Chapter 5531

Chapter 5531

Winnie said, “Thank you for the reminder, President Brown. I won’t accept a blind date like Mr. Tucker, no matter who introduced him to me. I mean it.”

She would have to give her mother and uncle a serious talking-to later.

Even if she wanted to get married, her marriage was her own decision.

Sonny nodded.

Winnie added, “My uncle and aunt are always introducing me to men. I’ve refused countless times. I’ve even had people investigate the men they introduce to me, and not one of them turned out to be any good.”

At first, whenever someone introduced a man to her, Winnie would have someone investigate him. She would find out about his flaws and then tell her relatives, thinking that would make them give up.

She had been too naive.

Instead of giving up, they only escalated things, continuing to introduce her to the same so-called “high-quality” men. That was when she finally realized that her relatives weren’t doing any of this for her benefit.

They simply wanted to use marriage to control her, make her feel indebted to them, and then use that debt to make more and more demands of her in the future.

Her grandfather had warned her before that she could maintain contact with the Jacques family—whether they were her maternal grandparents, uncles, or aunts—but she shouldn’t trust them.

In this world, aside from her grandfather, who genuinely cared for her without asking for anything in return, there was no one else who was truly good to her.

Even her mother had her own selfish motives.

Her mother always hoped Winnie would continue helping the Jacques family, especially her nephews and nieces, as though their struggles were somehow her responsibility.

Her grandfather had privately complained about her mother more than once, saying that she was sentimental but lacked common sense.

He had also said that when her parents were dating, he hadn’t been very supportive of their relationship. But Winnie’s father had fallen in love with her mother at first sight and had been completely devoted to her.

Her grandfather had only one son and had always doted on him, so in the end, he agreed to their marriage.

Grandpa had thought that Winnie’s mother, who had also been born into a wealthy family, would mature after getting married, becoming a mother, and taking responsibility for running a household.

But...

Knowing her daughter-in-law’s temperament, her grandfather had ultimately decided that he couldn’t let Winnie grow up under her mother’s influence.

Winnie said, “They probably have ulterior motives. They all have their own selfish reasons. They want my boyfriend to be someone they introduced so they can take credit as my matchmaker, benefit from the man, and then use that favor to make all kinds of demands on me.”

“My mother has asked me several times to arrange jobs for my cousins at the Francoeur Group. Their own company is either too small or isn’t doing well. My mother thinks it has no future and offers little room for advancement.”

“They say the Francoeur Group has a bright future and plenty of opportunities for advancement. As long as I arrange jobs for them, even if I don’t promote them or give them raises, they can work at the Francoeur Group for a few years and then leave to find other jobs. Many companies would be eager to hire them.”

“Some of my cousins are actually quite capable, but I can’t set that precedent. My grandfather told me never to let relatives work in the company because they’re more likely to develop ambitions of their own, which would be extremely detrimental to me.”

Grandpa Francoeur had said that before he retired, he would force the old guard out of the company so Winnie wouldn’t have to deal with them later or end up in constant conflict with them.

Even now, while she was still working at the company, everyone respected her as the successor, but her grandfather still wasn’t completely at ease about her future.

Those older executives had all been promoted by Grandpa Francoeur, and he understood their thoughts and ambitions better than Winnie did.

Grandpa Francoeur had told her that everyone had watched her grow up. If she took over the company as a younger generation and then began targeting the older generation, it could damage her reputation.

Therefore, he was willing to play the bad guy for her.

Many of the older employees understood this. Some had already resigned when Winnie took over the company, and the company had given them substantial compensation.

They had worked for the Francoeur Group for many years and had already made a great deal of money.

As they grew older, they could retire, enjoy their grandchildren at home, spend their later years peacefully, and still maintain their friendships with her grandfather.

After a pause, Winnie said, “They’re capable, but their character is questionable. They’re only pretending to be friendly with me. Their real goal is still the Francoeur Group.”

Having seen through her cousins’ ambitions, Winnie refused to pave the way for their futures, even though she knew some of them were genuinely capable.

She believed she had the ability to control them, but she could also simply ignore them. There was no need to suppress them or damage their family relationships.

Why make things difficult for herself?

It was better to refuse from the beginning and refuse completely, rather than fall into the trap of emotional blackmail.