Chapter 142: Jason and Janet
"Ah-hem!"
A voice from behind made Easter flinch slightly, and Jason tilted his head to one side to see his mother giving Easter a hard glare from behind the counter! Easter’s cheeks flushed in slight anger before she turned and left Jason alone.
Mira smiled once she saw the woman leave her son alone, and Jason couldn’t help but give his mother a curious look. He walked over to her and kissed her gently on the cheek before he asked her what the hell she had done to make the reporters so mellow.
"Oh, it was nothing much... I just told them that about the CCTV cameras we had and threatened them with a lawsuit."
Jason raised a brow in shock and immediately asked his mother to explain!
It turned out that the reporters had been following Mira around for the past few hours since she left the house, and Mira had to use a section of the law to deter them from acting up. According to Riverdale law, building owners were allowed to sue any reporter or media personnel that caused issues in their building. The government created this law because of the growing number of social media influencers and how they were always causing issues for regular citizens in restaurants and business places. Once the law was created, the number of complaints dropped drastically.
This law extended to both restaurants and other businesses, so Mira had used that against the reporters. She allowed them to stay outside and do whatever they wanted, but when they were inside her building, they had to behave or she would submit the CCTV footage to the police.
The reporters had been rebellious at first, and they all stayed outside and tried to get pictures through the glass door, but after they stayed there for hours, they got hungry enough that some of them abandoned their post and had to go in for a meal, and that was what led to the restaurant being so filled up.
Jason chuckled at the entire story before walking over to grab an apron. Since there were so many people, he was sure that his mum needed help, but Mira suddenly waved her hand and told Jason not to worry. There was someone helping already.
Jason’s eyes narrowed in curiosity.
"What? Who?"
"Hey, mum. Did you say the burger should be well done or just done?"
A voice came from the kitchen in the back as a head poked out from the door, and Jason couldn’t stop his eyes from widening slightly when he saw who it was.
His sister Janet had always been beautiful. She had the same black hair and eyes as the rest of the family, and Jason knew that with her small nose and kind features, she would grow up to have a very motherly appearance. And as Jason stared at the woman in front of him, he knew that he had been right.
Janet’s hair was tied up into a topknot that kept it out of her face. She was wearing an apron over a t-shirt and faded jeans, and she held a spatula in one hand as she stood at the kitchen entrance with wide eyes. The scene was so nostalgic that Jason was thrown back many years to how they used to be for a split moment. But then, his eyes narrowed back to the present and he nodded to Janet.
"Janet."
That was the only greeting he gave, but it was enough to make Janet flinch like she had been slapped. She opened her mouth to try and give a greeting back to Jason, but Jason already turned away to look at his phone. A message just came in informing him that he had gotten a deposit in his bank of fifty-seven million, and Jason grinned before looking to his mother.
"Do you still have the building owner’s number? I want to speak to him."
Mira had a slightly pained expression on her face when she saw the lack of a proper greeting between her two children, but she didn’t want to cause a scene in front of so many reporters by telling them to make up here. She reached for her phone and gave Jason the number he wanted, and Jason thanked her with a small smile.
"I’ll be just outside."
Jason turned and started leaving the restaurant, and Janet took a step toward him while calling out his name. Jason didn’t bother responding to her as he left, and Janet grimaced at the dismissal. Janet turned to her mother to see that she was also staring at where Jason had gone with a sad look on her face, and Janet quickly spoke up.
"Mum, can you help me in the kitchen? I’ll go talk to him."
Mira immediately tried to stop Janet! What in the world did she think she was doing!? But Janet had always been the most impulsive of all her children, and so Janet was already leaving the restaurant before Mira could stop her.
Janet had come back to Riverdale on the night bus yesterday after Jason gave the okay. Mira wanted to tell Jason about it earlier, but she didn’t think it was a good idea since she knew Jason didn’t really want to know anything about what Janet was up to. Mira knew that Janet and Jason would eventually run into each other, but she had hoped that it would be under better circumstances. With so many people around, she didn’t think they could really resolve their issues. Mira sighed and went to the back room to check on the burgers. She just had to trust that her children would be fine.
...
"Hello, this is Jason Marc. My mother Mira Marc runs a restaurant in your building. I’d like to talk to you about buying the building."
Jason was currently leaning against his bike behind the restaurant. The reporters had tried to get close to Jason the moment he left the restaurant, but he managed to keep them away using regular bursts of mana and they allowed him to have his space when they saw that he was not in a good mood.
Jaspm folded his hands as the building owner on the other side of the phone immediately began to put up an argument. They brought up the fact that the building had been in their family for a long time and how they weren’t willing to sell for any amount! Jason just nodded along while responding.
"Yes, I know it’s been in your family for generations. Yes, I know. I said I know. Trust me, you’d want to hear my deal. I’m willing to buy the building for one million dollars."
The person on the other side of the phone almost choked!
[... R-Really? That’s quite a lot —]
"Yes, it’s a lot of money, the building is currently valued at seven hundred thousand, and that is if I’m being generous. So I think it’s a good deal for you to sell it for one million, isn’t it?"
All of a sudden, the building owner became respectful.
[Mr. Jason, I understand that you want that building but I just cannot sell it to you.]
"If you’re worried about your family’s reaction, then you can just buy them another building in another part of the city. Neither you nor your family live here, but my mum has worked in this building for more than fifteen years. I think it’s fair to give it to her for that amount."
Jason looked up as he saw Janet making her way through the crowd of reporters and heading for him, and he looked away to continue his conversation with the building owner.
"So, what do you say?"
[I... I’m sorry Mr. Jason. I just cannot sell you the building.]
Jason’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Why not?"
The landlord went silent for a few seconds as he thought about whether or not he should tell Jason what was happening, but after a while, he decided that Jason had a right to know, so he spoke up.
[There’s been a mass acquisition recently. A fast food company is looking to buy out all the major restaurants in the city and turn them into branch locations. In truth, I already sold the building and I was about to bring the news to your mother next month and tell her that she would need to leave. I’m sorry, but I just can’t sell it to you.]