She always thought Edison was pretty traditional at heart. Even if something was actually going on between him and Jenny, there was no way he'd bring her home to visit so soon. Especially not during the holidays. That was basically the same as introducing her to the family.
"I just went for the sympathy angle,” Jenny said, grinning. "Told him my parents
aren't in the country, said I've adored Solenia since I was a kid, and then I asked if his family ever nags him to get married at his age."
“Didn't you tell me before that family pressure is just normal for everyone in Solenia?" Claire asked.
Jenny laughed. “Yup. I asked if he was getting pressured, and offered to be his fake girlfriend. Easy fix."
"If it doesn't work out between us and his family asks, he can just say his girlfriend moved abroad. If he finds someone else, he can blame it on a long-distance breakup."
Claire gave Jenny a big thumbs-up. "Genius move."
Jenny shot her a wink. “So, you think I have a shot with Edison?"
"For sure." Claire kept quiet about the fact that Edison's parents were already gone. He just had a grandmother, and she was close with Pandora. Honestly, Pandora basically raised Edison. Someone like Pandora would never bug him about marriage.
So what was up with Edison bringing Jenny home? Was it out of pity or just an excuse to find a fake girlfriend? Or, maybe, did he have some secret agenda?
She couldn't help but watch Edison closely.
He noticed and glanced at Claire. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
Claire grinned. "I'm just reading your face. Looks like you might get lucky in love soon."
Edison lifted an eyebrow. "Oh really? When did you become an expert in face reading?"
"I study traditional medicine, remember? A bunch of that stuff is connected to fortune-telling and face reading. Nothing strange about it," Claire said with the straightest face.
"Oh? Then tell me, besides love, what else do you see coming my way?"
Edison was just humoring her.
She laughed. "Money, obviously. VIA Metropolis just signed SUNNY, so we're about to see way more peop
coming through.
This time Edison glanced at Jenny. "It's a win for everyone."
"With SUNNY entering the Solenia
market and VIA Group backing theet
promotion, their name will blow.up in to time claire continued
Honestly, SUNNY wasn't hugely famous in Solenia yet. Not everyone had the money for fancy international labels.
“Sure, SUNNY needs VIA Group for the launch, but other malls could do the trick too," Claire said.
She wasn't wrong. Maybe not every mall was as extravagant as VIA Group, but plenty had deep pockets.
SUNNY was on the rise. Any mall signing them now would definitely cash in.
Edison looked at her, a hint of mock annoyance in his eyes. “Whose side are you on?"
Claire clapped a hand over her mouth. “Alright, I'll stop."
Probably a good call.
Edison told her, "Get some rest."
“Okay, fine. I'll take a nap,” she replied.
She dozed off and didn't wake up until they were almost at The James Village. Well, she wasn't fully asleep
the whole time Jenny and
Edison
Edison
were having such a lively chat, Claire
just kept her eyes closed and
pretended to be asleep.
Edison had studied abroad too, so they had plenty to talk about. Still, it was mostly
Jenny finding things to chat about.
Claire couldn't help but notice how good Jenny was at flirting. She wondered how long Edison could keep his cool.