Jeremy was convinced that Lilly and Joseph had been completely brainwashed by Linda, and he felt sorry for John for not having anyone on his side. He turned to give Jackson the bottle, but Jackson was not pleased at all, "Maybe next time you will listen to Ms. King, and save us all from this unnecessary problem", he grabbed the bottle from his hand,
"I am sorry, I-", Jeremy stuttered, the man who was just grinning a second ago while talking to Lilly now had a cold and chilling aura,
"Don't apologize to me, apologize to little Ms for getting her scolded for your stubbornness", he then took out the bottle of vintage wine Linda left and gave it to Jeremy, "No one knows Lily and Joseph more than Ms. Linda! You remember that next time! She even took all the blame.".
Jeremy politely reached for the bottle and slowly walked towards the door where Joseph was patiently waiting for him, "Linda got this for you", he said handing him the wine. Joseph's eyes sparkled with joy, "This girl takes such good care of us. Come, son." Joseph gave the wine to the helper who was waiting behind him.
The lunch table was set up for four people on a beautiful bright garden patio. The table was covered with white plates, and shortly after they sat, the helpers came with a variety of entrees. Seeing so many food options, Jeremy was left in shock, upon noticing the look on his face Lilly quickly explained, "Sorry son, you are the first boy Linda has brought home, we couldn't help but go all the way, please feel free,"
Linda chuckled, "Grammy, aren't we exaggerating? I brought Tom home, remember Tom?"
Lilly replied with a facepalm "A stray cat doesn't count Linda.",
"But granny...", cried Linda,
"But nothing. Anyway, my granddaughter is so capable, your grandfather was mad at me after our conversation, and we were nervous thinking we may have been hard on you. It was not okay of us to threaten to sell your mother's gallery. We could have just simply explained our intention. I am really sorry, I know how much your mother's art means to you.", Lilly said looking at Linda with a sorry face,
Joseph held Lilly's hand and gave her a warm smile, then turned to Linda "Yes my girl, we are really sorry for that...our hearts were in the right place, but our approach was just selfish...", Joseph added,
Linda knew why her grandparents went to such lengths, the only person she had apart from them was Sharon and it probably would have remained like that if they had not forced her to find a husband. Linda believed her life was already chaotic and dangerous enough, having a bigger circle would only make her more vulnerable to her uncle's attacks. But funny enough, Jeremy amused her, maybe it was because he reminded her of Tom, fragile and in need of saving.
"It is okay, I know you guys meant well, and look, I did bring a real boy home after all",
They laughed upon hearing her say that, Linda always had a great sense of humor, only to those close to her. The table was filled with jolly chats and laughter, mostly from Joseph, Lilly, and Linda. Jeremy ate his food quietly and just observed the trio chat and laugh, the atmosphere felt relaxed and laid back. His suit was starting to suffocate him, he was told that the table would be filled with business talk, but he hadn't heard a single word about business. The interaction between the three of them is different from what John described.
Lilly seeing Jeremy deep in his thoughts, "Jeremy, are you okay son? Is the food good? Linda tells me that you own a restaurant, please do tell us if the food doesn't have enough seasoning", Linda smiled at her grandmother
Jeremy laughed awkwardly, "No no ma'am, the food is quite good, I love it actually, I was just thinking of asking the chef for the recipe for this broccoli soup",
"Oh no Jeremy, then we will have to charge you...", laughter could be heard from the patio,
Joseph called the helper and asked her to bring out a bottle of wine to pair with the grilled fish and baked potatoes. "Oh Linda, thank you for that bottle of wine, I have been searching for a 1984 red wine, and you just saved my incomplete collection",
Linda was confused at first, and then quickly figured out that her driver must have given the bottle to Jeremy, "Oh grandpa, don't worry about it, it had been in my car for a while now, I actually forgot to leave it on our last Sunday dinner"
Lilly would occasionally include Jeremy in the conversations, and he would respond and then revert to his aloof self. Seeing how Linda interacted with her grandparents, how relaxed she looked, and her smile was a completely different scenery for Jeremy, 'She is very different outside the office, how can a cold person like that have such a radiant and gorgeous smile'. Jeremy was drawn to her golden radiating face, the way her thin fingers occasionally fixed her hair, 'Wow, she is a goddess!', Jeremy would have such thoughts from time to time, and from time to time he would remind himself of the mission, 'if it goes on like this, I will be in trouble'.
It was now time for dessert and Lilly enjoyed preparing the desserts herself, she asked Linda to join her in the kitchen to plate up the vanilla pudding she had prepared earlier leaving Joseph and Jeremy alone. When Linda stood up, Jeremy stole a few glances and then focused his attention back to the glass of wine in front of him.
In the kitchen, Lilly was curious about Linda's way of thinking, she raised her for 26 years, but she still couldn't figure out her own granddaughter's mind "So in all the 150 people you interviewed, You chose that one??"
A shocked Linda dropped the knife she was using to cut the fresh fruits to add to the pudding, "How did you know about the interviews?". If her grandparents knew about the interviews and Jeremy, then there is a chance that they know about Jeremy's past and his association with John.
Lilly leaned closer to her granddaughter to whisper, "So Jeremy is it? Linda, what are you thinking? Marrying your uncle's informant??! Are you crazy?!"