Chapter 277

Wanda pressed, “Do you happen to know Carlisle?”

Recognition flitted across Gerard’s features as he asked, “He’s my nephew. Do you know him?”

Phoebe and Christine were taken aback by this sudden Information: Christine, in particular, finally understood why she found Gerard so familiar.

She had never met Gerard before, but he shared a lot of resemblance with Carlisle’s father, hence the elusive similarity.

“Carlisle and I went to the same high school, and now we’re classmates in college,” Christine explained frankly. She then gestured to Wanda and began to say, “And she’s his-”

“I went to high school with him as well. We’re in the same college now, but we’re in different classes,” Wanda interrupted.

She knew Christine intended to introduce her as Carlisle’s girlfriend, and she would have allowed it if they were dining with Carlisle’s father instead of his uncle.

Wanda had missed out on Carlisle’s college entrance celebration due to being abroad, but she had Lily take photos and send them to her. If she remembered correctly, Gerard hadn’t been present at the celebration.

More importantly, Gerard didn’t seem like he had taken care of the rest of his family despite owning a construction company. This alone hinted at some sort of family rift.

If that were the case, Wanda wouldn’t treat Gerard any differently than she did her other customers.

Gerard and Maria brightened up when they heard that Christine and Wanda were friends of Carlisle’s.

Maria grinned as she said, “Well, what a coincidence! Seeing as you’re both Carlisle’s classmates, could you waive the loan interest for us and extend the repayment period by a year? Oh, make that three years!”

She was smiling so much that her plump face dimpled with the effort. She was starting to regret the cruel way she spoke about Carlisle and his family.

But just because Carlisle was useless to her, it didn’t mean the same was true of his classmates.

Christine faltered when she heard Maria’s ridiculous requests. She parted her lips to protest, but no words

came out.

She owed Carlisle for saving his life, and she couldn’t very well repay him by being so uptight with his family.

Phoebe lowered her gaze and took a sip of her drink, knowing it wasn’t her place to get involved in this

matter.

Wanda was silent for a moment before she said slowly, “We can’t waive the interest, but we’ll gladly

extend the loan repayment by two months.”

She had set up this company to make a profit.

She doubted she had anything to gain from getting Into Gerard’s and Marla’s good books. This was especially true if they were on bad terms with Carlisle and his family.

SwiftFunds Financial Investment gave out short–term loans with repayment periods that ranged from a

week to a month.

In other words, Wanda was already doing Gerard a huge favor by extending the loan repayment by two

months.

Maria’s face fell when Wanda refused to budge. She snapped, “What’s a two–month repayment period going to do for us? The money for our project wouldn’t even come in by then!”

“You’re Carlisle’s friend from high school, and this is the best you can do for us?”

Gerard took a sip of his wine and then asked, “Did Carl pick on you at school?”

Christine and Wanda shook their heads in unison.

“I can only assume that he had a bad streak at school and you both hate his guts, then,” Gerard said flatly.

Wanda retorted, “I think that’s enough conjectures from you, Mr. Zahn. Carlisle was an excellent student, and everyone wanted to be his friend.”

Gerard froze. He was about to say something when Wanda continued, “That aside, let me reiterate that I’m granting you the one–month extension because you’re Carlisle’s relatives.”

Maria sneered, “How is that doing us a favor? Other loan companies could offer up to two or three months of extension without making a fuss over it. Some of the extensions even go up to a year!”

Jenny, who was silent the whole time, couldn’t help pointing out defiantly, “Then why don’t you go and ask for a loan from those companies?”

The interest rates for loan companies were naturally higher than those offered by the banks. The interest that came with a short–term loan extended by two or three months or even a year–was terrifying at best.