CHAPTER 374: CHAPTER 374: PROTECTING MOM

Rhonda Sullivan was taking a bath when she received a message from Gwen Yates.

"Nirvana was recently tricked by a proxy factory, and it was Ethan Sterling himself who talked to Vantage’s big boss. I think this time it’s really the end of their relationship."

"Are you sure?"

Knowing Gwen Yates, who became very cautious after suffering a big loss that time, wouldn’t speak unless she was absolutely certain, Rhonda Sullivan couldn’t help but ask another question, as she had been waiting for this to happen for a long time.

"Skylar went with them to discuss it, and he shared this with me because even he found it curious."

Rhonda Sullivan couldn’t help but laugh out loud, "Let’s go for a spa treatment together tomorrow. I suddenly feel great."

She put the phone aside, her long legs playing with the bubbles in the bathtub, feeling so cheerful that she began humming a tune. Remembering someone who would love to hear this news, she immediately picked up the phone and sent a screenshot of her chat with Gwen Yates to Dr. L.

After being hung up on last time, they hadn’t contacted each other since. That man’s moods were unpredictable, and she didn’t want him to spoil her good mood.

"Ruby Sullivan, Ruby Sullivan, it’s time for you to taste the bitterness of betrayal and isolation." The more Rhonda thought about it, the happier she became, humming a tune and laughing to herself.

At this moment, Ruby Sullivan was blow-drying her hair when she suddenly heard someone knocking on the bathroom door.

She was surprised; there were two bathrooms in the house. This one was connected to the master bedroom, and usually, both she and Ethan Sterling used it. The two kids had already gone to bed, so she thought it might be Mama Bennett or Owen Fulton needing to use the bathroom urgently. She opened the door and found her son standing outside.

"Seth?"

"Mom, I want to dry your hair."

He couldn’t sleep, so he had a video call with his dad. His dad seemed to be in a bad mood, asked about his studies, and then told him to go to bed early. So, he came to find his mom. Hearing her taking a bath, he waited by the bed until the sound of the hairdryer started.

"Sure." Ruby Sullivan smiled and brought over a small stool to sit down, allowing Seth to dry her hair.

Seth fumbled with the hairdryer with his two hands, clumsily twiddling his mom’s hair. Although his technique was not very good, he was very serious.

A few minutes later, Seth turned off the hairdryer, "All done."

"Thank you, son." Ruby Sullivan stood up. Even though she felt that the sides of her hair and the front were still a bit damp, she didn’t want to continue. She didn’t want to undermine her son’s enthusiasm, and she was sure he had something on his mind if he came so late to dry her hair.

Sure enough, Seth hesitated and asked, "Mom, I couldn’t sleep today. Can I sleep with you?" His dad had said that joining Sawyer meant becoming a man, and men shouldn’t want to sleep with their moms. This made him very shy. After saying it, he lowered his head and blushed deeply.

Ruby Sullivan patted his head, "Of course you can, but Mom wants to know why."

Though her son resembled Ethan Sterling by eight parts, after all, he was still a child and occasionally couldn’t hide his emotions.

"It’s just... I kind of miss you." Seth, mimicking Honey’s gesture, hugged Ruby Sullivan’s leg and buried his face in her.

Ruby Sullivan smiled, "In that case, sleep with Mom, because Mom misses you too."

After they lay down, Seth asked again, "Mom, have you been very busy with work lately?"

"Yes." Ruby Sullivan sighed, pursing her lips. "Lately, Mom’s work hasn’t been going well. It might even end up shutting down." She chuckled bitterly.

"Won’t you ask Dad for help?"

"It’s me who decided to leave your dad, and if I keep asking him for help, it would be too shameless..."

Seth thought about it and said, "Maybe Dad is willing to help?"

Ruby Sullivan couldn’t tell her son that more than half of the company’s current troubles were caused by his dad, could she? "It’s okay, Mom can handle it. Besides, it’s Mom’s career. Even if I hadn’t separated from your dad, I couldn’t keep seeking his help." She finished speaking and, recalling today’s meeting at the hotel, couldn’t help but ask, "Did Dad say anything to you?"

"Not really. I just saw he was a bit unhappy, but he wouldn’t say why." Seth sighed, "Let’s not talk about him. Mom, do you have time for Christmas?"

"The online store and the physical store will both have promotions for Christmas, so I should be pretty busy. Why? Is there an event at school?"

"No, I just wanted to ask. Honey was clamoring to buy a Christmas tree. I’ll get Mama Bennett to take us to buy it. If it’s really inconvenient, I’ll ask Uncle Black to drive us."

"Hmm... How about Mom takes you to buy one this weekend?"

"You’ve been working overtime every weekend lately, do you have time?"

"I can make some time."

"No need, Mom. You keep working hard. When the company stabilizes, you won’t have to work so hard." Seth finished speaking and gave her a kiss on the forehead, "Good night, Mom."

He felt he had to protect his mom for his dad.

"Good night, son." Ruby Sullivan hugged Seth and kissed him, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

This weekend, she must make time to take the two kids to buy a Christmas tree!

The next day, before the sun even rose, Ruby Sullivan got out of bed. The still-sleeping Seth also woke up, "Mom, why are you up so early?"

"Mom has to go to R City for work today. You continue sleeping, sweetheart." Ruby Sullivan kissed him, tucked him in, quietly washed up, did her makeup, took her clothes to the bathroom to change, informed Mama Bennett, and set off.

Howard was waiting downstairs. When she got in the car, he handed her a breakfast of a pancake and soy milk.

"Made by my wife. It’s quite good." He chuckled.

Ruby Sullivan laughed too, "I haven’t met your wife yet. When will you introduce her to us?" Opening the plastic bag, she immediately smelled the fragrant aroma. The pancake was thicker than those outside, packed with eggs, and stuffed with substantial fillings. After one bite, the taste lingered, and it was indeed delicious.

She gave a thumbs up, "Your wife’s skills would surely make a breakfast shop popular."

Howard chuckled, "She doesn’t like meeting strangers, very much a homebody. She can stay indoors for a month, one of those who are greatly appreciative of home delivery services."

"What an interesting girl, what does she do for work?"

"She draws comics and seems to take on some commercial illustration work too."

"Well, in that case, let her design our company packaging next. Anyway, it’s meant to be outsourced." Ruby Sullivan said before suddenly feeling down, laughing at herself, "If there’s a next fragrance, that is."

"There will be. Don’t forget your initial ambition, to go public in three years and secure a place in the luxury industry in five years!"

"Haha, yes, dreams should be fulfilling!" Ruby Sullivan said and took a sip of rich soy milk, feeling warm inside.

She hoped today’s negotiations would go smoothly.

Because it was a working day, the highway was very smooth, and they reached the factory by ten. After mentioning Uncle Black’s name, they quickly met the factory director himself. Contrary to what Ruby Sullivan imagined, the man looked to be only around forty, wearing black-framed glasses, a turtleneck sweater, and a dark plaid coat, looking very elegant.