The Retired CEO's Guide To Being Spoiled-Chapter 103: ATHERIA: Legacy of the Stars
The negotiation session between the two parties extended from the morning hours all the way until nearly the end of the afternoon. At midday, everyone paused for two hours to replenish their energy, as well as to deliberate internally and adjust their negotiation strategies. Finally, after several hours of arduous debate, the result was that the greatest control belonged to the Caldwell Empire, while Iris Visuals would serve as a supporting company with a certain right to speak within the entirety of this project. The side of Iris Visuals would also receive a portion of the profits shared by percentage, as well as separate a group of people to establish a graphics team for the project, while simultaneously transferring a few highly skilled employees from the technical side to serve the project.
The person directly operating, collaborating, and handling all information related to the project with the Caldwell Empire on the side of Iris Visuals was Seraphina Cole. The person in charge for the Caldwell Empire was obviously Julian Sterling. All other related companies would sign contracts with the Caldwell Empire, Iris Visuals was not involved in those agreements.
The project this time finally had an official name: ATHERIA: Legacy of the Stars.
The most intimate and key information was held solely by Julian and Ethan Caldwell; a portion of the documents would be transferred to Seraphina Cole, while the rest would remain unknown to any other person. After the negotiation concluded, it was already nearly time to get off work, so Ethan allowed those who participated in the meeting today to take the remaining time off. They could take advantage of the time to regain their strength; starting from tomorrow, when the project gradually kicked off, there would be a great deal of work to be done.
Incidentally, Ethan also instructed Helen Lloyd to order some additional afternoon tea and pastries to treat the employees of the departments that would have personnel assigned to the project. As for himself, he took Julian back home.
Having been exhausted for the entire day, and that was not even mentioning the multitude of events that had occurred recently, the moment they arrived home, Julian practically collapsed flat onto the sofa, his eyes struggling to stay open, and his face clearly displaying his fatigue.
"Are you alright?" Ethan went into the kitchen to pour a cup of warm water, added a little sugar, stirred it until it dissolved, and then brought it out to the living room for Julian. However, the young man did not even bother to glance at his husband once; he merely shook his head, his two hands slightly rubbing his temples.
Julian’s condition at this moment was no different from a person who had stayed awake for two consecutive nights and walked into a bar, with the sound of music pounding thunderously against their face, while their mind was dizzy and had lost all sense of direction. He listlessly buried his face into the sofa, his voice hissing through the fabric, sounding somewhat unpleasant to hear: "How are the arrangements on the other side, darling? When will we meet Dahlia Thorne?"
Initially, Ethan intended to meet this girl before the negotiation between them and Iris Visuals took place. This was a matter he had calculated beforehand, intending to use Dahlia Thorne to probe the side of Gabriel Cole, and then adjust the terms with the Iris Visuals side afterward. It was just that something suddenly came up on that girl’s side - Helen Lloyd was not clear on the details either - she had just abruptly sent a message saying she needed to reschedule the meeting time.
"In three days." Ethan walked over to pull Julian into his embrace and fed the water to him: "Drink a little water. Kieran Talbot said that the fact you have been feeling tired lately might be a side effect of the drugs. Now, in a few more days, once the amount of drugs still lingering in your body is eliminated, you will be fine."
After that, he continued speaking about the matter of Dahlia Thorne: "Helen has already finalized the scheduled appointment with her, and she has also found a location, it is a secluded place."
"Are you not afraid she will deceive us? She clearly promised once before, then postponed the appointment." Julian reluctantly took two sips of water then shook his head, signaling he did not want to drink anymore. He turned his body, burying his head into the chest of Ethan Caldwell, nuzzling against it a few times, his voice full of laziness: "Carry me up to the room, I do not want to walk myself."
"If she deceives us, then let it be. A single meeting is nothing to fear. Ultimately, whether there is a conspiracy or not, we will know once we meet. Do we still have to be afraid of her?" Ethan said as he lifted Julian up to a standing position. The boy’s two legs wrapped around Ethan’s waist, his head resting on Ethan’s shoulder, appearing to be very tired.
However, Ethan did not carry him upstairs, but walked towards the kitchen instead.
"How about eating a little something before going up to the room? You have not had anything in your stomach all day today." Although there was a break at noon, Julian had no appetite so he refused to eat anything, only drinking a little coffee to stay awake, and that was all.
Although even now, he did not really want to eat very much.
Julian pursed his lips, but he also did not argue back. Since the day he was kidnapped and then injected with random drugs into his body, Julian’s health had decreased significantly. If he wanted to be healthy enough to jump around energetically like before, he needed to obediently nurse his body.
He could not go hungry all day like this.
Although these side effects were not anything too major, mainly frequent fatigue, and also... his physical needs were relatively high. For the past few days, his entire body would occasionally feel restless and uncomfortable, but Julian was tired, and he was also kept busy by the negotiation matters, having no time to rest. Every night when he laid his back down on the bed, his eyes would close shut, but down below he remained restless forever; in the end, it was always entirely up to Ethan using his hand to resolve the matter for him.
Thinking that Ethan had also worked hard not a small amount these past few days, Julian raised his head slightly, planted a quick kiss on his cheek, then went back to being listless and drooping. He pursed his lips, murmuring: "I want to eat porridge, porridge that you cook."
Ethan heard this and pondered for a moment, after which he changed direction, carrying him towards the stairs, perhaps intending to go upstairs. Julian felt puzzled so he tilted his head to look at him. Ethan looked back at him, then kissed those pink lips that were pouting upwards once: "Cooking porridge now will take a bit of time, you go up and lie down to rest first, once I finish cooking I will bring it up for you."
Hearing that, Julian obediently nodded his head.
