CHAPTER 443: CHAPTER 443: FIRED

That day, Ruby Sullivan was focused on creating a co-branded perfume in the lab when Skylar Aldrin unexpectedly appeared at Nirvana, carrying a cardboard box, looking dejected.

"I got kicked out," Skylar Aldrin said to Ruby Sullivan, looking pitiful.

Seeing such a big guy with the expression like a bullied wife, Ruby couldn’t help but laugh, "What silly thing have you done now?"

Skylar sighed, followed Ruby into the meeting room, put the box on the table, and finally said a second sentence, "I don’t know!" He seemed both aggrieved and confused.

This morning, right after he arrived at the company, Snow came to inform him that he was fired. He wanted to ask Ethan Sterling about the reason but was directly driven out with a single "get out."

The more Skylar thought about it, the more wronged he felt. Even if he was fired, there should be a reason, right? Thinking about it over and over, he could only come to Ruby Sullivan for help.

Ruby knew that Ethan would not do such a thing without reason. Although it seemed like Skylar had done nothing, most likely, Ethan was still upset. Even if she called him now, she would probably get a "don’t bother" in return.

"I think you should wait for a couple of days and then ask Ethan again. Even if you can’t continue working there, treat it as a lesson," Ruby said without thinking much, trying to comfort him.

"But I can’t be fired right now..." Skylar lowered his head, looking very annoyed.

Ruby was a bit surprised. His words definitely weren’t due to his attachment to The Sterling Group. After all, nobody must work at one particular place. She frowned slightly, thinking of Gwen Yates, with a bad premonition.

If Gwen insisted he needed to stay at The Sterling Group, then her intentions would definitely not be simple.

But she also felt that imagining such things about others was not right. The Yates family had suffered a huge loss before, and Gwen should have figured it out by now...

Just as Ruby was about to probe further, Skylar said: "Gwen is pregnant, and I want to marry her in style. If I get fired now, I’m afraid Gwen won’t be able to hold her head high in front of her relatives."

Ruby immediately felt a bit ashamed, thinking she might have become too suspicious after being in the business world for too long, doubting everything.

"Anyway, congratulations. I think losing a job is a minor issue that can be resolved. You’ve been with The Sterling Group for a while, you won’t struggle to find another job, and I think Gwen will understand you."

"She doesn’t understand!" Skylar sighed again, "She said she can’t marry a man who can’t even keep his job, that it’s too insecure. It might be okay for her, but this will surely make her parents lose face in front of relatives and friends."

Ruby thought about it and agreed. Despite Skylar’s powerful family background, he had no achievements to show for himself. If his past failures were unearthed and right now wasn’t doing well... it was indeed a problem.

"I’ll ask Ethan for you tonight, okay?"

Skylar instantly saw hope, "Thank you, sister-in-law. Then I won’t disturb you anymore." He quickly picked up the box and left Nirvana as if he didn’t want to intrude for even a minute longer.

Ruby watched his much happier back as he left,

feeling a bit worried for him. Is it really okay for such a simple boy to be with such a scheming girl?

When she returned to the office, she saw Zoe seemingly organizing the formulation records.

Zoe wasn’t in the same working group as her, and normally, she shouldn’t be entering her lab, and certainly not touching the formulation notes.

"Zoe?" She walked in slowly, calling her name.

Zoe was startled, not expecting her to return, "Boss."

"What are you doing?" Ruby smiled as she took down the white coat hanging on the wall and put it on, but Zoe didn’t respond.

Zoe, knowing she had done something wrong, lowered her head, "I wanted to learn more from you. The reason I’ve improved this fast is that I’ve always been analyzing your formulation records. I know my talents are average, and I must use this method to learn some real skills."

All formulation records are trade secrets and certainly can’t be taken down and monopolized, even if they are self-prepared, unless a special clause has been signed. These things belong to the company.

Zoe had grown up around Ruby. Thinking about how she just irrationally doubted Gwen’s motives and now scared the child, she felt it was inappropriate, and her demeanor softened considerably.

"I guess you know what you did was wrong, so... let’s not have it happen again," she said, continuing her work.

Zoe was very surprised, not expecting such a big deal to be brushed off with a single sentence, immediately feeling even more guilty, "Boss, I won’t do it again."

"I trust you," Ruby continued swirling her flask, "What brought you here?"

Only then did Zoe remember her real purpose for coming, "Today is Claire’s birthday. She wants to invite everyone to dinner tonight and asked me to let you know. Also, it’s almost lunch time, don’t forget to eat. I’ll be off then."

Ruby smiled too. She had indeed been forgetting to eat recently, and her stomach seemed more sensitive than before. Just eating a little off could cause excruciating pain.

She thought about getting through this period and then properly creating a dietary plan to take care of her stomach.

Seeing it was about time, Ruby tidied up the workbench, closed her notebook, locked the door, and left the lab. Although she forgave Zoe, the incident made her more vigilant. When she was with The Lawson Group, she was strict about confidentiality. Now, working on her own, she felt like she could trust every employee completely, thus ignoring that aspect.

She went to the rooftop lounge and called Ethan Sterling, taking out a cigarette as well. She had picked up smoking because her life felt so bleak at that time and she didn’t know how she was going to get through it. Now she wanted to find a good time to quit, but it seemed hard to find.

When feeling overwhelmed, smoking a cigarette indeed made things feel somewhat lighter.

After hearing Skylar’s story, Ethan’s voice turned noticeably unpleasant, "He still has the nerve to come to you?"

"Uh..." Ruby knew immediately Skylar must have done something unpardonably stupid, as having a subordinate who did something foolish without realizing it was indeed quite scary.

"Since you’re acquaintances, just tell him the reason."

Ethan remained silent for a long while and finally spoke out of consideration for his wife, "The Sterling Group is currently competing with The Aldrin Clan for a piece of land. Our bid bottom line was leaked. He admitted himself that he’d talked to Gwen about it. I didn’t expect he’s still tangled with that woman."

His name truly fits, as God stuffed "Aldrin" in his head.

Realizing Ethan’s anger, Ruby didn’t dare mention that she already knew about Gwen and him being together. "In any case, you’re just guessing. Firing him without confirmation is somewhat rash, isn’t it?"

"Can I hang up?"

Ruby: "...Okay."

After hanging up, she spent some time in the rooftop breeze. The northern spring wind was dry and cutting, but she liked such sunny and windy weather. The breeze carried the scent of spring’s return, richly varied.

After contemplating a bit, she didn’t call but sent a message instead: I may not be able to help you.

If Ethan’s speculation was true, then no one could help him.

```