Chubby Mommy: Scheming Daddy, Surrender Now!-Chapter 409: Clear Distinction Between Public and Private Affairs
"It’s my first time negotiating a partnership alone, and I’m feeling uncertain. I hope you can help me review the contract," Ruby Sullivan said, her head lowered, speaking somewhat hesitantly.
She knew that, as the company’s boss, she should be handling such matters herself, and reviewing contracts is a basic skill, yet she hadn’t mastered it until now, which made her feel quite ashamed.
Ethan Sterling didn’t expect her request to be of this nature; his typically stern face remained impassive, "No help."
Ruby Sullivan was surprised by his straightforward refusal, momentarily doubting her hearing and looked up at him, blinking repeatedly, asking intensely, "Why?"
"What if I wasn’t here?"
"No ’what if’."
"My stomach feels a bit upset, I’m leaving," Ethan Sterling suddenly scrunched his features together, clutching his chest as he slowly stood up. Noticing the worry in Ruby Sullivan’s eyes, he weakly added, "I think I need to rest at the hotel tomorrow."
Ruby Sullivan felt she must not be fully awake, as she only realized now that this man was pretending. Helpless, she chased after him, blocking his path with outstretched arms, and asked sheepishly, "Tell me, what position."
Ethan Sterling was taken aback by her gesture, still dutifully holding his chest, but his face forgot to continue pretending, "What position?"
Ruby Sullivan took a deep breath, started unbuttoning her pajamas, staring at him with bravado, "What other position? Don’t you just want to sleep with me?"
Ethan Sterling was stunned for five seconds, then grabbed her hand, "Ruby Sullivan, there’s something you’ve misunderstood. I do want to sleep with you, but the premise is that you also want to sleep with me." Saying this, he bypassed her and quickly exited her room.
Ruby Sullivan’s face flushed red with embarrassment, holding her collar as she squatted down, hugging herself tightly, angrily muttering, "Bastard, how do you know I don’t want to sleep with you?"
Actually, she didn’t blame him for not helping; as he said, if he wasn’t around, she’d still have to face these issues. Yet, being rejected so bluntly still sparked a bit of annoyance.
"Hey..." she fell back onto the bed, "Ruby Sullivan, you can do it, the first step is the hardest. Just bravely take this first step... right?"
Originally, she planned to discuss everything domestically with Howard, setting up promotional and sales plans for various platforms early in the year, among other public affairs. Yet, Howard couldn’t free himself because, ultimately, Ethan Sterling set her up?
Ruby Sullivan rolled her eyes, sat up, and reached for her laptop, deciding to review Howard’s instructions once more, organize some key points, and send them to her phone, to avoid forgetting tomorrow.
The next day, Ruby Sullivan got up early to prep her face; she deliberately applied a more intense makeup to boost her aura, with crimson lips adding a touch of aloofness. Finally, she used the soon-to-be-released summer reverie by Nirvana.
This perfume was independently designed by Wendy, mainly featuring citrus scents. Unlike Ruby Sullivan’s bold and changeable style, this fragrance leaned toward a traditional fruity floral scent; the opening notes were very sweet, but as it transitioned to the middle notes, the distinctive freshness of citrus took over, adding a layer of elegance to the sweetness, perfectly matching today’s makeup.
Ruby Sullivan had planned ahead to use it, so she brought along a sample.
As soon as she got into the car, Anna noticed the difference in her scent, "Wow, it’s as if you’ve transformed today."
Ruby Sullivan smiled, "I’ll just take that as a compliment." Yesterday, her makeup was so subtle it was almost invisible, and the perfume she used was one she had specially concocted for herself; it was akin to a neighborhood girl who looked easy to approach. But today was entirely different, so when Anna commented like this, Ruby Sullivan found it quite pleasing.
Anna took two deep breaths, "The perfume you wore today would be perfect for a music festival. Which one is it?"
"It’s the summer reverie that will hit shelves this spring."
"Well then, I hope I can buy a bottle when the time comes," Anna said, slyly smiling and asking, "Can you tell me the price in advance?"
"The specifics aren’t finalized yet, but it will definitely be cheaper than Nirvana and Angel’s Smile."
"Seems like there’s hope for me." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
Afterward, Ruby Sullivan took out her tablet, and began studying the details of today’s contract signing, hoping she wouldn’t mess up.
The person meeting with her today was different from the one who showed her around before; he was a graceful middle-aged man, whose every gesture exuded gentlemanly flair, easing much of Ruby Sullivan’s tension.
Once they sat down, the two didn’t waste time with small talk; the price had been discussed yesterday over the phone, so today was mainly to review the contract. If no issues arose, they could sign immediately.
The electronic version of the contract sent to her by the counterpart had already been reviewed multiple times; she even had Howard look it over, and it seemed fine. However, as she had never collaborated before, even with a friend-recommended vendor, she needed to thoroughly review the contract again before signing.
Ruby Sullivan studied the thin contract for a full twenty minutes, not daring to overlook a single punctuation mark. Once sure everything was accurate, she signed her name with a smile and handed it over.
"Pleasure to work together."
"Pleasure to work together." The other party took the contract and shook her hand.
Since she needed to catch a flight to Caelus that evening, Ruby Sullivan had to decline the counterpart’s lunch invitation, planning to head back to Nissa promptly.
At the factory gate, Ruby Sullivan unexpectedly saw Ethan Sterling’s car; upon seeing her, he got out of the car.
"Was it smooth?"
"Yes." Ruby Sullivan smiled, "Easier than I imagined."
"That’s good." Ethan Sterling raised his hand to pat her head as if encouraging a junior, his eyes full of affection.
Since last night, he had been anxious, even prepared to clean up any messes she might leave behind, which is why he drove over following her. After hearing her report, he too relaxed.
Ruby Sullivan felt a bit embarrassed by his patting, deliberately protested, "Don’t mess up my hair."
Ethan Sterling simply smiled, the hint of shyness in her eyes greatly lifted his spirits.
Then Anna came over, "Uh, if you’d like to ride back with Ethan, I could enjoy a delightful afternoon tea with an old friend."
Ruby Sullivan regarded her suspiciously, unsure if she was genuinely inspired in the moment, or purely assisting Ethan Sterling.
Noticing she didn’t speak, Anna quickly added nervously, "But I have one condition; you can’t leave a bad review online."
Ruby Sullivan chuckled, "Alright, then." She hugged the young lady, "Wish you a joyful meet-up with your friend."
"Don’t worry, I’ll ensure you’re on time to catch your flight tonight." Anna actually considered seeing this friend the moment she accepted this job. She intends to meet her ex, and if it were not for work making the meeting incidental, she wouldn’t know what excuse to use to convince herself.
Once inside the car, Ruby Sullivan tilted her head, saying, "Thank you."
"Although it’s all because of you that I’m dealing with troubles now, I appreciate you coming along."
Ethan Sterling found this gratitude awkward, "Can you leave out the ’although’ part?"
"No way, I’m not dumb." Ruby Sullivan huffed proudly.
"Yes, yes, you’re clearly smart." Ethan Sterling replied, again raising his arm to pat her head.
Despite wearing makeup like a grown woman, Ruby Sullivan’s heart felt as though it was stirred by a little girl, instantly becoming restless.
