Chapter 118: Then I’ll Just Call You Mom
Jane Lancaster glanced at Mama Knight, a curious look on her face. "How exactly are you testing him? Does Pauline know?"
Caleb Lowell explained patiently, "If Pauline knew, she’d probably help him."
He paused before adding, "I just set up a few obstacles to make sure his company’s development doesn’t go too smoothly."
He said it so casually, certain that Jane would understand his methods. After all, she didn’t think Gordon Dawson was a good person either.
Mama Knight looked like she wanted to speak but held her tongue.
’Mama Knight must think this is a bit high and mighty, right? Oh, and she probably feels indignant on my behalf.’
’After all, I was just falsely accused of strong-arming the Miller Family’s company, and Caleb Lowell sympathized with them. Yet when he does the exact same thing, it’s called a ’test’.’
’Little does she know, the main characters are the epitome of double standards. When the male lead does it, he’s showing his sharp judgment of character. I didn’t even do anything, and I’m already a power-abusing capitalist throwing her weight around.’
Caleb Lowell was slightly taken aback. ’How could she think of me that way?’
Jane glanced toward the door. "But I don’t think a test like this is necessary."
"What?"
"The fact that you decided to test him means you already approve of him. But a capable man should have his pride. Testing him like this will only humiliate him and make him leave Pauline. And if he swallows his pride, passes your test, and marries Pauline... do you really think that’s the kind of person you want to keep around?"
Yara Yates, who had hurried back, overheard this and stood at the doorway, lost in thought.
Ever since she discovered her daughter was likely dating someone, she had been reining herself in, resisting the urge to interfere.
Her daughter was an adult, after all, and should have her own judgment. Sometimes, her interference would only provoke a rebellious reaction and strain their mother-daughter relationship even more.
Instead, it was Caleb Lowell who came to her first. He said the boy’s family background was poor, but he wasn’t without his merits. Caleb was testing him, he’d said, so she shouldn’t worry.
Yara Yates had been convinced. Since her daughter liked him and Caleb said he was genuinely capable and could support her daughter in the future, what was there to object to?
But now, after hearing what Jane said, she suddenly felt that something was indeed not right.
Caleb Lowell’s brows furrowed. "I just wanted to give them a chance..."
"But the person in question might not see it that way. He might even feel that your self-righteous test is trampling on his pride."
Caleb Lowell was left speechless. He had never seen Jane be so aggressive.
She had always been so gentle and considerate with him. Even on the rare occasions they disagreed, she would never argue relentlessly.
"You know it too. That Gordon Dawson is no good..."
"What did you just say? Pauline’s boyfriend is Gordon Dawson?" Yara Yates cried out, shocked.
Caleb Lowell’s mind went blank for a moment. Only then did he realize she had come back.
"Auntie, this is a misunderstanding. Gordon Dawson isn’t a bad person..." he explained hastily.
Yara Yates’s temples throbbed, and she wasn’t listening at all. "No! The two of them can absolutely not be together!"
Jane quickly steadied her, rushing to get blood pressure medication from her purse and helping her take it. "Auntie Yates, please calm down."
Her gaze was steady. As Yara Yates stared at her, she gradually began to calm down.
Caleb Lowell watched the two of them, his face full of suspicion. He couldn’t help but suspect that Jane had deliberately provoked him into revealing Gordon Dawson’s name.
She was facing the door; she must have seen Yara Yates return the moment it happened, yet she hadn’t given him any warning.
"Jay, thank goodness for you." Yara Yates gripped Jane’s hand, her emotions having stabilized considerably.
Years ago, it was also Jane who had held her hand just like this, pulling her back from the brink of losing control.
She looked up at Caleb Lowell and gave a bitter smile. "Caleb, you’re a good kid. Even though we haven’t been very close these past few years, you still care about your auntie."
"You’re trying to prove to me that Gordon Dawson is worthy of her, aren’t you? This pressure you’re applying is just temporary. Your real goal isn’t just this, is it?"
At this point, Caleb Lowell couldn’t hide it any longer. "I’ve already discussed it with Uncle. Gordon Dawson is loyal to a fault. He has some talent, but his so-called brothers are dragging him down. That company of his has no reason to exist."
It suddenly dawned on Jane.
’So he’s not really trying to crush Gordon Dawson, but helping him trim the fat... Does this mean he’s grooming Gordon Dawson to be the successor to the Shaw Group?’
Yara Yates understood his intention as well. With difficulty, she asked, "Shaw agreed to this, too? ...Does he think Pauline can’t manage the company?"
Caleb Lowell said nothing, but his silence was an answer in itself.
Yara Yates sighed, forced to abandon the illusion.
If that was the case, then her husband’s and Caleb’s plan was the most fitting solution.
Finding a man who could bear the responsibility and grooming him properly... he could inherit the family business in their stead.
Still, she couldn’t accept it. The Shaw Group was her life’s work; she cared about its future even more than her husband did. How could she bear to hand it over to an outsider?
Yara Yates remembered something and declared suddenly, "No. No matter what, the Shaw Family and Pauline cannot be handed over to Gordon Dawson!"
Caleb began, "Auntie, you don’t have to let past prejudices..."
"This isn’t prejudice!" Yara Yates gave a bitter laugh. "Caleb, you don’t understand. If the Dawson Family were just any ordinary family, I would agree to this."
When she first learned that her daughter was getting into trouble and dating young, she didn’t just write Gordon Dawson off as a bad influence trying to corrupt her.
She figured that since Gordon Dawson was about to take his college entrance exams, his parents must be even more worried than she was. So, she went to their home, hoping to have a calm discussion with them.
But as fate would have it, she arrived just in time to see Mrs. Dawson bragging to a neighbor that her son was dating the daughter of a wealthy family, and that their whole family was about to hit the big time.
At the time, the neighbor pointed out that dating didn’t mean anything, that the two were still young and not even adults.
Mrs. Dawson replied, "What does that matter? As long as my son finds a chance to sleep with her and gets her pregnant, they’ll be begging for her to marry into our family."
"My son also said she’s an only daughter. Her family owns a big company. Is the daughter really going to inherit the business? Of course not. They’ll be counting on a son-in-law."
"Once my son becomes the boss, won’t he be the one calling the shots in the family? Sooner or later, that company will be named Dawson."
Yara Yates had spent years in the business world and had long since mastered the art of hiding her emotions, but even she couldn’t control her anger when she heard that.
"That Mrs. Dawson is practically illiterate. The only way she could say something like that is if her son told her."
Yara Yates sneered. "The whole family has it all planned out. They’re just waiting to skin the Shaw Family alive and pick our bones clean!"
She stepped out right then and there, scoffing that Mrs. Dawson could "dream on," and that she would never let her daughter marry into the Dawson Family in this lifetime—not even if Gordon Dawson were to marry into their family instead.
She had her say and left, wanting nothing more to do with people like that.
The next day, she followed her daughter to Mrs. Dawson’s market stall, only to hear her own daughter call Mrs. Dawson "Mom" with her own ears.
"Auntie, you’re so gentle. Is this what a mother feels like? I’ve never felt this before."
"I like you too! So pretty and so smart. If I had a daughter like you, I’d wake up laughing in my dreams." Mrs. Dawson’s eyes were filled with scheming.
Pauline Shaw, completely oblivious, affectionately hugged Mrs. Dawson’s arm. "Then I’ll just call you Mom! Mom!"