Chapter 96: President Lynch, This Is a Misunderstanding
Lana Sterling was absolutely stunned when she saw the rumors online.
She had made a special trip to the company today to find Jasper Sterling, hoping to sweet-talk him about an investment. After waiting for ages without seeing him, she got so bored she started scrolling through her phone.
’Good grief, are rumors always this wild?’
In her friends’ group chat, everyone was eagerly dishing on the drama, with all sorts of gossip flying around.
Someone brought up the fight between Jane Lancaster and Beverly Lynch that night, swearing up and down that Beverly was just head over heels for Caleb Lowell!
Apparently, Jane Lancaster’s hand had been badly injured. She was seen the next day with it wrapped in gauze, which just went to show how hard Beverly Lynch had struck.
Now there was a real show to watch. With the news breaking that she was a willing homewrecker, Jane Lancaster might just have her engagement called off by the Lowell family!
People in the group chat started placing bets, guessing whether Beverly Lynch was planning something big, like crashing the engagement party with her friends to tear Jane Lancaster a new one!
Lana Sterling had been on the front lines of the gossip that night, and a sense of superiority washed over her. She eagerly went online to debunk the rumors.
[You all should probably call off your bets. Beverly Lynch doesn’t even like Caleb Lowell, so why would she bother fighting over him?]
This message instantly made Lana Sterling the center of attention. Many people jumped in to argue, retorting that it was impossible—Beverly Lynch was crazy about Caleb Lowell!
Otherwise, was everyone supposed to believe Beverly Lynch was actually in love with that toy boy boyfriend of hers?
A stand-in is always just a stand-in. How could he ever compare to even a single hair on the head of the real thing, the one that got away?
Besides, Caleb Lowell was just too exceptional—otherwise, Jane Lancaster wouldn’t have gone to such great lengths to seduce him.
Lana Sterling couldn’t help but roll her eyes. ’Caleb Lowell is exceptional? I’ve never thought so.’
Lana Sterling had always had a bit of a princess complex, loving to be coddled and showered with praise. She wasn’t even impressed by her own utterly adorable nephew, so of course she had an even lower opinion of Caleb Lowell, who’d had an unpleasant personality even as a child.
But as annoying as Caleb Lowell was, his uncle was witty, mature, and charming—her ideal man.
Lana Sterling could really empathize with Beverly Lynch. ’Just because you all like someone, does that mean no one else is allowed to hate him? Well, I happen to not be a fan of his type.’
[Believe it or not, at the banquet that night, Beverly Lynch got so angry she made a solemn vow right then and there.]
Luckily, she had come prepared. She had secretly recorded a video that day, and now was the perfect time to post it and put them all in their place.
[See? This proves the rumors about an arranged marriage between the two families are completely baseless.]
After she sent that message, the group chat fell completely silent. Two minutes passed, and not a single person had typed anything.
Lana Sterling shrugged. ’Hmph. A minute ago they were all so worked up, arguing with me. Why are they so quiet now?’
’I wonder if their faces still sting?’
Until someone in the group replied.
Clayton Lowell: [Well, not entirely baseless. The two families did indeed plan to unite through marriage back then.]
That message sent the group chat into an uproar. Clayton Lowell himself had just confirmed that the arranged marriage was real!
One busybody pressed further: What about the skiing incident mentioned in the rumors? Was it true that Caleb Lowell and Beverly Lynch were on a date, and Jane Lancaster had dragged Pauline Shaw along to secretly follow them and steal him away?
Clayton Lowell: [The ski trip was indeed meant for the two of them to get to know each other. I arranged the whole itinerary, haha.]
Lana Sterling was completely floored. Her ideal man had personally stepped in to confirm it; it couldn’t possibly be fake. ’Does that mean I got it all wrong?’
Someone started jeering, mocking her for not understanding a young girl’s heart. They claimed that Beverly Lynch’s furious, teeth-gritting appearance in the video was clearly a case of love turning to hate!
Lana Sterling felt a bit awkward. Just as she was about to type an apology, her phone was suddenly snatched away.
"Jasper, is your meeting over?" Lana Sterling looked up to see her nephew and quickly stood up.
As she rose, she noticed someone else standing beside him and jumped in surprise. "President Lynch, what are you doing here?"
Jasper Sterling smiled and sent a voice message: "Everyone, your gossip game is seriously lagging. Have you not seen the Lynch Group’s official statement, or Miss Lynch herself calling out the rumormongers online? You all speak with such certainty, it seems you know more about what happened back then than President Lynch himself. How about I ask President Lynch to have a little chat with you all right now?"
Then he held the phone out to Zachary Lynch.
With a dark expression, Zachary Lynch snorted coldly. "Utter nonsense!"
Not long after that voice message was sent, Clayton Lowell retracted one of his messages.
A moment later, Zachary Lynch’s phone rang.
"President Lynch, this is all a misunderstanding!" As soon as the call connected, Clayton Lowell began to explain frantically. "I was just joking with everyone!"
Zachary Lynch’s tone was icy. "There’s a limit to jokes. As an elder, are you trying to ruin Mandy’s reputation by spreading such rumors? I see no reason for our two companies to continue working together!"
Clayton Lowell: "...That’s not what I meant at all!"
Jasper Sterling chuckled. "How about I make a joke too? Say, by snatching up all the joint projects between the Lowell and Lynch families?"
Clayton Lowell was in a full-blown panic now. "President Lynch, please let me explain! The Lowell Group also issued a clarification statement..."
He hadn’t taken it seriously at first. He figured that no matter how angry Zachary Lynch got, he wouldn’t be willing to throw away a partnership that had lasted over a decade.
But now with Jasper Sterling involved, the Lynch Family could easily kick the Lowell Family to the curb and partner with the Sterling Family instead!
The Lowell Group had recently suffered several setbacks at Jasper Sterling’s hands. If he also snatched the Lynch Family away, Clayton Lowell would have no way to answer to the board of directors!
"I’ll apologize and clarify in the group chat right away. I’m so sorry, President Lynch," Clayton Lowell said, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Zachary Lynch: "Then clarify it right this second!"
Clayton Lowell hung up. Sure enough, a few moments later, he posted an announcement in the group chat. As a group admin, it was easy for him to do so.
Prompted by Jasper Sterling’s voice message, the gossip-hungry crowd in the chat had already quietly gone to check the Lynch Group’s official blog and Beverly Lynch’s personal account, only to find that clarifications had been posted long ago.
Even the Lowell Group had posted a clarifying statement a few minutes prior.
However, compared to the Lynch Group’s and Beverly Lynch’s aggressive stance of threatening to sue the rumormongers, the Lowell Group’s statement seemed rather ambiguous.
The online spectators weren’t fools; they all felt the Lowell Group’s statement was a bit wishy-washy and lacked conviction.
Still, many people in the group were fans of Clayton Lowell and firmly believed in him.
Not daring to speak in the main chat, they all started sending private messages to Clayton Lowell, comforting him by saying he was just telling the truth and that Zachary Lynch couldn’t just gag him.
They told him not to apologize, no matter what, and not to give in to Zachary Lynch’s threats.
A moment after those messages were sent, Clayton Lowell posted a group announcement.
[I would like to apologize to everyone for my previous comments. All the statements I made were complete fabrications. In reality, the Lynch and Lowell families have never had an arranged marriage, nor have Caleb Lowell and Beverly Lynch ever gone on a private date. Please do not believe or spread these rumors!]
After posting the announcement, Clayton Lowell left the group.
Everyone in the group was completely dumbfounded, especially those who had just urged him not to apologize. They were deeply disappointed.
’So their idol really was just talking nonsense, got caught red-handed by the actual people involved, and was now groveling for forgiveness?’
’But isn’t he supposed to be such a gentleman? How could this happen?’
「」
After leaving the group, Clayton Lowell collapsed onto the sofa, gasping for breath.
He never would have imagined that Jasper Sterling would actually screenshot his comments in the group chat and send them directly to several board members.
And it just so happened that those exact board members were in a meeting with Caleb Lowell at the company...
Clayton Lowell had originally planned to just brush it off, but that was no longer an option. After he hung up, several board members had slammed their hands on the table and demanded he post an apology announcement immediately.
Even Caleb Lowell had remained silent, not saying a word in his defense.