Switch

At the breakfast table Stephen and Susan looked at Jenny and Jason, who looked slightly tired. Though this normally wouldn't be anything to dwell on, especially the morning after a party and taking into account that neither of them are much of a morning person, but today something felt slightly off. Somehow, more often than not, Jenny had a way of telling them what the two of them had been up to. So, even though they no longer shared the same wing and they had wanted to give them privacy, Jenny made things so obvious that they might as well have slept in the room next door. Jenny's high-collared shirt, her slightly flushed cheeks, her awkwardly avoiding direct eye-contact. With questioning looks they stared at them for a moment, before quickly looking away when Jenny looked up after noticing their eyes on her. Stephen cleared his throat before returning to reading his paper and Susan smiled as she told them to sit down and start eating as they would be leaving shortly.

After a slightly self conscious breakfast, except of course for Jason who didn't care at all whether his parents knew or not, the four of them got in the car that would bring them to Jason's grandparents home. On the way over, each of them tried to make good use of their travel time. Jenny used the time to catch up on some lost sleep as she rested her head against Jason's arm, while Jason and Stephen talked over some business that they needed to look at after the break. Susan busied herself with some of her work for the education parts of the empire. Not only was she was in control of the high school, she was also part of the management of the University. This was a shared task because it was too much for just one person to overlook and manage. It was therefore something she held responsibility for along with her sister.

After Susan had gotten married, the two families started interacting more. The time together at family parties had led to another romance sprouting and turning into a second marriage between the two families. One between her sister and one of Stephen's cousins. It was a cousin Stephen trusted and knew was a kind soul interested in nothing more than helping the family business grow. In fact he had given his role as the co-manager of the Universities up to his wife in order to follow his passion, which was to teach.

His wife happened to have a degree in business management and actually enjoyed doing what he did because it was expected of him. So, after slowly handing over the reigns to his wife, he started to work the stock-market in his free time. Adding his profits to his wife's salary, they had more than enough of an income to live comfortably and then some. So, with money and the managing responsibilities no longer a problem of concern, he decided to do what he initially wanted to do and added to the empire by training the new bright minds as a professor at the business department. Teaching students how to put their ideas into profitable business. With their switch in roles, everyone was at the place they needed and wanted to be.

At the moment that said wife was exchanging messages with Susan to get their selection finalized for scholarships for the next round of students that would be starting classes in February. Being as wealthy as they were as a family and as a University, they took great importance in giving back to the community and help people who could normally not afford to attend, a helping hand. The scholarships ranged from partial, full and those that included housing near or on campus. With 2000 scholarships to give out, totalling over 200 million pounds, they had a big and important task on their hands. Luckily, they only needed to give their final approvement for the selected candidates and the pre-work had been done by a special council that handled these matters and looked at each entry before making their recommendations.

After a long but productive ride, they arrived at Prism mansion. When they entered the large, elegant mansion, some of the other family members had already arrived. Those that had been cut from the business because of their shady actions and betraying nature, had not yet found the heart and courage to return. Allowing Jenny to get better acquainted with the members of the family that had "survived" Jason and Stephen's sweeping. She was being welcomed with open arms and got along well with everyone she got to know. Jason had his arm around her at the beginning but when he saw that Jenny was doing fine, he left her to do the rest of the familiarizing on her own and went to spend some time with the family members that he had neglected and kept at a distance over the years that had turned out to be trustworthy. The house became filled with joyous laughter and a warmth only the presence of family can bring you. Making the start of this holiday a grand success as well. Perhaps in a few years, those that had now not dared to show their faces, would have seen the error of their ways and could join the festivities as well. For now they were only missed by the grandparents who loved all their children and grandchildren in their own way.