Chubby Mommy: Scheming Daddy, Surrender Now!-Chapter 273: Recruiting Team Members

"Mr. Sterling isn’t inviting us to a breakup dinner, is he? Tina, you always have the latest scoop; is the company really going to close the lab?"

Tina was equally troubled, "I used to have the latest scoop because the secretaries all wanted to curry favor with our boss. But after she left, our lab has become dispensable—no one bothers to tell me any useful information anymore."

"Let’s not jump to conclusions. We’ll know when Mr. Sterling arrives. Our rank isn’t high enough to warrant Mr. Sterling throwing us a breakup dinner."

"That’s true. If it weren’t for the boss’s influence, our lab wouldn’t be on the same floor as Mr. Sterling’s office."

Thinking about the former backbone of the lab, the expressions of the few girls turned somewhat grim.

Which girl who entered the lab didn’t come for Wenny’s reputation—Dr. L’s last student, the world’s top perfumer. Collaborating with someone like that was like a dream for anyone in the fragrance industry; even just doing miscellaneous tasks felt like an honor.

"Long time no see."

The door to the private room opened, and they were suddenly met with the smiling face of a familiar figure.

"Oh my goodness, boss, you look like you’ve reversed the aging process!" Claire exclaimed in surprise, enthusiastically stepping forward to embrace her.

Ruby Sullivan hadn’t gone home in the afternoon, so naturally, she hadn’t changed clothes. Today, she wasn’t wearing any makeup, not even a base; her face was genuinely pure and clean. Yet, with her good complexion, no one would doubt she looked like a college student.

Ruby embraced each of the girls before saying with a smile, "Keep the compliments coming, I love listening to them."

Ethan Sterling saw her smug little expression and ruffled her hair, "Let’s order food first."

"Ah, right, right. Order whatever you want; he’s picking up the tab, so don’t hold back."

The four girls were already wide-eyed. The formidable boss of the company transformed into a doting puppy in front of Ruby Sullivan, even more affectionate than the last time they had dinner together!

Tina exaggeratedly clutched her chest, "I can’t handle it, my heart has been struck by a bolt of lightning—I’m already full on this dog food, no need to eat anything else."

Because they were no longer in a subordinate relationship and hadn’t seen each other for a long time, Ruby seemed more like an old friend to her. Combined with Boss Sterling acting all charming just now, she completely forgot to behave in front of her boss.

"You don’t want to eat, but we will. Boss, no worries, bring on the dog food, I have a big appetite." Claire took the menu and seriously examined it, pointing at items to the waiter, "This one, this one, and this one."

"Hmph, dream on." Tina joined in, pointing along.

Ultimately, the menu made its way to Joyce and Zoe for their turn to choose, and Boss Sterling added two dishes Ruby liked before asking the waiter to retrieve the wine he had stored there.

The wine he stored here was directly sourced from wineries abroad; each bottle was quite valuable, not something typically brought out during employee gatherings.

To help his own wife attract good employees, he as the husband went all out.

Very soon, the meal was served, and the waiter poured the decanted wine for everyone before stepping aside.

Claire was straightforward, and after all the laughter and chatter, she watched as neither the boss nor Boss Sterling mentioned any serious business and directly asked, "Boss, Mr. Sterling, is today’s meal a trap dinner?"

After she spoke, the other three, who were focused on their meal, all put down their chopsticks and looked at Ruby and Ethan Sterling. Given the circumstances, it seemed likely that Boss Sterling, due to fearing his wife, called them and the boss together to announce the closure of the studio to comfort the boss.

Everyone was thinking along similar lines, so their gazes inevitably became somewhat heavy.

Ruby realized what they were thinking from their expressions and quickly denied, "Of course not!" She curled her lips slightly, "I was originally planning to tell you once everyone had eaten enough, but since you’re asking now, I’ll explain."

She hesitated, "I’m going to start a studio and would like to invite you to continue working with me. Of course, my place is new, a small temple compared to The Sterling Group’s big setup, so I won’t force you if you don’t want to."

She glanced at Ethan Sterling, feeling it was more appropriate for him to talk about the internal arrangements at The Sterling Group.

"The lab will be dissolved tomorrow. If you don’t want to leave, you’ll be assigned to a fragrance studio in a subsidiary company; your salary won’t change, though the benefits may adjust based on their situation." After Ethan finished speaking, he glanced at the few of them, "If you think it’s too sudden to decide now, I can give you a day off to consider it."

The four girls looked at each other in surprise, not expecting to have guessed only half of it right.

Claire initially joined The Sterling Group to learn from Wenny, so after a brief hesitation, she immediately gave her answer, "I’m willing to follow the boss." She’s young and even if she makes the wrong choice, there’s plenty of time to start over. But if she lets this opportunity go now, she might regret it later.

Tina and Claire were the closest of friends. Seeing Claire make such a decisive choice, she took a deep breath and bit her lip, weakly asking, "Boss, is it convenient to ask about the salary now?"

Her family was out of town, and she was struggling alone in Ariston, which was very different from Claire who was a local. Claire lived with her parents and had no worries about food and drink; even losing her job and staying home for a year or more wouldn’t be a problem, as long as she wasn’t concerned about face.

Although Tina didn’t need to support her family, she still had to consider her rent and living expenses in Ariston. If the salary was too low, she really couldn’t be as carefree as Claire!

Ruby then realized she had only mentioned her needs and missed emphasizing the critical point, she laughed, "Don’t worry about that. Although I can’t guarantee great benefits for now, your salary definitely won’t be less than at The Sterling Group. Um...in the meantime, it won’t increase either."

Actually, put this way, it still seemed like they were taking a pay cut to switch jobs.

However, Ruby was planning to run long-term, and her startup capital was borrowed from Ethan Sterling, meaning she couldn’t be too generous.

Once Tina heard the reassurance, though she was still somewhat hesitant, after murmuring a few words with Claire, she quickly nodded, "Okay, boss, I’m also willing to follow you."

"Thank you so much." Ruby said sincerely, genuinely grateful for their trust.

They were the ones Ruby recruited after joining The Sterling Group, although she’d spent the shortest time with them, she had the most hope for them.

She saw Joyce and Zoe were both looking troubled, saying nothing, and understood they needed to think it over carefully, so she jokingly broke the tension, raising her glass, "No matter what, we’ve all met which is a form of fate—come, let’s raise a glass and drink together."

Everyone raised their glasses gently to clink against each other’s, continuining their meal, and the atmosphere livened up again.