Chubby Mommy: Scheming Daddy, Surrender Now!-Chapter 265: Making Up Her Mind

An hour later, Ruby Sullivan changed into brand new clothes, and somehow the staff even managed to dry her soaking hair with a hairdryer, clearly showing they were quite familiar with Sasha Shaw.

Ruby knew nothing about local fashion brands and kept staring at the brand because of Sasha’s attitude but still couldn’t recall anything famous.

However, the two of them were now starving, and the most urgent task was to find a reliable restaurant to fill their stomachs.

The Japanese restaurant they had planned to visit was no longer appealing after Rhonda Sullivan spoiled the mood. They wandered around the mall and finally chose a Hong Kong-style porridge shop, where the soup was good for soothing the mood.

As they sat down, Ruby, recalling the scene in the clothing store, became curious, "Honey, there’s actually something I’ve always wanted to ask you. All these years, you’ve been running your own studio. Why haven’t you created your own brand?"

Given Sasha’s current capabilities, creating her own brand or even joining any top company as a designer would have better career prospects than her current studio.

While she had a lot of work, she remained active within a small circle. Without leveraging platform strength or creating a brand, she’d never reach the pinnacle of being a top designer.

When they used to get together, they would either talk about food, celebrity gossip, or, at worst, life’s trivialities since Ruby wasn’t working back then. Her world was only the garden’s plants and even then, there was nothing much to talk about Ethan Sterling, so Sasha naturally wouldn’t discuss circles beyond a friend’s reach.

Later, after Ruby became the chief perfumer at The Lawson Group, hmm... Both of them were so busy that they only had time to gripe about work, leaving no room for leisure chat.

On reflection, it seemed like the first time talking about work.

Sasha paused while biting the spoon of her porridge, said nothing, and then suddenly flashed a sly smile, "What about you? Why haven’t you ever thought about creating your own brand?"

Ruby puckered her lips, "Who said I wouldn’t? I signed a profit-sharing contract with The Lawson to pay off debts, so it’s impossible to start my brand then, but now that I’m back home..."

Sasha was aware of the mess Ruby faced after returning home, so she didn’t want to dwell on it, "In Meridia, I always worried I had no talent in operations and management. Besides perfuming, I was incompetent in everything else, so I didn’t dare to try."

But today, the cold water Rhonda poured over her removed all those doubts. Starting is the hardest, so she could just go ahead. If it didn’t work out... If it didn’t, she could just find another job. It’s not like she’d starve.

"I’m getting started soon," she suddenly said with determination.

Sasha, startled by Ruby’s resolve, had only asked casually. She didn’t expect her to have such a plan, "So you called me out today just to talk about this?"

Ruby nodded, "Recently, Ethan has been asking if I want to return to work at The Sterling Group. But I’ve been hesitating. He gave me two options—either continue as a perfumer there, as the previous two perfumes sold well, but since perfumes are just a trial for The Sterling Group, stopping here won’t be a huge loss. So, he gave me another option to be his assistant."

Though Brandon Sullivan has taken back the shares, he and Rhonda haven’t taken further action. Judging by Rhonda’s situation today, she’s probably in rehabilitation, which is why nothing has been done.

Howard is still the CEO of The Sullivan Group. Although Ruby and her father have worked with senior managers and directors to impose many restrictions on Howard’s authority, changing to someone else now doesn’t seem better than letting Howard finish current projects first.

In terms of work, Ruby actually trusts Ethan, believing that if he can nurture someone like Howard, he can do the same for her.

But Howard’s development wasn’t overnight, and she knew she wasn’t good at it. Instead, as Ethan said, she should focus on her strengths. Not only is the likelihood of success greater, but it also saves time.

Ruby continued, "Initially, I really wanted to try being his assistant. You know, when I was a perfumer, I disliked getting involved in management. But today, Rhonda’s provocation has pushed me to become stronger immediately. I don’t have time to learn from Ethan what I’m not good at."

Sasha, seeing Ruby’s confidence, felt inspired too, "Honey, you just go for it. If you need any help, just say the word."

"Don’t worry, I won’t be shy with you, but all these ideas stem from Rhonda spilling water over me. I need to carefully plan when I get back because I don’t have much startup capital in hand. I’ve got to strategize properly."

Ruby acknowledged a realistic issue. Although she earned a lot from The Lawson Group in terms of salary and bonuses, the expenses on Honey’s treatment and maintaining a relatively comfortable life left little savings.

To be precise, if she wasn’t such a good income earner, Honey couldn’t have lived to reunite with Seth and his siblings purely on medication.

So now, she’s not only lacking startup funds but nearly has zero capital to start with.

However, she didn’t want to state it bluntly in front of her friend—not out of concern for losing face but fearing Sasha would impulsively offer her savings for use.

Even with Ruby’s subtlety, Sasha instantly noted the key point and proudly said, "Sis has money. Last year, I cleared my mortgage and took on a few big projects this year. I’m well off now."

Ruby felt warm inside seeing Sasha’s nonchalant attitude, but showed an exaggerated disdain, "What can you do with that little money? I’ve got plenty of income streams; there’s no need for you to worry."

Sasha rolled her eyes, "Look at you, all mighty."

After laughing and finishing their meal, they went shopping and bought a few things at random. Despite being a mother, Ruby couldn’t move an inch in kids’ clothing stores.

She specifically picked a silver-gray three-piece suit for Seth and got Honey a pink princess dress.

Passing by a men’s wear store, Ruby instantly fell for a navy-blue suit, imagining it would look great on Ethan. But she quickly dismissed the thought and entered the elevator with Sasha.

Ethan didn’t need her buying clothes for him.

The two parted ways at the mall entrance; on her way back, Ruby kept pondering about creating her personal brand, while Sasha shared the same thought.