Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Onboarding Gift

If anyone else had said that, Jessie might have thought it was just a compliment.

But the words came from Victor Morgan. He was already the head of the Morgan Group at a young age and had overseen countless projects worth tens of billions. Coming from him, the statement was strangely convincing.

She could sense that Victor genuinely valued her career; it wasn’t just an offhand remark.

A glint appeared in Jessie’s eyes. Just as she was about to smile and say something to Victor, fireworks suddenly exploded from the rooftop of the building directly across from them.

Myriad sparks exploded against the clouds, bursting forth in a dazzling display of silver-white and indigo light. The particles of light seemed to form a brilliant galaxy before transforming into shooting stars at the zenith, streaking down from on high as if in a meteor shower.

The second burst followed: heart-shaped fireworks in magenta and peach-pink, shooting up and blooming in unison like a magnificent declaration of love.

In that instant, Jessie was completely captivated by the spectacle outside. The dazzling, romantic fireworks, much like the sea of magenta Freud roses filling the restaurant, were something few girls in the world could dislike.

At that moment, many people across Southaven were just as captivated by the fireworks as Jessie.

The musical fountain plaza was just downstairs, a place usually bustling with tourists and locals.

“Since when are fireworks allowed in Southaven? They’re so beautiful!”

“It must be a government event, right? They’re being set off from a CBD rooftop. It’s such a massive display. An ordinary person couldn’t pull this off.”

“They’re absolutely gorgeous! I’m always so jealous watching the big New Year’s fireworks shows elsewhere! Now we finally have one here in Southaven!”

The display lasted for nearly twenty minutes, and the spectacle was absolutely stunning.

As the finale began, the fireworks burst into shapes resembling ethereal blue jellyfish, slowly ascending into the sky. What was most shocking, however, was when these jellyfish gradually transformed into bright points of fire that formed a line of text—

“Congratulations on the new job, my wife.”

Jessie was still marveling at the fireworks show, taking pictures with her phone, when she saw the line of text. It was like a sudden flash of insight—she immediately whipped her head around to look at Victor.

He had specifically chosen this restaurant, this perfect spot for watching fireworks. It was hard for her not to suspect that the man before her was the mastermind behind the display across the way.

Meanwhile, everyone across Southaven who witnessed this was utterly astonished.

This was no government publicity event. It was a private affair, paid for by someone who had spent a fortune. A display of this caliber was estimated to cost nearly ten million.

“Holy shit! This is a fireworks show to celebrate his wife starting a new job? Fuck me, just for starting a job? That’s how much he’s spending? Damn it, what kind of rich bastard is this? I’m declaring war on all you rich people!”

“Questioning the pampered wife, understanding the pampered wife, wanting to become the pampered wife. Sorry, but for a split second, I really just wanted to find a rich man and get married!”

“I’m so jealous. When will it be my turn for a love this sweet? You know what, if I’m destined to never have a sweet love life, that’s fine. Just let me experience this kind of insane wealth for once!”

On local social media, trending topics about the city instantly blew up because of the massive fireworks display.

A fireworks show organized by the local government for a celebration wouldn’t have generated this much buzz. But this was a private display, generously put on for the entire city to see. The fact that the original purpose was to celebrate his own wife starting a new job was simply too juicy of a story.

Jessie had no idea that the people of Southaven were going wild online over the fireworks. She just looked at the man across from her. “Was it you?” she asked.

Victor’s expression remained calm, showing no sign that he was looking for credit for the surprise.

“Do you like it?” Victor didn’t answer her directly, and yet, his question was an answer in itself.

This time, Jessie couldn’t feign the composure she had managed when she saw the sea of magenta Freud roses. Her eyes sparkled, as if they had caught the light of the fireworks.

“I love it!” Jessie couldn’t help but nod. “When did you arrange all of this? I had no idea!”

Victor said, “Last night, I suppose. You signed the contract with the website, didn’t you? It’s a joyous occasion. There had to be some kind of celebration.”

The timeline had been tight, but Victor had faith in Keegan Sanders’s abilities.

Jessie pressed her lips together, unable to hold back a smile.

“Well, seeing as you’ve behaved so well, I’ll give you a reward, too,” Jessie said.

Victor leaned back in his chair, his posture relaxed and casual. “Hm?” He raised his eyes, looking somewhat surprised.

’He couldn’t imagine what kind of reward Jessie could possibly give him.’

“Don’t rush back to Aethelburg tonight,” Jessie said.

Victor’s eyes flickered.

Jessie said with a grin, “We have plenty of guest rooms at my family’s house, anyway. You can just stay in Southaven for the night and go back tomorrow morning.”

Victor was at a loss for words.

’This wasn’t quite what he had imagined.’ But hearing Jessie’s invitation to stay, Victor felt that the evening’s fireworks display had been well worth it.

“Would I be imposing on your parents?” Victor asked.

Jessie had already sent a message to her family’s group chat. She held out her phone for Victor to see. “Not at all. My parents and Quincy both say you should rest for the night before going back. Besides, you’re already in Southaven and you haven’t even stopped by my family’s house yet!”

This wasn’t Victor’s first time in Southaven, but it was indeed his first time visiting the Sterling family home.

Of course, a prospective son-in-law couldn’t show up to meet his future parents-in-law empty-handed.

By the time Jessie and Victor arrived at the manor, it was almost nine o’clock at night.

Seth Sterling and Faye Fuller were both extremely pleased with Victor as their future son-in-law, and they showed him great enthusiasm when he arrived.

After greeting Victor, Quincy Sterling pulled Jessie aside for a quiet word.

“Has he been treating you well for the past couple of weeks?” Quincy asked, staring into Jessie’s eyes.

Jessie hummed in affirmation, then changed the subject completely. “Did you see the fireworks show tonight?”

Quincy raised an eyebrow. Although she didn’t understand what Jessie meant, she still nodded.

She had still been working overtime at the bank building when the fireworks started. She had glanced at them a couple of times but quickly lost interest, so of course she hadn’t seen the line of text that appeared at the very end.

As for the buzz online, Quincy was even less likely to have spent time paying attention to it.

Jessie leaned into Quincy’s ear, her voice soft but filled with an unmistakable note of smug pride. “Victor arranged it. He said it was to celebrate me signing with the comic website! I’m a person with a proper job now!”

Quincy was speechless.

She thought she must be hearing things.

“You signed a contract to be a comic artist, and our brother-in-law put on that whole fireworks show for you?” Quincy asked.

“Yep!” Jessie nodded.

At this, Quincy couldn’t help but press a hand to her forehead. ’The family already has one human money-shredder in our dear older sister,’ she thought. ’And her brother-in-law is such a huge spendthrift, too. With a ’power couple’ like this, won’t they just squander their entire fortune?’

’But her brother-in-law seems like such a shrewd businessman!’

’So how is it that when it comes to spending money, he’s even more jaw-dropping than those spoiled, second-generation heirs!?’

Quincy shook her head and glanced at Jessie. ’Oh, well,’ she thought. ’As long as our little princess is happy for now.’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep