America 1982-Chapter 216 - 76: My Days at the Fraternity Have Just Begun_4

"No need to get excited, this is the reward you deserve. If you performed poorly, I would get rid of you just as decisively as I’m giving you this sports car now," Tommy patted the other person’s shoulder and said to Holly:

"Holly, when you get a chance, transfer another portion of your Hope Company shares to Mark. Give Mark some motivation. After all, you don’t have the energy to manage it."

Then Tommy walked over to Susan, who had changed her look from the one she had at Hope. Her long hair was now tied up in a high ponytail, and she was dressed in loose, comfortable casual wear, fiddling with a pen in her hand. Sitting there, she looked sunnier and full of the youthful vitality appropriate to her age. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"A post-dated check for twenty thousand dollars." Tommy took a check out of his pocket and handed it to Susan.

Susan looked at Tommy with a puzzled face. Tommy nodded: "Keep it."

Receiving the check, Susan asked, "But you’ve already paid for my community college tuition, and I don’t need this money. My part-time job at Hope is enough to cover my expenses at school."

"I’ve also prepared the tuition and other fees for Stanford University. Let me put it this way, girl. Paying for your community college comes with a price; it’s an investment. If you get a transfer acceptance from Stanford, I’ll add an A to your personal scorecard. If it’s a public university like the University of California, then it’s a B. And as for transfer notices from other rubbish universities, don’t bother to inform me to congratulate you. Just cash this check and disappear from my sight forever, because there are too many worthless people in the world who don’t work hard, and I can’t find a reason to congratulate this world on having one more."

Tommy looked at the woman who had always believed in herself and grew up in the mud:

"If you think climbing upwards is too tiring, just take a look at this check. It will tell you that if you lie down until graduation, the rest of your life is only worth twenty thousand dollars."

Susan shook the check in her hand, adorably shrugged her shoulders, and tore it up on the spot: "I won’t give it the chance to face off with me. Remember to get a new check cashed, ’Daddy’ Tommy."

Tommy affectionately touched Susan’s head: "Good girl. Just remember, if you don’t work hard, you’ll be worth as much as these pieces of the check, which is nothing. I know you won’t let me down because you’ve never disappointed me since I met you. Every performance of yours deserves an A."

"Sophia will never make a good lawyer. Lawyers shouldn’t engage in such emotional behavior as crying." Finally, Tommy walked up to Sophia, who had already teared up while Tommy was talking to the others, repeatedly wiping her tears after taking off her glasses.

Hearing Tommy’s words, she laughed with a sob: "I’m just... just feeling a bit sentimental. I know we’ll see each other again, but... but it won’t be the same as before. I remember Jason and Holly bickering over at those office desks before, and I remember Susan changing her clothes loudly."

She tried hard to laugh it off, wiping away the tears with her fingers: "It’s all Tommy’s fault... If he had agreed to take a break from school and continue to run Actor Corporation, he could handle everything smoothly, and we could all still be around him every day, seeing each other. Instead of... letting everyone... part like this... it’s heartbreaking, unbelievable. I worked in this garage for so long, I thought not having to work would be a relief, no longer tiring, but when the time actually came when I wasn’t busy anymore... I... I miss those days of hard work for Actor Corporation."

Jason, Holly, Mark, and Susan saw Sophia’s reaction, and they also felt saddened. Although Jason and Holly were still working in Silicon Valley, and EFF’s office was only three kilometers away from Actor Corporation, even if they met often, it was unlikely that they would relive the scenes where the group was uninhibitedly chatting and gesturing in the garage.

Susan had moved into the student dorms of Davenport Community College, leaving only Mark living in the apartment they had initially rented together. They might still see each other often at work, but they wouldn’t walk home together every day, sit on the couch making phone calls, order takeout, watch movies together.

Everyone was the same, but life was entirely different. Sophia thought hard and could only blame it all on Tommy. Because Tommy had the ability to handle everything, as long as he was willing to continue to put in the time and effort, everyone would still gather around him, acting on his every decision. But he refused, and he distributed these responsibilities to the people in front of him, completely disbanding them.

He’s such a jerk, Sophia thought sadly, looking at the smiling Tommy in front of her.

Why couldn’t it be like before when everyone worked together happily, regardless of gender, fighting over the last cup of coffee, the last slice of pizza...

Tommy took out a tissue and handed it to Sophia, saying with a smile: "You need to be happy, Sophia. These guys all have vacations. Set a time each year to get together for a few days. It will be better than sticking together all day. And you and your friends need to keep growing, to make sure you and your friends always stay on the same level, so you can be friends for life. That way, I can proudly tell the world that everyone in this garage right now is my friend, not some pitiful chicks living under the wing of Tommy Hawk."