“Mr. Malibu, welcome to Somerland.”
Jasper approached to greet Malcolm and his wife Kelly as they alighted the MPV hand in hand.
Malcolm was a middle-aged man in his 40s, and while his features looked stern, his smile was infectious.
“Hello, Mr. Laine. Thank you for having us.”
Jasper turned to look at Kelly and smiled. “And this beautiful lady must be Mrs. Kelly, correct?”
Kelly shook Jasper’s hand politely. “What a young man you are, Mr. Laine.”
Jasper laughed aloud and turned to pull Wendy over to introduce her, “This is Miss Schuler, my girlfriend.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Malibu, Mrs. Kelly.” Wendy shook both their hands amicably.
Malcolm looked at Wendy and then exclaimed to Jasper, “What a lucky man you are, Mr. Laine, to have found such a beautiful and distinguished lady.”
“I believe we’re both lucky men in this regard, Mr. Malibu.” Jasper smiled.
He had praised three people in one sentence alone. This was the art of speaking.
From Malcolm and Kelly’s expressions, they seemed relatively happy about it.
The group entered a reserved private room, and Jasper smiled at Mrs. Kelly who was looking around at the interior design curiously. “Since this is the first time you two have been in Somerland, I thought I’d find a place where both the food and interior could represent our culture. I hope it’s to your liking.”
“I already like the interior design,” Kelly spoke with glee.
Jasper smiled and cued Wendy with a look.
Wendy understood and pulled out the gift they had prepared in advance.
“I know you’re from Indiana, Mr. Malibu, just like the superstar Jackson, so I thought I’d get you a signed limited edition collectible album for you. I hope it’s to your liking.”
Taking over Jasper’s gift, Malcolm spoke excitedly, “Oh. This is the 1989 platinum collectible edition! I’ve been searching for it for a long time but couldn’t find it anywhere. Thank you, Mr. Laine, you’ve helped fulfill a dream of mine.”
Wendy was giving Kelly a gift too.
“Mrs. Kelly, this is a gift I got for you. It’s a small handmade panda pendant. Pandas are Somerland’s national animal. I heard you like pandas, Mrs. Kelly, so I hope you’d like this small pendant as well,” Wendy spoke amicably.
Mrs. Kelly was surprised. “Oh my God! I’ve been wanting my husband to go to Criucia Province with me to see the pandas since this is my first time in Somerland. I didn’t think I’d get such a beautiful gift before I saw them. Thank you so much.”
Seeing that the two of them liked their gifts, Jasper and Wendy locked eyes and smiled.
With a great head start, the conversation between the four of them became very joyful.
Jasper had also found out that other than the ability to manage finances, Wendy was also very talented when it came to socializing.
She had made a great impression on Mrs. Kelly at least, and she managed to join the conversation in a way that matched Jasper seamlessly.
With Jasper hosting and Wendy supporting him, the atmosphere at the dinner table was relaxed and jubilant.
Westerners did not have the habit of speaking about business at the dinner table, so Jasper waited until they were finished and were resting in the lounge before he delved into the topic.
