Chubby Mommy: Scheming Daddy, Surrender Now!-Chapter 188: L’s Warning

Ruby Sullivan almost sprinted to the elevator. Fortunately, it opened right away, and her mentor didn’t follow. She tried to remain calm, and the moment the elevator doors closed, she finally exhaled deeply, as if she had just survived an intense guerrilla battle, her back feeling cold.

Before Daydream went public, she couldn’t let anyone know about her departure from The Sterling Group, especially L.

However, she wasn’t sure she could put on a flawless act in front of her mentor. That man had an undeniably terrifying presence in her heart.

The next day, Howard was waiting for her in the lobby of The Sterling Group early in the morning to take her upstairs.

"The fingerprint access to the lab hasn’t been changed, and your office is still there," Howard said in the elevator.

"After all, the lab staff doesn’t know I’ve resigned," Ruby felt these were just diversions.

Only the higher-ups knew about her resignation. To protect the news, her salary was still deposited on time, meaning even HR didn’t know.

Howard felt somewhat awkward when he heard her deduction and gently explained, "Actually, Mr. Sterling hasn’t found a new perfumer, perhaps he’s still waiting for you to come back."

Ruby smiled, "Maybe I’m just not mature enough to have my ex-husband as my boss..." She pursed her lips, "It’s not a pleasant thing."

"Understood." Hearing her say this, Howard didn’t say anything more.

It was not business hours at The Sterling Group yet, so the lab was naturally deserted. Ruby felt a little sentimental looking at the familiar equipment. She went into her office, put on the long-lost white coat, and immediately started working.

Only by working could she set aside all distractions, and only by solving problems early could she reunite with her children sooner.

Young entered the lab and saw someone already working. Judging by the figure, he thought Tina was suddenly working hard and couldn’t help but tease, "Is the sun rising in the west today? Why are you here so early?"

Hearing the voice, Ruby recognized who it was and turned around with a test tube, smiling, "Long time no see."

Young was petrified on the spot, "Oh my, am I seeing things?"

From the time Ruby was hospitalized until now, he hadn’t seen her for more than two months and never expected her to suddenly appear in the lab.

Ruby chuckled, "Come on, quickly change and get to work."

"Alright." Young responded enthusiastically, immediately changing into his work clothes and putting on a mask.

She brought up the data from the computer and described the problems they encountered during the formulation process once more.

Ruby nodded, "When I just started with the first half, I encountered the same issue you did. The orange blossom scent crafted with the formula I provided was completely different from what I had at home."

Young turned the computer screen for her to see the data on it, "These are the various attempts I’ve made over the past few days. We believe that reducing the proportion of ginger extract to this level gives the best scent."

Looking at the data alone could only remind people of the effect at the time, but Ruby didn’t participate in the experiment, so she wasn’t sure what this "best" scent was.

"Bring out the samples you formulated."

"Okay." Young followed the order and immediately went to the refrigerated cabinet to fetch them.

Soon, the young women in the lab started entering one by one. Seeing Ruby, they were all pleasantly surprised, feeling as if the backbone had returned.

Claire even went straight up to hug Ruby, "Boss, we’ve missed you so much."

They were genuine words. They didn’t feel much during the first week of Ruby’s absence, but once all her arrangements were carried out and the previously tense and orderly work atmosphere suddenly changed, it wasn’t that they had no work, but doing anything lacked organization and was chaotic. When disagreements arose, there was no one to mediate, let alone a figure of authority to instantly solve their problems.

Initially, they even organized a group to buy Howard a meal, hoping to get some news about Ruby from him. All they learned was that she was hospitalized, and their visitation requests were naturally declined.

Unexpectedly, when they received Ruby’s email again, she had already gone to Meridia for further training.

In the evening, Ruby invited everyone for a team-building, and what the young women most wanted to know was why she chose to go to Meridia for training at such a critical moment.

There were a lot of rumors in the group about this matter, saying it was because of pressure from the board, and since the results of Dreamland did not meet expectations, Ethan Sterling had sent her away to protect his wife.

After Claire finished sharing those stories, Ruby couldn’t help but clap, and after a laugh, she said, "Actually, it’s because my father has been receiving treatment in Meridia. In his current condition, it’s best to have family around, so... after weighing things for some time, I decided to go. The requirement from The Sterling Group was that I couldn’t delay the launch of Daydream."

"Wow, Mr. Sterling is so strict with his wife," Wendy couldn’t help but marvel.

Claire, with an understanding expression, smirked, "What else? Does The Sterling Group owe its glory today to Mr. Sterling’s good looks?"

Hearing this, Ruby suddenly recalled Ethan’s own words and couldn’t help but laugh, "That’s exactly what he thinks."

After she spoke, everyone burst into laughter.

Having not seen everyone for a long time, Ruby felt as if she’d returned to her early days at The Sterling Group. While serious problems still loomed ahead, the laughter and chatter made her feel much more at ease.

After the gathering, Howard came to pick her up, and she was still humming a song when she got into the car.

But Ruby didn’t expect Dr. L to be waiting for her in the lobby.

Her heart sank, thinking she really should have stayed at a different hotel yesterday.

"Mentor." Ruby smiled as she stood before Dr. L, feigning innocence, "You wouldn’t be waiting for me, would you?"

A bit of alcohol can make expressions exaggerated, eyebrows dancing uncontrollably, and the gaze a little wandering, just like always.

Dr. L smiled, "You don’t need to be afraid. I’ve come to ask if you know anything about Rhonda Sullivan. I heard she... went mad." He studied Ruby’s expression, keen to know if there’s any connection between Rhonda’s downfall and her.

"Mad?" Ruby found it hard to believe him. How could a woman who always placed herself at the center go mad?

"It seems you truly don’t know." L stepped forward and patted her on the shoulder, "Ethan Sterling is far scarier than you think." With that, he slowly walked out of the hotel.

Ruby returned to her room full of doubt, unable to imagine how a woman like Rhonda could have gone mad. L’s words suddenly surfaced, causing her to shudder involuntarily, "Could it really be related to Ethan Sterling?" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

She hesitated as she took out her phone, wanting to call Dr. L, but couldn’t bring herself to dial. Suddenly, her phone screen lit up.

L seemed to have guessed her thoughts and sent her the hospital address where Rhonda Sullivan was.

"I don’t know what happened between you, but it’s said her child is gone. Now..."

Ruby stared at the ellipsis at the end of the message, feeling a sense of helplessness.

At that moment, a call from Ethan Sterling came in, catching her off guard. She answered it somewhat flustered, "Hello?"

"Howard said he sent you back to the hotel, was everything smooth?" Ethan Sterling had just seen off the kids.