CHAPTER 117: CHAPTER 117: OUT OF CHARACTER

The next day, during the company’s high-level meeting, Ruby Sullivan thought she might catch some hints, but everything was normal to the point of being dull. Because the recent troubles with The Sullivan Group had been resolved, the departments of The Sterling Group had nothing much to dispute in the meeting, and there hadn’t been any new project developments recently. Ruby couldn’t figure out why Ethan Sterling insisted she make time.

Unable to figure it out, she decided not to dwell on it; after all, as she said, aside from the small stakes she had in The Sullivan Group, there wasn’t much for him to scheme over. But those small stakes had been given by him, so why should she bother protecting them?

However, by the evening after work, she deliberately went to the president’s office ahead of time to ask if he’d like to have dinner together.

Ethan Sterling didn’t expect her to be so proactive, feeling that the sweet hawthorn pills he took hadn’t gone to waste, which lifted his spirits, "To let you go home earlier, let’s order takeout."

Ruby was truly surprised at how considerate he was, immediately pulling out her phone, "What do you want to eat? My treat. Actually, some places have quite good food."

Ethan looked at her with a slight bit of surprise. If she were one of his employees, of course, he would be happy, but thinking this employee was his wife made him feel somewhat...

He crossed his hands together, looking at her, testing the waters: "Actually, if you feel overworked, there’s no need to work overtime."

"Hmm?" Ruby, who was looking up food on her phone, didn’t quite understand and tilted her head at him.

Ethan cleared his throat, thickening his voice a bit, "I’m your husband. If you ask me for a vacation, I... will likely approve it."

Ruby found it hard to interpret his awkward expression, almost as if he needed to use the restroom urgently.

Ethan saw her big eyes staring with a confused look, so he continued to explain, "You really don’t need to be so busy that you don’t even have time to go home for dinner."

"So... are you saying you want to support me?" Ruby followed his logic, thinking of a more straightforward answer.

Ethan was also stunned, furrowing his brows, suppressing the heartache, "Well, it’s not entirely out of the question..."

Ruby burst out laughing, "Mr. Sterling, you didn’t bring me back from Bellaza to support me, I’m very clear on that. So, just say, what do you want to eat? If you don’t know what you want, I’ll just order directly. I can’t have food in my lab, so you’ll need to pick it up later, and we’ll eat it in the meeting room?"

Ethan looked at her teasing demeanor, feeling mocked, his face turning red and white, as he took out his phone, a bit irritated, "You go back to work; I’ll order and call you when it arrives."

He just wanted her to show a little vulnerability occasionally, doesn’t she know that women who act coy get the best treatment?

Ruby couldn’t figure out where his sudden moodiness came from, seeing him engrossed in ordering food, she didn’t want to provoke him further, "Alright, I’ll head back to the office then."

She noticed Howard was packing up to leave, so she stopped in front of him, sincerely asking for advice, "Has Mr. Sterling been upset about something lately?"

Howard was made nervous by her overly serious expression, shaking his head in confusion, "It’s just the usual bothersome routine, nothing particularly special."

Ruby blinked, finding his answer quite astute, yet upon further thought, there wasn’t anything wrong with it. In such a large company, even if everyone under him was competent, it’s impossible not to worry about anything, right?

She pursed her lips, not knowing what else to ask, and could only head back to work with a mind full of confusion.

Today, she mainly worked on the follow-up plan for this series of new products, writing until she lost track of time. By the time she realized it, it was already past eleven o’clock. She quickly shut down her computer and left the office, only to see Ethan sitting in front of the essential oils wall, staring blankly at the hundreds of essential oils on the shelves.

When she approached, he finally turned his head, "I’ve only been to The Fragrance Lab twice before. Although it’s called The Fragrance Lab, the smell was somewhat unpleasant back then. I found it really amazing how such a rough place could produce so many products under our company’s name that all smell so good."

The Fragrance Lab not only had to research perfumes but also had to concoct scents for various cosmetics under the brand. Although Ruby was outstanding in the area of perfume formulation, that didn’t mean she was weak in other areas.

It’s just that the overall scent adjustment of The Sterling Group’s cosmetics was something she did while launching the perfume. It was work done gradually over six months or even a year.

Ruby stood beside him, also looking at the wall of essential oils, with a proud smile on her lips, "That’s why I insisted you redecorate The Fragrance Lab according to my design."

With countless scents of essential oils, some combinations resulted in pleasant aromas, while others were indescribably bad. It’s only after spending extensive time in The Lab that she discovered a formula to make this work well, and it was found to be quite effective when implemented at The Lawson Group.

Ethan also smiled, "The previous lab was downstairs; this used to be the territory of my entire secretarial team." When he first heard of her demand, he thought she was bluffing, using it to elevate her status, especially since there was a profit-sharing clause in their contract. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have indulged her so much.

If her new products didn’t meet the sales targets, the loss to The Sterling Group wouldn’t be significant.

He tilted his head, "I requested to have The Lab built next to my office."

Ruby was taken aback, joking, "Mr. Sterling, were you attracted to my looks at that time and had ulterior motives?"

"You’re overthinking it."

Before Ruby could finish rolling her eyes, he placed a hand on her shoulder, just like young couples, stuck together to feel secure. The gesture made her a bit uneasy, but he looked as pleased as punch.

"Let’s go, home to sleep." Ethan said, dragging her halfway with his arm over her shoulder as they walked out, refusing to let her slip from under his arm.

Ruby couldn’t resist him, resigning herself to her fate. She deliberately slouched, making it uncomfortable for him to lean on her.

Ethan noticed the puffed cheeks, couldn’t help himself from reaching out to poke until he got her to smile, then laughed out loud, not teasing her further.

"Is it fun?" Ruby eyed him sideways, pretending to be angry.

He nodded, reaching out his finger as if to poke her face again.

Ruby didn’t hold back, opening her mouth to bite his finger, which gave Ethan a new way to tease her.

"Come on, bite me!"

Just then, the elevator doors opened, and Ruby pretended to be angry, walking ahead. When he caught up, she pinched the soft skin on his waist, slyly saying, "Gaining some belly fat, yet acting like a kid."

Ethan immediately got nervous, feeling his stomach, pursing his lips as if blaming himself, "Should’ve eaten less today. I’ll go to the gym tomorrow. Already booked a coach." After all, he needed to wait for her to get off work, so it was a suitable time to get some exercise.

Ruby joked, "A pretty boy isn’t only about having an eight-pack."

Ethan squinted his eyes, feeling slightly displeased. Is this woman really into pretty boys?