Chapter 8 Private Lawyer Arrives

Jessica's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, her fingertips curling instinctively.

Her heart sank instantly; as expected, things weren't that easy. She knew the rules of this world too well—there's no such thing as a free lunch.

A young man willing to pay three hundred and thirty thousand dollars in cash for an SUV, and willing to pay one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to have her handle the acquisition of a small-town company, couldn't possibly have no strings attached.

She had seen too many men like this.

The middle-aged customers at the dealership with potbellies, the hypocritical old lawyers at the town's law firms, and even Jimmy, the idle eldest son of the Williams Family, had all once tried to lure her into vacationing with him in the Bahamas using a fake "one hundred thousand dollar annual salary" job offer.

She slowly withdrew her hand, sat up straight, and put on her cold mask once again.

She had already prepared for the worst; as long as the request wasn't too outrageous, she would agree to it.

After all, her father's rehabilitation fees couldn't wait, and her mother's fingers were so deformed that she couldn't even hold a knife and fork.

"Tell me," she said, her voice slightly dry, her eyes carrying a trace of imperceptible wariness.

Mu Xin seemed not to notice her change in demeanor. He leaned back into his chair, his tone as casual as if he were talking about the weather:

"The one hundred and fifty thousand dollar acquisition legal fee will be paid in full, transferred to your account immediately after the deal is done."

"But I need you to quit your job at the dealership immediately and become my exclusive private legal counsel."

"Private legal counsel?"

Jessica was stunned. She had completely not expected this to be the condition Mu Xin was proposing.

She had originally thought he would ask her to lower the legal fees, or ask her to help with things bordering on illegal, or even...

She shook her head to drive those unsavory thoughts out of her mind and asked somewhat uncertainly:

"You want me to be your private legal counsel? Why? Although Oxford Town is small, there are two law firms here, and they are much cheaper than me."

"They won't do," Mu Xin shook his head.

"They only know how to handle divorce asset division and drunk driving cases; they can't even write a decent M&A contract."

"Furthermore, they are all people from the Williams Family, or have intricate connections with the Williams Family. I cannot trust them."

"But you are different. You are a full scholarship recipient from Columbia Law School and have worked in the cross-border M&A group at Sherman & Sterling for three years."

"Your professional capability is stronger than all the lawyers in Oxford Town combined. Moreover, you know the Williams Family's shady tactics better than anyone, and you hate them more than anyone else."

"The acquisition of the Water Purification Company is just the beginning." Mu Xin's gaze drifted out the window, looking at the main street of Oxford Town, which was only two blocks long.

"Next, I am going to build roads, schools, hospitals, and factories in Oxford Town."

"I want to turn Oxford Town from a small town of just over twenty thousand people into a modern city with a population of one hundred thousand."

"There will be countless legal matters in between, and I need someone I can trust to stay with me throughout."

Jessica listened quietly, her heart beating uncontrollably.

She looked at Mu Xin's profile; the sunlight shone through the glass window onto his face, casting a golden halo around him.

The words spoken by this young Chinese man sounded like a fantasy, yet his eyes were incredibly firm, as if every word he said would become reality in the future.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

No matter how unrealistic Mu Xin's plan sounded, the most important thing now was what this job could bring her.

"Then... what about the salary?" she asked cautiously, her voice carrying a trace of imperceptible tension.

She calculated silently in her heart; even if Mu Xin paid her sixty thousand dollars a year, it would still be more than what she earned now from selling cars plus her part-time work.

If she could get eighty thousand, she could immediately hire a 24-hour caregiver, and wouldn't have to get up at five in the morning every day to wash her father, only getting to sleep at midnight.

Mu Xin turned his head, looked at her, and asked calmly: "What was your annual salary when you were at Sherman & Sterling?"

Jessica was taken aback and answered instinctively: "When I left, I had just been promoted to a third-year associate. My base salary was one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, and with the year-end bonus, it was about two hundred and forty thousand dollars a year."

"Then I will give you half of that," Mu Xin's voice sounded calmly, "an annual salary of one hundred and twenty thousand dollars, paid monthly."

"There are four weeks of paid annual leave each year, and all work expenses, including transportation, communication, and travel costs, will be fully reimbursed. If the project is done well, there is also a year-end bonus equivalent to three months' salary."

"Boom!"

Jessica felt as if her head had been struck by a heavy hammer; it went blank instantly.

One hundred and twenty thousand dollars a year!

She couldn't believe her ears.

She was currently selling cars at the dealership; in good months she could earn thirty-five hundred dollars, and in bad months only a little over two thousand.

Adding in the occasional part-time legal work, working herself to the bone all year, she earned at most sixty thousand dollars.

The salary Mu Xin was offering was exactly double what she made now!

With this money, not only could she immediately scrape together the fifty thousand dollars for her father's rehabilitation treatment in Philadelphia next month, but she could also hire a professional caregiver to look after her parents 24 hours a day.

She would no longer have to drag her exhausted body to massage her father, feed him, and wash him after getting off work every day. She would no longer have to watch her mother unable to sleep all night due to the pain from rheumatoid arthritis, yet unable to bear buying a better bottle of painkillers.

She could even save up enough for a down payment on a small house in Florida within a year, and take her parents away from this cold, damp town filled with painful memories.

However, after the immense surprise came an even deeper vigilance.

She knew men's minds too well.

How could a young, wealthy, single man offer such a high salary to a young, beautiful, single woman without any strings attached?

She instinctively clutched the corner of her clothes, her fingertips turning white from the force. She looked up and examined Mu Xin carefully.

He was wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans, his hair a bit messy, looking no different from an ordinary college student. But his eyes were exceptionally calm, so calm that he didn't seem like a young man in his early twenties.

There was no lecherous glint in his eyes that was common in those other men; no greed, no desire, and no condescending charity.

The way he looked at her was like he was looking at a commodity, a valuable commodity. What he valued was her professional capability, not her face or figure.

But Jessica dared not believe it.

She had seen too many wolves in sheep's clothing; those men all acted refined and gentlemanly, but once given the chance, they would reveal their hideous true colors.

She bit her lip and asked with a slightly hoarse voice: "Just this? No other conditions?"

Her meaning was clear. She had already prepared herself; as long as the request Mu Xin made wasn't too outrageous, she would agree to it.