. She knew her worth. That was all. And that was exactly what Iris was looking for.
“I have a business proposition,” Iris said. “I plan to open an Orchidia Beauty branch in the Philippines. I need someone I can trust to become my resident agent to represent me, and of course, to run the branch.”
Linda’s eyes widened in surprise and amazement before entering business mode. Based on her expression, she already had an idea why Iris was talking about this to her.
“You want me to become your resident agent and run Orchidia Beauty Philippines?”
“Exactly.” Iris nodded. “I see a market in your country. I also feel comfortable starting with the Philippines in Southeast Asia because of our connection with your family. Not to mention that your family helped set up Black Stars Philippines. I think this is already a good starting point because people will know that I own Orchidia Beauty.”
Linda nodded. “Your offer is indeed tempting but my current job is quite good as well. It’s stable whereas setting up a completely new branch in another country is very risky.”
Iris crossed her leg and gave a devastating smile. “Then I’ll just have to offer you incentives that you can’t resist.”
