Chubby Mommy: Scheming Daddy, Surrender Now!-Chapter 317: Getting Carried Away

Howard didn’t have much experience in this area either. He only started listening to pop songs in college. His favorite idol was Leonard Lawson, and his girlfriend was a comic artist who was completely uninterested in the real world, so he had no one to turn to for advice. Last night was pretty similar to Ruby Sullivan’s situation.

However, their first choice was both the same—a 90s actress named Autumn, who won the Feitian Award for Best Actress last year. She had an artsy, youthful vibe, and her eyes always seemed to carry a touch of gray melancholy, which fit well with Nirvana’s advertising concept.

But they worried that the final twist-ending smile in the ad might not be stunning enough.

Autumn is sorrowful enough, but not joyful enough, which doesn’t work either. And just from looking at her photos, her presence seemed somewhat lacking.

But compared to other candidates, Ruby Sullivan would rather add another half a million to the advertising fee than switch people.

After Howard and she finalized the list, they called Claire and Tina to put down their work and come to a meeting.

Tina, after finishing reading the list, couldn’t help but ask: "Boss, how much did you allocate for the endorsement?"

Although she didn’t know much about the company’s cash flow issues, she felt that with Autumn, it wouldn’t work without a few million. Although she’s not a top-tier star with massive traffic, she won a Best Actress award, and it’s impressive to achieve that at such a young age, no matter what kind of Best Actress.

Ruby Sullivan held up five fingers.

"Five million?"

"Five hundred thousand," Ruby Sullivan corrected. "Five hundred thousand is already a lot. Initially, I planned to use that to shoot the ad."

Claire and Tina exchanged glances. Claire helplessly said, "Boss, I think... at this price, we can probably only get her." She pointed to the fifth name on the list.

This person was a perennial supporting character. Although she had been in the industry for a long time and acted in numerous dramas, none of the roles were lead characters. And looking at her current age, her career path is likely set.

Claire and Tina naturally hoped to get a top-tier star for endorsement, but they couldn’t even invite their husbands, let alone being too disappointed.

Ruby Sullivan was a bit self-conscious after being pointed out by the two young girls, "Let’s finalize our selection first and let Howard handle the negotiations. If it really doesn’t work out, we can increase the offer a bit."

Claire glanced at the name on the projection and suddenly thought of a previous endorsement for Nirvana. "Boss, have you thought about inviting Emma? Isn’t she your friend? I remember seeing news that she had an accident on set. How is she now? I think Emma is prettier, has experienced low points, and rose up again, which fits perfectly."

Neither she nor Tina knew that Emma was Ethan Sterling’s sister.

Ruby Sullivan didn’t expect anyone else to think of Emma. "If she heard you say that, she’d be really happy." But now she didn’t want to discuss this with Cindy Sterling anymore. As her sister-in-law and friend, she hoped she could be a happy, ordinary person if that would make her truly happy.

"To be honest, I’ve approached her before, but she declined," Ruby Sullivan sighed. "Okay, since everyone thinks Autumn is a good choice, Howard, go ahead and contact her."

Before he left, Ruby Sullivan felt relieved and caught up to whisper, "If you really can’t negotiate the price, I can accept up to one hundred and fifty thousand."

After Howard left, she searched online and felt somewhat hopeless, but the recent workload was a bit heavy. When she busied herself at the lab counter, she forgot about it.

In the afternoon, Mr. Sterling called, telling her to pack up and leave work. Ruby Sullivan was confused, "Did I tell you I wouldn’t be working this afternoon?" She thought she had forgotten and said something nonsensical.

"Didn’t you have your meeting already?" She didn’t say she wouldn’t be working in the afternoon, but she said she’d have a meeting in the morning. In Ethan Sterling’s view, she’d go home and catch up on sleep after the meeting, so he didn’t wait for her to reply further before continuing, "I’ve finished handling things here. I’ll come pick you up later, and I’ve told Mama Bennett we’ll be home for lunch."

"Stop!" Ruby Sullivan felt anxious hearing her schedule being arranged, "Mr. Sterling, I’m not done here yet."

"I’ll wait for you. Is half an hour enough?"

Ruby Sullivan gave a bitter smile, "Mr. Sterling, there are still seven hours before I finish work."

Ethan Sterling was stumped, "I’m tired and want you to come home and sleep with me."

Ruby Sullivan: ...

He exhaled, his voice even deeper, "I can’t sleep without you. My head is killing me; I don’t know if I’m coming down with a fever."

Ruby Sullivan rolled her eyes, wanting to shout "Playing cute is disgraceful," but worried he was seriously tired. She could only sigh, "It’ll take at least two hours; I’m waiting for a formulation’s evaporation test result. You go home first."

"I’ll wait for you," Ethan Sterling said, then hung up to avoid further delaying her work.

Ruby Sullivan instructed her assistant to keep an eye on things, took a turn through Claire and Tina’s labs to ensure no pressing issues, and then returned to her office to delegate some minor tasks to her assistant for the afternoon.

Her assistant was a newly graduated young lady who, though average in many respects, had a good sense of smell and a diligent attitude. Ruby Sullivan felt fairly confident in her.

On the way home, Ruby Sullivan remembered the endorsement issue and couldn’t help asking, "Can I ask your operations director about the endorsement fees?"

"Sure." Ethan Sterling immediately called the operations director, then handed the phone to her.

After the call, Ruby Sullivan felt even more hopeless about the matter and texted Howard, "If it doesn’t work out, forget it. Our advertising creativity is good; a regular model works just fine."

One must stick to one’s original intentions. How could a little windfall make one lose their bearings? That small amount of money wasn’t even enough to buy a villa in a good area of Ariston, so why get carried away?

Ethan Sterling saw her expression of utter despair and raised an eyebrow, "Endorsement problems?"

"Not really..." Ruby Sullivan turned and gave Mr. Sterling a stiff glance. Embarrassed to admit her budget and prospective candidates, she was afraid of being laughed at. "I’m just... a bit sleepy..." she explained awkwardly.

Reportedly, each brand under The Sterling Group spends about fifteen million on endorsements, with meticulous cooperation clauses. If an ad exceeds the shot, more money is required.

Ruby Sullivan sighed, thinking gloomily. Actually, it’s not that much difference, just one zero.

Perhaps she was struck hard, as after getting home, she started having a terrible headache, and while Ethan Sterling massaged her, she fell asleep. When she awoke, it was past eight in the evening, and her phone had two unread messages.

One was from Howard: Autumn has agreed.

Another was from Cindy Sterling: Sister-in-law, I want to give it a try.