A Crazy One-night Stand

Lincoln frowned and said solemnly, "It's news to me that I seem like such a fool in your eyes."

"No, Grandfather, that's not what we meant," Nancy immediately explained when she saw that Lincoln was angry.

Rainee was also worried that if she angered Lincoln, it would backfire. If he became enraged, he might give out more of his shares to spite them.

She tried to calm Lincoln down. "Dad, of course not. We didn't mean it like that. It's just that Alina is still an outsider after all, isn't she?"

Colton chimed in, "Grandfather, Miss Alina's gifts added up to no more than 100 thousand dollars, but you gave her shares of the company in return. You'll make all of us feel disheartened!"

Since Sophie had already decided to take over Alina's shares after this, she felt annoyed when the members of George's family kept resisting Lincoln's decision.

Sophie spoke up angrily, "In my opinion, we should respect Father's decision. It's his shares of the company, thus, he has the right to give it to anyone he wishes."

Upon hearing Sophie's words, Rainee was displeased. She raised her voice and taunted, "Oh, of course! You are on her side now that you can take advantage of her. Since Miss Alina is your son's girlfriend, it's no wonder that you are changing your tune to help her."

Seeing as they were about to erupt into a fight, Lucas waved his hand to signal the reporters who were hidden on a large tree to secretly start taking photos.

He knew that there would be a big argument coming up.

The reason for the quarrel was because of Alina. The reporters would take photos of the fight and it would be in all the major headlines tomorrow. "Mr. Scott's 80th birthday celebration erupted in a catfight because of Miss Alina, the president's fiancée! What would be the future of Scott Group?"

Although Lincoln had always insisted that even if there were internal conflicts within the family, they should show a united front to the outside world. However, Lucas couldn't care less about that now. No matter what, he must get his hands on the shares of Scott Group. He knew that Wilson would definitely raise the price of the shares sky-high later on.

Since Wilson planned to collect a tidy sum from the stock market, Lucas wanted to have a slice of the pie.

Of course, financial benefits should be shared with everyone in the family.

Colton continued, "Grandfather, Alina gave you such a cheap present, but you're giving her shares of the company. On the other hand, we carefully prepared expensive and luxurious gifts for you every year, but we get nothing in return. Grandfather, don't you think it's unfair for us?"

Hearing Colton's words, Lincoln waved him away. "If I had known that this would happen, you don't have to prepare gifts for me! Why don't you give me cash directly instead! In this way, there would be no comparison between the value of the gifts. I would just have to calculate the money that I was given and repay with my shares accordingly to how much money each one of you have given me. Do I look like I need the money?"

"Grandfather, you know that we don't mean it that way. You are the biggest shareholder of Scott Group, so how could you be in need of money? Gifts are not valued by their material worth." Lucas spoke out to help ease the situation.

Lincoln retorted, "If you don't measure a gift by its value, what do you measure it by?"

Lucas noticed that his grandfather's wrath had eased a little. He was not as angry as before, nor was he as stern as before. He replied immediately, "Of course, it's measured by our sincerity and filial piety to you."

Lincoln swept his gaze to the people seated around the table. "What do all of you think? Is the cost of the gift more important or is it filial piety?

As soon as Lincoln said that, Lucas suddenly felt that something went wrong. However, he couldn't put his finger on it.

He turned to Caitlin when he felt her resentful gaze burning into him. She stared at him with reproach.

Lucas frowned. He knew that he must have said something wrong, but what exactly went wrong? He couldn't help but scratch his head in frustration. Rainee was a thoughtful person and she knew that Lucas fell into the trap set by Lincoln. However, there was no way to refute his words.

He had presented everyone with a choice. You could either choose the cost value of the gift or the intentions of filial piety behind the gift.

In truth, it was not a choice. The only possible choice was filial piety.

Rainee laughed dryly and said, "Dad, the most important thing to a gift is obviously the intentions of filial piety. It can't be bought no matter how much it costs. You know that we try our best to be filial to you, right?"

Wilson sneered.

Since ancient times, those who had ill intentions towards others would come to a bad end. Those who dug a pit for others would fall into their own trap.

Bennett was dressed in a well-fitted suit. Following behind Mr. Kyree, he walked into the private courtyard with his briefcase in hand.

Lincoln glanced around the table again. "I'm going to distribute some shares to Lina. Does anyone have any objections?"

"No, Dad!" Rainee answered immediately.

She was afraid that if Lucas said anything further, Lincoln might give Alina more shares than he intended to just out of spite. That would mean fewer shares for all of them. Lincoln had always been a stubborn old man and it wasn't easy to persuade him to change his mind. Especially at his moment, he was clearly furious.

If Lincoln became angry, the consequences would be very serious.

Rainee tried to calm herself down. After all, Alina was just an outsider. Regardless of how much Lincoln liked her gift, he wouldn't give her much of the shares, would he? It was possible that he would only give less than 1% of his shares. If that was the case, it wouldn't be a big deal at all.

She thought that Lincoln was angry because of their gifts. They only gave gifts that were expensive without thinking of the intentions behind them. He was angry with them and did this to retaliate. Thinking of this, she managed to calm down and composed herself.

Seeing that his mother had spoken up, Lucas, Colton, and Nancy echoed her. "No, we have no objection."

Lincoln nodded with satisfaction and said to Bennett with a smile, "Bennett, draft a new contract for shares transfer. I am transferring 5% of my shares to Alina. From now on, Alina will be one of the shareholders of Scott Group."

"5%?" Rainee screamed and jumped up as if she sat on a needle.

Lincoln turned to her, his face stern. "What's wrong, do you have a problem with it? Didn't you say that you have no objection to my wishes? Was that a lie?"

"Dad, but..." Rainee wanted to bite off her tongue. Why did she agree just now? Why did she say that she had no objection?

At this moment, Rainee felt like she had shot herself in the foot.

"Grandfather, how could you give an outsider such a large portion? The dividends alone amount to more than 100 million dollars. Grandfather, you are making a rash decision," Silvia cut in unexpectedly. George and his family looked at Silvia in surprise. Was this girl so foolish that she was unable to distinguish between enemy and friend?

They exchanged glances, secretly hoping that Silvia would say a few more words.

Having such a dumb sister, Wilson could feel a headache coming on. He reprimanded her again, "Shut up!"

Silvia felt victimised and offended. She stared daggers at Alina, feeling like she could strangle her to death.

This vixen must have seduced her brother. Wilson used to treat her so well! Since young, he had never shouted at her. However, because of Alina, he had scolded her three times today. She felt really wronged.

Bennett found a chair and sat down. He set a laptop on his lap and quickly drafted out an agreement for shares transfer. While he was typing furiously, he couldn't help but look up at Alina. Although she was really moved that Lincoln wanted to transfer some shares to her, she had no intention of accepting his offer.

She stood up and bowed respectfully to Lincoln. "Grandfather, thank you, but I can't accept your gift."

Her nose felt a little stuffy. Alina's voice was choked up as she was overwhelmed by the sudden offer.

Lincoln looked at Alina and said kindly to her, "Lina, I've decided to give some of my shares to you. Just accept it as a gift. Don't feel burdened or ashamed. At my age, I'm getting closer to the day when I will leave this world. It would cheer me up if you would accept the shares happily. Don't take this opportunity away from me, okay?"

Alina didn't know what to say.

What should she do? How could she refuse?

Lincoln sincerely wanted to give the shares to her. If she insisted on refusing his goodwill, he would be disappointed and unhappy. Alina didn't want to disappoint him.

She looked to Wilson again for help.

Wilson smiled at her gently. "Since Grandfather wants to give his shares to you, you should accept it gladly!"

"But..." Alina was caught in a dilemma.

George's family was vexed at how the tables had turned.

Rainee scoffed sarcastically, "Oh, some people could really put on a show! She's more believable than professionally trained actresses!"

Nancy muttered under her breath. "That's right. Grandfather is such a gullible old man. If I had known about this, I would have put on an act as well!"

Upon hearing this, Rainee pretended to scold her. She poked Nancy on the forehead. "Look at yourself, what's the use of you? I spent so much money sending you overseas to learn how to act. On the other hand, look at that professional actress in front of you right now. Her acting is flawless! In comparison to her, you're hopeless."

Regardless of rank or status, women caught up in a fight would pay no mind to the consequences. In a quarrel, they lost their polite facade, revealing an ugly and horrible personality underneath. Lincoln's expression was full of displeasure. With a frown, he stood up and said solemnly, "This matter has been decided. I don't want to hear any objections from all of you. Otherwise, don't blame me when you bear the consequences. Wilson, Lucas, and Colton accompany me as I greet the guests. Don't keep them waiting."

"But Grandfather..." Alina said anxiously when she saw Lincoln stand up and was about to leave.

He turned to Alina with a kind smile. "Lina, if you insist on refusing the shares, please accept them as a wedding gift to you and Wilson. I'll transfer my shares to you on the day of your wedding. What do you think?"

"Well, this..." Alina was still caught in a difficult situation, but she knew that she was being unreasonable.

On the other hand, if she accepted the shares from Lincoln, 5% would be of great help to Wilson. After thinking about it, she bit her lower lip and finally nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Grandfather." With that, she could no longer hold back her tears.

In the main courtyard, Lincoln and his three grandsons went to each table to propose a toast.

This was a longstanding tradition over the years on Lincoln's birthday. Lincoln didn't want to neglect any of his guests, but there were more than a hundred tables. If he had to toast at every table, he would be dead drunk by the end of the celebration. Furthermore, it wasn't good for his health either.

Therefore, at each table, one of his grandsons would drink a tiny glass of wine in Lincoln's place.

The three grandsons took turns to toast at every table. Although by the end of it, they would be slightly tipsy, they were still far from getting drunk.

Wilson was uneasy about leaving Alina alone. When he left the table, he whispered in her ear, "Lina, wait for me to come back. I won't be away for long! If you can't bear it, you don't have to. Anyway, it's not your fault that they were trying to make things difficult for you!"

"Alright!" Alina nodded.

Only then did Wilson follow behind his grandfather and accompany him to the main courtyard. Before leaving the private courtyard, he turned back and fixed his gaze on Alina. He was still worried about her. ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐