Chubby Mommy: Scheming Daddy, Surrender Now!-Chapter 174: I’m a Painter

The Sterling Group, CEO’s Office.

Howard delivered an invitation, "Elder Finn’s granddaughter is getting married next week."

Ethan Sterling was focused on handling documents, mumbled "Mm," without even lifting his head. After a while, noticing Howard was still lingering in the office, he curiously asked, "Is there something else?"

"Apparently, Miss Finn and Wenny have a pretty good relationship," Howard said very tactfully.

Ethan Sterling was a bit surprised, but for a moment didn’t understand Howard’s purpose for saying so, so he looked at him, waiting for more.

Howard had been around Ethan Sterling for some time, so he quickly caught on to his boss’s expression.

"Actually, it was Naomi Sinclair who called and said you could use this opportunity to bring Wenny back for a get-together." Howard was speaking while observing Ethan Sterling’s expression, afraid of hitting a nerve.

Wenny’s sudden resignation stirred up quite a commotion within the company. Even some members of the Board weren’t shy about criticizing Wenny, completely forgetting that Ethan Sterling’s words could be extremely cutting when he wanted to spare no one’s feelings. It’s said that during the meeting, a member got so angry that he suffered a cerebral stroke and is still recovering in the hospital.

Ever since, everyone in the company knew Wenny was a taboo subject, and even discussing The Fragrance Lab was off-limits. So, more than a month went by, and not only was Wenny’s successor not appointed, Ethan Sterling seemed to have no intention of finding one at all.

The outside world still didn’t know about their divorce, thinking it was merely an act of caprice by Mrs. Sterling resigning.

Ethan Sterling put down his pen, "Got it, you can leave now."

He sighed, turning to face the window. This was the ninth day since Ruby Sullivan left, and during these nine days, he hadn’t had a single good night’s sleep, more troublesome than he imagined.

A few minutes later, he called Naomi Sinclair, skipping the pleasantries and getting straight to the point, "Ask Miss Finn to send Wenny an invitation."

Naomi Sinclair was playing a game, holding the phone with her neck while continuing to engage in battle, "What’s in it for me to help?"

"What do you want?"

"Ah... let me think, got it, have Leon Sterling be my partner that day, and I’ll agree."

"Okay."

"I like straightforward people like you." Naomi Sinclair laughed, suddenly in a good mood, ignored the game, put down the mouse, and picked up the phone to check the calendar, "Then after you confirm with him, have him treat me to dinner, and I’ll immediately talk to Dina about it."

"Never mind then." Ethan Sterling hung up after finishing.

Of course, he couldn’t decide for Leon Sterling, nor would he help her with such unreasonable matchmaking, besides, he knew well the answer his brother would give, he just... wanted to trick her into helping first.

Naomi Sinclair, unwilling to give up, called back immediately, "Does your brother have someone he likes? Why is he even more stubborn than you?"

"You should ask him." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Eh, never mind, I’ll do you the favor, you treat me to a meal at your place then." Naomi Sinclair settled for second best.

"My place doesn’t even have a cook who can make good food now, are you sure you want to eat at my place?" Right now, even having a meal was a big problem for him.

"Then figure out a way for me to meet Charles." Naomi Sinclair blamed it on him with a very unreasonable tone.

"Alright, come over then," Ethan Sterling thought, "how about tonight." After hanging up, he called his uncle to invite him over for dinner that evening and messaged Rachel Lawson, saying he was inviting his uncle over for dinner, asking her to prepare.

A few minutes later, Rachel, after seeing the message, called, but Ethan Sterling hung up immediately, informing Howard that he was busy. Of course, it was purely so Howard could deal with Rachel on his behalf.

Naomi Sinclair was overjoyed, looking in the mirror and tidying herself up, then quickly headed out to buy gifts for her visit.

Not knowing much about an artist’s likes, she specifically asked her brother to find friends in that field for her, and then ordered a unique brush set from a master, intending it as a gift for him. Unexpectedly, the gift sat at home for a long time, and she never got to meet him.

Hours later, standing in front of The Sterling Family’s door, Naomi Sinclair felt a bit nervous, several times reaching for the doorbell only to pull her hand back. Previously, while Leon Sterling’s reactions were polite, it was a politeness laced with caution, if he considered her a pest, it could turn into dislike, right?

She took a deep breath, deciding to play it by ear, and if he showed annoyance, she’d just blame Ethan Sterling, after all, it was him who invited her over.

Just as she figured this out, a familiar voice sounded behind her.

"Naomi, what are you doing here?" Her uncle walked over looking puzzled, dressed in a white and brown checkered suit, with a respectable hat, always dressed like a Britton gentleman, just a bit of a belly.

Naomi Sinclair didn’t much care for his outfit, but seeing him nonetheless cheered her up, she quickly went over to hook his arm, "Mr. Sterling said he’s treating me to dinner, let’s go in together."

Though confused, it was difficult for her uncle to refuse his daughter’s request.

As the father and daughter pair entered, Naomi Sinclair looked around for Leon Sterling, Rachel Lawson understandingly mentioned her son was in the studio but generally disliked being disturbed.

Naomi Sinclair took out the brush she’d prepared, "I want to give this to him, it’s just right for him to try out."

Seeing her eager look, Rachel Lawson didn’t have the heart to dampen her spirit, "You can go and ask."

"Great." Naomi Sinclair happily leaped from the sofa and quickly headed to the studio on the second floor.

Her uncle watched his daughter’s back with some concern, "Vivian, is your son’s willpower strong enough?"

Rachel Lawson replied, "Certainly not something your daughter can sway.

Upon hearing this, he was relieved, "That’s good, that’s good." If his daughter managed to seize the opportunity, he and Vivian would have had to dispel their doubts about forming a family alliance.

On the second floor, Leon Sterling heard a knock on the door, though he said "Come in," he didn’t pause his work.

Thinking it was probably a servant calling him for dinner, he didn’t turn around when he heard the footsteps.

Naomi Sinclair watched his painting filled with many overlapping dull tones, unable to discern what it depicted.

But it didn’t matter to her; wasn’t there a term in the art world called "abstract"? She couldn’t understand, but someone could, it was undoubtedly significant art. Recalling Rachel Lawson’s words, she didn’t rush to speak, standing quietly not far from the door, waiting for him to finish.

After over ten minutes passed, Leon Sterling remembered someone had come in, and seeing it was her startled him, then he wore a displeased look and spoke bluntly, "Miss Sinclair, why bother?"

Naomi Sinclair tensed all over, stammering an explanation, "Don’t misunderstand, it was Mr. Sterling, yes, Mr. Sterling invited me over for dinner."

Leon Sterling ignored her explanation, sneered, "What will it take for you to give up? I think changing my phone number because of you isn’t worth it." While he hadn’t blocked her before, she’d find a new number to call him the next day.

Naomi Sinclair sulked, "Why don’t you like me? Am I not pretty or is my figure lacking, or... do you think I’m not tall enough?"

"All of it," Leon Sterling decided he couldn’t be polite any longer.

"You’re an artist, how can an artist be so shallow? You should ignore these superficial traits and see my interesting soul." Naomi Sinclair, being farfetched, found herself relaxing instead.

"I’m a painter, I only care about visuals." Leon Sterling swiftly approached her, turned her by the shoulders, and pushed her out of the studio.