Jack was stunned briefly.
“It’s nothing huge, really. I’m negotiating a business deal outside. So, I’m not in the company. Can’t I call you for the sake of it?”
I pursed my lips. How was having a younger sister born out of wedlock, not a huge deal? However, I held it in when I saw the displeased look on Astrid’s face.
“Are you going to ask me about the interns?”
Astrid brushed past me and went back to the office, which left me feeling even more curious.
“Yeah. Is she at the office already?”
I covered my phone and asked softly, “Did you arrange for someone other than Astrid to intern at the company?”
“Huh?” Jack chuckled. “Aside from you and Astrid, who else would I have arranged?”
I thought about his usual temper and character, and I found the whole ordeal to be a little strange.
If Mackenzie was actually born out of wedlock and her father was one of the McLennons, Jack would never have arranged for her to be here. After all, Jack had the tendency to look out for his own people.
What was more, the McLennons were supposedly setting up for Astrid to take over the company right now.
With that said, I thought back to how Mackenzie behaved, and I couldn’t stop myself from popping the question.
“Am I right in saying that you only have Astrid as your younger sister?”
“Yeah. What about it?” Jack sounded very calm, not at all like someone who was hiding something.
That made me feel calmer too. “It’s nothing. Astrid mentioned to me that you wanted her to take over the company, and I got worried.”
I proceeded to chit-chat with Jack a little. Eventually, he told me to inform him immediately if anything came up before ending the call.
I stared at my phone and felt things were strange. Was Jack really out on a business negotiation? Did he really just call to chat with me during lunch break?
I continued to stare at my phone screen and thought about the call I didn’t get to make earlier. I shook off those thoughts. What mattered was that Mackenzie wasn’t a member of the McLennon family who was born out of wedlock. Astrid was already eating by the time I got back to the office. She clearly found the lunch to be disdainful. I raised an eyebrow at her, and she shoved her lunch to my side of the desk.
“This is the cheapest food there, and it’s cold, for God’s sake. How are these people eating this filth?”
I thought about how Astrid was used to eating expensive and delicious food and sighed. Then, I watched as my colleagues cozied up to Mackenzie.
All of a sudden, I had that strange feeling again.
Why would Mackenzie impersonate Jack’s sister? She even spent money to make everyone recognize her as the person she presented herself to be. But what would she do after this? With that said, Mackenzie merely had to buy everyone lunch to win their favors.
She was dressed in various brands from head to toe, and she got into the company as an intern effortlessly. Coupled with the lunch she bought for the department everyone basically thought she was Jack’s younger sister.
Later, Astrid told me that Jack didn’t actually come to Erewhon that often.
“The companies here belong to the McLennon family. Since they let Jack take over, it’s considered part of the McLennan family now. In any case, Jack’s going to be the head of both families. So, they don’t draw the lines that clearly. But that
doesn’t mean he comes here very
often.
“If Jack hadn’t realized that you were here, he probably wouldn’t have bothered himself with the projects here.”
When it was tea time, Astrid couldn’t hold it in anymore. She ended up taking me to a restaurant.
“When I called my mom and popped the question, she tore me a new one. What do you think is up with Mackenzie?”
I shook my head and didn’t tell Astrid
about my thoughts. If what Astrid
said was true and he only came once every few years, then Mackenzie would’ve gotten away with it under normal circumstances.
Astrid kept a low profile at Erewhon as well. Only a handful of people knew her real identity.
Mackenzie probably wanted to get some benefits for herself if she was impersonating Jack’s younger sister.
I thought about Mackenzie’s outdated clothes and worn-out bag, and I had a good idea about the situation.
“In any case, you’re the real deal, Astrid. What’s there to be afraid of? I don’t think it matters as long as she doesn’t do anything that will affect the company in a bad way.”
If Astrid was to take over the company, she had to know its full facade. Instead of letting everyone know about her identity, having a fake heiress here was the ultimate learning opportunity.
What was more, people like Mr. Finnley were in the company as well. It was better for Astrid to grasp the full picture sooner rather than later.