When fate plays its hand

After resolving Mindy’s situation, Miranda flew back to Elgerson. The semester finals were coming up, and classes had ended, marking the official start of the reading period.

Although she’d only been away for two days, it hadn’t affected her coursework but had set back her lab work considerably. Madison and Sebastian’s data still needed her verification, so as soon as her plane landed, Miranda headed straight for the lab

She then stayed there for two days without a break. But thankfully, her luggage was still packed, saving her the hassle.

Once she caught up on the backlog, she remembered there was still a final payment due to Jack and Sam. That evening, she reached out to both of them and arranged to meet at the same restaurant just off Bedford College campus.

Jack, who had heard about Mindy’s situation from family, naturally asked about her.

“It’s all settled now,” Miranda assured him. “But tonight, I wanted to meet mainly to close out the last of the payments.”

She continued, “According to the contract, the project funds are split into three payments. The first two installments are complete, and the last one should be pending. Please review it, Jack. If everything checks out, I’ll transfer the final balance.”

She then turned to Sam, saying, “Mr. Cooper, since you’ve been handling things directly, let’s also confirm everything between you and Jack while we’re all here.”

Although Jack trusted Miranda’s thoroughness, he still reviewed the documents carefully in response to her serious tone. “Looks good,” he confirmed.

“Perfect,” Miranda said. They settled the details quickly, with neither Jack nor Sam wasting any time. With business sorted, they finally turned to dinner.

As she reflected on the support Jack and Sam had provided over the past months, she lifted her glass. Jack, Mr. Cooper, this lab wouldn’t have come together without you both. I won’t go on, but here’s a toast to how grateful I am.”

Jack chuckled and waved her off. “You don’t have to say that! Really, I should thank you. You know how tight things were before–you practically kept my business afloat.”

He understood well that if he hadn’t been her cousin, Miranda might not have chosen his company. Miranda simply smiled. It had been a twist of fate, but Jack had proven his worth.

Sam, on the other hand, stayed silent as he smiled slightly. His finger was tracing the rim of his glass as he watched Miranda. There was a softness in his gaze when he saw her looking so energized and confident.

As they were finishing up, Sam went to pay the bill, and Miranda went to freshen up. When she returned, Jack slid a check toward her across the table.

“What’s this?”

“Mimi, this is a check for ten thousand dollars. It’s not much, but it’s an advance from a couple of recent

projects. Please, take it.” NôvelDrama.Org content.

Miranda was confused. “Why would you give me your hard–earned money?”

and they really boosted our

“Since the lab launch, we’ve had media coverage and discussions profile. Orders have been coming in nonstop since then…” He could only grin at the thought of this.

The company’s phones hadn’t stopped ringing since the launch, and Jack remembered how hard it had been to get jobs in the past.

He now understood what people meant by “traffic was king“. The exposure brought visibility to his company, and Miranda was the reason behind it.

“In our industry, it’s standard to pay referral fees. You earned this,” he said.

Naturally, Miranda refused and shook her head. “No, we’re family. I don’t want the referral fee, so you keep it.”

Jack’s company’s success was thanks to his vision and hard work, not just a few lucky breaks.

Jack didn’t accept her refusal. He placed the check firmly in her hand. Then think of it as an investment. in your project. Building the lab took a lot, and I know you’ll need more funding down the road. Consider this ten grand as my way of buying a stake in it.”