Chubby Mommy: Scheming Daddy, Surrender Now!-Chapter 318: Warmer Than Before

Ruby Sullivan blinked and immediately sat up in shock. Howard’s message was sent after four o’clock in the afternoon, Cindy Sterling’s message was sent after five o’clock, and now it was not yet seven.

Ethan Sterling’s arm, which was resting on her waist, slipped down, and he also opened his eyes.

The room with drawn curtains was pitch dark, and his wife, glowing eerily from the phone screen, looked like a ghost bride, somewhat frightening. It startled him awake as well.

"What’s wrong?" Ethan sat up and saw her biting her thumb with a look of melancholy.

Ruby showed him the bright screen of her phone, with Howard and Cindy Sterling’s messages appearing side by side.

"You can refuse that Autumn, you know. It’s quite normal in such matters; no need to feel burdened," Ethan thought she was inexperienced.

But Ruby was thinking of something else entirely.

If Autumn agreed to the collaboration at that price, there must have been a reason. Since they made a concession to agree, backing out on their side seemed quite unscrupulous, didn’t it? Who would want to cooperate with such a company in the future?

She decided to call Howard first to understand the situation over there, "How did you persuade Autumn? You didn’t use any charms or anything like that, did you?"

Howard heard her say this and knew she must have done some research on the current market, knowing that the price they offered would normally be dismissed by the manager of a celebrity of Autumn’s caliber.

"Boss, you really think too highly of my looks," Howard chuckled dryly. "Today, when I was at the agency, she happened to be there as well. She liked the ad’s creative concept a lot, and she said she really likes your perfume, so she’s willing to cooperate with us for eight hundred thousand. If everything’s fine, we can meet her manager tomorrow and finalize the contract."

"Emma also messaged me this afternoon, saying she wants to be in the commercial."

"What should we do then?"

Ruby’s initial concern was about the ad fees. Although Cindy Sterling no longer had an agency now and didn’t lack money, Ruby didn’t want to underpay her too much. The fifty thousand fee had to be given.

"Let’s hire both endorsers, negotiate with the ad company, and make it a dual advertising campaign. Um... we’ll explain to Autumn tomorrow, and if she agrees, we’ll cooperate. If not, the fault lies with us, and we’ll have to apologize sincerely."

"Got it, I’ll arrange a time with her manager first," Howard said and hung up the phone.

As for Cindy, Ruby was a bit uneasy discussing it over the phone and planned to visit the old residence.

Ethan hadn’t seen his sister for a long time either, so he followed suit off the bed.

The two hadn’t had dinner yet and headed straight to the old residence.

Cindy was running on the treadmill, having already completed ten kilometers, and only stepped down when she saw them arriving.

After sending the message, she had been waiting for Ruby’s response, but after five or ten minutes passed with no movement on her phone, she felt embarrassed to call and inquire, so she started exercising. Once she sweated, her mood improved significantly, and she no longer dwelled on whether Ruby would reply.

While panting and wiping sweat, Cindy asked, "Did you come all this way to deliver... bad news?" She was naturally quite pessimistic, especially after the incident, and always anticipated the worst in any situation first.

"Um..." Ruby, caught off guard by her sharp gaze, suddenly felt guilty.

"She’s already found another endorser," Ethan said directly, seeing her hesitance, only to be glared at by Ruby once he spoke.

"Oh..." Cindy lowered her head after hearing the news, feeling as though she had been cast down from the clouds into the mud. She was disappointed but knew she had no right to complain.

She was the one who declined first, so it was natural for Ruby to seek someone else.

"Don’t be upset just yet," Ruby, recalling her change over the past few days, felt a pang in her heart and turned to punch Ethan in frustration, "Go find Faye Truman."

Ethan, seeing his wife’s irritated expression, dared not resist and obediently left.

Ruby let out a long sigh and, seeing Cindy seated on a stationary bike, walked over to explain, "I assumed you agreed because of the advertisement’s creativity, but Autumn also agreed to cooperate with us for the same reason. Do you know Autumn? She’s an actress with quite a high profile. At first, I thought she wasn’t a top-tier star, so she might be less expensive..."

Cindy, seeing her rambling on and her voice getting lower, recalled Nathaniel’s words and couldn’t help but laugh, "Nathaniel said you chose me to save money."

"It’s not true!" Ruby waved her hands nervously to deny it, "Of course, in part, but I didn’t intend to save much. Mainly... I didn’t realize hiring a celebrity endorser was so expensive. I’ve always only been involved in perfumery, not caring much about other things. If I hadn’t started a company myself, I truly wouldn’t know a thing."

She smiled wryly and, seeing Cindy’s expression soften, continued, "You’re still my first choice. However, I believe Autumn agreeing to cooperate means she’s quite a thoughtful artist as well. So, I want to invite both of you to co-endorse and film two commercials. For your advertisement, I plan to revise the creative concept, but the core idea remains the same — Nirvana rebirth."

"So, how much are you planning to pay me?"

Ruby didn’t expect Cindy to be so direct and immediately thought of her shrewd brother, "Well... I gritted my teeth this morning, thinking of offering one hundred fifty thousand for Autumn, but Howard managed to negotiate it down to eighty thousand. So... would seventy thousand work for you?"

She felt too embarrassed to mention she initially prepared fifty thousand for her.

Cindy’s amused by Ruby’s timid demeanor, especially finding her laughter particularly genuine; in the past days, she had gotten used to smiling naturally and discovered there were indeed many things in life worth smiling about.

"Never mind. Since you’re so strapped for cash and still my sister-in-law, I won’t haggle over this comeback commercial of mine. I don’t have an agency to negotiate for me now anyway, so use that money for promotion. If your company succeeds, my reputation will soar too, and I’ll easily make that money back."

She casually put an arm around her shoulder, "I have great faith in your perfume."

Seeing Cindy’s bright smile, Ruby felt a strange, unspeakable warmth that moved her to tears, "Tell me, what magic potion did that bastard Nathaniel give you to open your eyes?"

Cindy pondered, "Perhaps it’s you dosing me?"

She looked down at Ruby, suddenly finding this sister-in-law incredibly adorable, as if she were a completely different person from Wenny before.

Although Wenny used to be strong and independent, seeming more reliable, Cindy now preferred the current Ruby, just like her brother, who had somehow changed, with much more warmth.