Chapter 68
The following week, Pepper arrived at the Harper residence with a sleek black folder in hand. She wore a navy blazer over a crisp blouse and looked every bit the executive she was about to become.
We gathered in the living room. Grandma had a proud glint in her eyes, while Dad and Uncle Charlie tried to look like they understood what was happening.
Pepper placed the folder on the table. "Here's the draft contract. I've already added some clauses for accountability, and one about fund participation. Nothing too aggressive—just making sure everyone has skin in the game."
Grandma picked it up first, scanning it with interest. I leaned back on the couch, arms crossed, watching.
"I like her," Grandma said after a moment.
Dad glanced over. "Mom, you were the one who introduced her."
"And I really have good taste," Grandma replied with a satisfied smile.
Charlie raised a brow. "She's also not bad to look at," he said with a charming smile on his face.
"Charlie," Grandma snapped, but Pepper just chuckled.
"I've dealt with worse," she said. "Way worse."
I looked up and added, "Oh yeah—add one more clause. If you end up in a relationship with my uncle, you're prohibited from any future retaliation, and we'll include a hefty penalty clause to make sure of it."
Charlie looked annoyed. "Jake!"
"What, Uncle? I learn from history."
"He is right!" both Dad and Grandma said at the same time.
Grandma sighed and added, "About relationships... too bad I don't have a good son to marry you."
"Mom!" now Charlie and Dad said together, offended.
Pepper just laughed again, clearly enjoying the chaos that came with the Harper household.
Then she turned to me, shifting back to business. "So, how much are you putting in initially to launch the company?"
"One million dollars," I said without hesitation. I had basically $1.2 million in the bank—outside the fund.
Pepper raised her eyebrows not impressed.
"Don't worry, Pepper, the year's almost over," I added with a smirk. "January is a great month for funding."
She looked at me, now more intrigued.
"That will be your first job. What do you know about BET?" I asked, my expression sharpening into something like a grin.
The rest of the Harper family exchanged knowing looks.
—
The next day, Pepper showed up again. We sat at the kitchen table, and she handed me a sheet of paper.
"This is the amount we can potentially make from the bets you proposed," she said.
I looked down and blinked. "Wow. 110 million after tax."
She had structured a detailed plan—multiple bets spread across the playoffs and the Super Bowl, involving various sportsbooks across the U.S. and even international betting houses, especially in Europe. The core idea was like placing $7.5 million on a combined bet with roughly 20-to-1 odds (average).
(Many bets weren't correlated, so even if one game went wrong, we wouldn't lose everything.)
"We'll be using multiple accounts and identities to avoid detection. All legal, of course (clearly using some kind of loophole)" she added, calm and methodical.
"Where are we getting the $7.5 million from?" I asked.
She smiled. "We'll use a loan—with the fund's capital as collateral."
She then added, with a dry tone, "Wouldn't it be easier to just buy a lottery ticket?"
I understood her. It was a huge gamble. But I just smiled. "Please, ask me that again on January 28th—after the game."
I leaned back and added, "Oh, and get us VIP box seats for the final, will you?"
She gave me a side glance, still skeptical.
"Now, about our first movie project," I continued. "It's called Paranormal Activity."
She raised an eyebrow, curious.
"We don't need much capital," I explained. "We use regular actors, a decent horror director, and shoot the whole thing in a single house. I was thinking... maybe my mom's place. It has the perfect look for a haunted story."
Pepper finally smiled. "Low risk, high tension. I like it."
Overhearing just the last part, Charlie chimed in with a beer in hand, "With your mother there, you just need your dad back and you've got a horror movie already."
I rolled my eyes.
—
That afternoon, I called Carly, Sam, and Freddie and invited them over to hang out. We settled in the backyard with some sodas and snacks, and I told them I wanted their help with something.
"Okay, hear me out," I said. "We're going to make a horror movie. It's called Paranormal Activity."
They all looked at me, surprised.
"Like, a real movie?" Carly asked.
"Yes. With real cameras, real distribution. And I want you guys to be involved—either acting, helping behind the scenes, or both."
Carly was already smiling. "I'm in. This sounds fun."
Sam shrugged. "If I get to throw stuff around and scream like an idiot, count me in."
But it was Freddie who looked the most excited. He leaned forward, eyes bright. "I'll bring my equipment. I've got some ideas for lighting and camera angles."
I grinned. "Perfect. I also have some ideas for how we'll move the camera."
Then I added, "But before anything else, we'll need to sign contracts. Since we're minors, we'll need our legal guardians to represent and authorize everything."
They nodded seriously, understanding it was more than just a fun project.
"I'll pay each of you two grand," I added. "I think we can finish everything in one or two weeks."
"You're paying us two thousand dollars?" the three of them shouted at once.
I just smiled.
If everything goes like the original, two thousand will just be pocket money. I can't wait to see their reactions when I hand them the real check.
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Omake: (A different start)
Waking up in a completely white space, a floating soul mumbled to itself, "Oh no. A pure white void? That's never a good sign. This is red flag for crap novel."
After wandering aimlessly for what felt like hours—but could've been minutes or days, who knows—a figure finally appeared.
"Alright, let's see... What do we usually get in this kind of scenario? God with a beard? Morgan Freeman? Aqua?"
But no.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, SAITAMA?!" the soul screamed, pointing at the bald, blank-faced man standing in front of him.
The man, who looked suspiciously like Saitama from One Punch Man, said in the same deadpan voice, "I'm here to tell you about your reincarnation process,"
"Great! So, do I get three wishes? Some kind of gacha pull? Cheat system?"
"No," Saitama replied calmly. "But I do have some discount tickets for the grocery store."
The soul glared. "This is a SCAM!"
"Don't worry," Saitama added. "I will grant you one thing: No one will notice you acting different."
Before the soul could complain, everything turned dark.
---
Jake opened his eyes.
"Buahh... buahh..." he cried.
(You f*ing scam. OF COURSE no one's gonna notice I'm acting different. I was reborn as a BABY!)
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