CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 45: PUBLIC OPINION TURMOIL

Ethan Sterling raised an eyebrow, looked at her without speaking, and with a slight smile said, "Quite ambitious."

"Isn’t this nothing for Mr. Sterling?"

Ethan continued to look at the documents, seemingly unwilling to delve too deeply into this topic, and simply said, "I don’t like women without self-awareness."

Ruby Sullivan squinted, wisely refrained from continuing, and turned her head to keep enjoying the view.

Ethan had invited her back with the aim of making money; as for the romantic ambiguities, they were nothing more than symbolic embellishments, able to add color but not warmth in times of need. A woman should never expect to tie down a man simply by sharing a bed. Fortunately, she possessed a talent that Ethan valued greatly, and that was making money.

Ruby was very confident in the new product, as long as she could ensure Honey’s safety, everything else could be dealt with slowly.

Thinking of Honey, the doctor’s words echoed in her ears...

She frowned slightly, the glass reflecting her sharp gaze. Ethan Sterling’s support, The Sullivan Group... she wanted them both!

As usual, Ruby and Ethan walked out of the elevator together.

However, today Ruby no longer had a plaster on her leg. She wore white wide-legged pants with a blouse, and a blazer draped over her shoulders, exuding a commanding presence. Her face still held the same sultry makeup with vivid red lips, only now she felt much more powerful than when sitting in a wheelchair.

Yet, Ruby couldn’t shake the feeling that the eyes of the employees greeting her today held something peculiar.

She parted ways with Ethan in the corridor and briskly walked to the laboratory, where she saw through the glass door that four girls were huddled together, chatting.

When she pushed the door open and entered, everyone seemed startled, which made her feel somewhat uneasy. "Morning," she blinked in bewilderment and chose to greet them first.

It’s Monday morning, and chatting in the lab was no big deal; she was never a boss who fussed over trivial matters.

Soon, she heard Levi Joyce’s voice.

"Damn, is that Wenny? Too fierce!"

The girls replied in hushed tones, none of which she could make out. Only when everything outside quieted did she put on her lab coat, grab her laptop, and go out. "Alright, let’s get to work."

It seemed it wasn’t just her being overly sensitive.

*

After Ethan sat down, Howard routinely brought coffee into the office, but today he lingered at the door without leaving.

Ethan took a sip of coffee and realized Howard seemed to be hesitating to speak. "Speak."

Howard shivered at the abrupt command, blinked nervously, and finally said, "The man who stuck the notes at the Sullivan Family’s house should be the same one from the park, but he’s experienced, and security measures were very thorough, the surveillance didn’t capture his face at all, and after leaving the area, he took a cab. We haven’t located him yet."

"Hmm." Ethan nodded, looking at the paperwork, sounding uninterested.

Such an outcome was within his expectations. For now, the identity of the man wasn’t too important; what mattered was whether Rhonda Sullivan was behind it.

"Anything else?" He noticed Howard hadn’t left, feeling somewhat displeased with his lingering presence. Had he forgotten how much Ethan hated dallying?

"Wenny’s trending now, I’ve informed PR to handle it, but the buzz remains high," Howard said, bringing up a video on his phone and placing it before Ethan.

Afraid the sight might anger Ethan to damage the phone, Howard dared not hand it directly to his boss.

The video depicted last week’s incident where Wenny bullied Rhonda, but the footage was unclear, showing barely discernible features of the two. Likely only acquaintances in the café might recognize them. Despite lacking context, a line from Rhonda was clearly audible, saying, "You already have a husband, could you not snatch him away?"

The accompanying text aimed to grab attention: "Bold mistress kicks original wife, who gave you the courage?"

Ethan frowned, feeling the video was too conveniently taken, "Who recorded it?"

"Seems like a passerby who found it shocking enough to submit to a gossip account," Howard replied.

"Ignore it," Ethan said, knowing that a heavy-handed approach from PR could backfire, attracting more attention.

Howard reluctantly tried to advise, "Many in the company enjoy visiting that café after meals. Word is, quite a few saw Wenny with Miss Sullivan that day." The implication being the company’s got a tasty piece of gossip about Ethan’s love triangle.

"Is it because work isn’t demanding enough?" Ethan’s face darkened, "If you waste my time over meaningless matters again, consider yourself dismissed."

"Yes!" Howard quickly turned and left.

Minutes passed; Ethan hadn’t yet turned a page. Frustrated, he tossed his pen aside.

He exhaled deeply, contemplating how since Wenny joined the company, minor upheavals seemed constant. Could it really be... a clash of fate?

Before marrying Ruby, his mother took their birthdates to a master, who said there were some conflicts, and that to grow old together, they must weather turbulent times.

He never believed such things, and back then, the situation left him no space to ponder such matters.

*

Levi Joyce emerged from the pantry, catching sight of Wenny blocking the way, "Boss." He called without a care, trying to sidestep her and return to work, but she swung her arm out to obstruct him.

Levi blinked his round, watery eyes, puzzled.

Ruby Sullivan flashed a wide smile, her eyes narrowing with a gentle tone, "Levi, do you know as my assistant, besides completing tasks I assign, there’s another important evaluation criterion?"

Levi shook his head, concerned about how it might affect his earnings; he was a little anxious. "Boss, please explain, I’m clueless."

Ruby dropped her mysterious smile, lowered her voice to ask, "What did those girls say to you this morning?"

"Oh, I thought it was something serious." Levi exhaled heavily, "Just this." He pulled out his phone to show her the video, "Had it not been for them saying it, I wouldn’t have known the woman in there is you." Mindlessly, he laughed, "Boss, you’ve got moves! Kicking from a wheelchair."

Ruby watched the video, angered, and cast him a sharp glance, "Stop laughing, wise up." She said before storming off.

After considering, Levi quickly chased after her, "Boss, don’t be mad. Next time I’ll tell you first, alright?" Online folks enjoy finding amusement in others’ distress; he reckoned the video wouldn’t cause any real impact, hence hadn’t informed her.

In hindsight, he wasn’t mistaken. Ruby was just angered knowing, unable to react much. She couldn’t exactly issue an internal memo to rebut rumors, could she? Wasn’t everyone aware of Rhonda’s ambiguous relationship with Ethan? Was daring to treat Rhonda that way likely to go unnoticed by Ethan?

Still, after venting, Ruby soon cooled off and realized some public stir might actually be beneficial. She was keen to see how Mr. Sterling would handle things!

Upon this realization, her mood brightened, she took off her lab coat and joined colleagues in heading to the cafeteria for lunch.