Is this destiny?

~ Kansas City ~

In a large two-story apartment Christopher is sitting and staring blankly at the huge flat TV screen which is set on the news channel.

The carryout boxes, some with leftover food in them are spread over the glass table, and napkins and wrappers from junk food are all over the floor. The smell is a giveaway that Christopher is cooped up in this apartment for some time, without ventilating it or disposing of the trash. The dark stain on a luxurious sofa shows that he does not care about cleaning up. Christopher does not seem to see it or smell it. Well maybe he is, but he is not bothered by it.

Christopher read on the social media two days ago how Samara White praised her cousin, Jeffrey White for stepping in and helping her deal with the family emergency.

He thought that Samara is doing some stunt to get attention, but the next day he saw on the TV reporters following her when she exited from one restaurant…

"Miss White, Miss White…", few reporters called breathlessly in unison.

"Can you give us more details on the situation your father is?"

"What about your brother?"

"Can you comment?"

"The rumors are that it\'s incurable, is it true?"

Samara stopped and turned toward the reporters who halted their steps and looked at her expectantly. Her sad expression made them feel sorry for her but only a little bit. After all, their job is to get the news, not to feel sorry for people.

Samara\'s eyes moved over the reporters slowly before she spoke with a voice which told everyone that she is deeply troubled: "My father and my brother are in an… unfortunate situation. Their condition is stable at the moment. I am grateful for the medical expertise of Dr. Siltanen and his team and for all the care and dedication they are showing. I am also grateful to my cousin, Jeffrey White, who came and helped out when I didn\'t know what to do. As for your question if the condition my father and brother found themselves in, is curable or not… I will wait to hear from the medical professionals. No matter how grim the prognosis for a full recovery is, I am hopeful that one day I get my father and my brother back."

Samara turned back to leave and paused at the next question from the reporters:

"Miss White, will you take over running W Publishing now that your father is not… available?"

Samara blinked innocently before answering: "If you did your homework, you know that I am still a student, and not qualified to run a business."

The reporter closest to Samara asked: "Your father and brother lost the right to manage assets, and that makes you the biggest shareholder. What will happen to the company?"

"Are you really going to school now when all the assets from your father are at your disposal?", another one added a question.

"Since I am not qualified, and I don\'t want to endanger business which provides jobs to hundreds of people and their families, W Publishing will go under the umbrella of White corp. and it will be managed by my cousin and his team of experts. As for other assets, I am just a girl who would probably waste them away due to my ignorance. I decided to put everything under care of my cousin, Jeffrey White who will in turn provide me with his guidance and ensure that I stay on the right track and finish my education."

"You trust Jeffrey White?", one reporter from the side asked.

"We are cousins, and even though we didn\'t make many public appearances together, Jeff and I were always on good terms. I trust his judgement, and everyone knows that he is a great businessman. The company and all the assets that my father and brother owned will be in good hands."

"Do you plan to take over your business after school?", one reporter from the back asked.

Samara shrugged. "W Publishing belonged to White corp. from the beginning. It\'s only going back home."

"What are your future plans?"

"Right now, I want to focus on my studies and make the best out of it. I discussed with my cousin several possibilities for after I get my bachelor\'s degree. They include me continuing my education or joining White corp. and working my way up as I learn about business, or maybe start something on my own… However, that is still two years away and all of the possibilities seem plausible. Now if you will excuse me, I have an appointment I should not be late for…", Samara nodded slightly to the reporters and went toward the cab which waited for her.

No one saw that Samara smiled when the cab started driving down the street. She was confident that Jeff will approve of her performance. Samara might be lazy and greedy, but she knows not to bite the hand which feeds her. She will play a good girl who is concerned about her father and brother, and grateful to her big cousin Jeff, because those are the conditions for her to be financially taken care of. And this situation is better for her because her father was sooooo overbearing and controlling in every way, while Jeff told her that as long as she does not get into trouble, he will stay out of her way. Also, with assets out of her hands, she does not need to deal with her ex-stepmothers who already called asking what their part of Marcus\' wealth is.

Back to Christopher\'s apartment…

News filling most of the business and finance timeslots are about Marcus White ending in a mental institution together with his son (aka Lukas White).

That morning, news showed Jeffrey White walk into W Publishing with his team. That was Jeff officially making an appearance to welcome W Publishing under White corp. umbrella and to reassure all the employees that the bright days are ahead of them.

The reporters interviewed several employees of W Publishing and they were all ecstatic. Their interviews can be summarized as: "When we heard that CEO White (aka Marcus) is sick, we were all worried what will happen to the company and us. But now that CEO Jeffrey White showed up, we can all be at ease."

Christopher checked online various financial news, and he saw that stocks of White corp. went up (again), and that it\'s true: Marcus is out of the game while Jeff came out of it like a knight in shining armor.

Online polls show that approval of White corp. is on the rise, and people are confident that White corp. is a great place to work in. Added bonus is that netizens believe how Jeff is working for the benefit of his employees, and he is not stuck on profits only.

To make Jeff\'s image more dazzling, several other businesses experienced hardships in last few weeks, and most of them ended up \'saved\' by the White corp. as well.

Christopher laughed bitterly while reading those news articles. He knows that those businesses belonged to people who pledged their allegiance to Marcus. This is not Jeff saving them, this is Jeff consuming them because their bosses dared to go against him.

It is a live performance: big fish eating the little one which dared to come too close. Yet, everyone is seeing this as Jeff coming to save the day.

At this rate, they might start building shrines to pray that good fortune follows Jeff, their messiah.

Ah, only if he can tell his story and reveal how ruthless Jeff is. But he knows that even if he finds a reporter foolish enough to write the story, no outlet will be successful in publishing it. After all, Jeff is known for suppressing unwanted news.

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