CHAPTER 454: CHAPTER 454: INVITATION

Ruby Sullivan never thought that after inexplicably becoming famous online, she would also vent some of her frustration. Of course, she doesn’t support online violence, but who can stop such things?

Miss has deep pockets, plastering ads everywhere. Although only one perfume called "Fog" was launched, its moderate price made it a nationwide hit and has become the first choice for all students and newbie office workers, selling like crazy for a month.

However, the biggest characteristic of domestic netizens is a short memory, and these sudden boycotts may seem grand but often end up being much ado about nothing. Ruby Sullivan didn’t think this would cause any economic blow to Rhonda Sullivan, but if she knew Rhonda was so angry that she smashed her office, she might feel a bit happy.

Ah, the schadenfreude, got to keep it low-key.

So, Ruby Sullivan didn’t take this matter seriously; she continued to bury her head in the development of collaborative products every day.

On this day, while she was busy, the receptionist suddenly rushed over hurriedly, "Boss, something’s wrong." She frowned, looking as if a great enemy approached.

"A zombie?" Ruby Sullivan had just watched "Train to Busan," so she joked casually.

The receptionist exclaimed, "Oh no, Rhonda Sullivan is here, waiting at the door."

Seeing her tense expression, Ruby Sullivan thought to herself that all her family affairs seemed well-known to everyone.

"Let her go to the meeting room first."

The receptionist nodded, took a few steps, then returned worriedly, asking in a low voice, "Should I inform President Hollis?"

"No need." Ruby Sullivan patted the receptionist’s shoulder, "Don’t worry."

"Then... I will keep an eye on the situation in the meeting room at all times." The receptionist said that earnestly and then walked away. Her boss was delicate and frail; she couldn’t do without extra caution!

Rhonda was in a good mood; otherwise, she wouldn’t have quietly waited at the door. So when told to go to the meeting room, she didn’t complain and followed along obediently.

Ruby Sullivan didn’t let her wait long, quickly pushing the door and entering, but didn’t close the door, standing near the entrance rather than going further inside.

She wasn’t afraid of ill intentions, but thinking of the scar on her waist, she couldn’t help but feel a little trepidation. To this day, she still couldn’t hold Honey and Seth, all thanks to this sister.

"What are you doing here?" she asked coldly, not bothering to show even the slightest courtesy for the smile on the other’s face, not even pretending a formal smile.

Rhonda Sullivan was truly in a good mood, pulling an invitation out of her bag and placing it on the coffee table, "I’m getting married next month. Will you come to the wedding?" To get more people from the circle to attend, she even gave up her plan to marry abroad.

She just wanted to show off to everyone that Rhonda Sullivan was getting married, and marrying an excellent man at that.

Ruby Sullivan frowned.

Rhonda Sullivan smiled, "Don’t worry, I won’t ruin my own wedding because of you." She stood up, seeing she wasn’t welcome, not wanting to waste more time. When she walked past Ruby, she suddenly stopped, tilting her head and whispering, "L has already made me delete that video." She admired Ruby’s stiff, angry face, chuckling, "Your expression in that video was really..." With that, she laughed loudly and left the meeting room.

The receptionist was already rushing over upon hearing this, glaring at Rhonda disapprovingly. Seeing Ruby leaning against the wall with a terrible expression, she quickly went to support her, "Boss, are you okay?" Her mind conjured up countless scenarios, "I’ll go retrieve the surveillance footage right away."

Ruby hurriedly grabbed her, "I’m fine."

After saying that, she somewhat dazedly walked towards the laboratory, her chest feeling like it had been heavily pounded by a massive hammer, full of clots stuck there, neither moving up nor down, causing a dull pain.

Ruby sat in the lab for a long time, without engaging in any work, until Claire came to discuss a fragrance selection with her, snapping her back to reality.

After solving the issue, Claire asked worriedly, "Boss, what’s wrong?"

Ruby shook her head, "It’s nothing, I want some peace, you go out." After speaking, she laid her head on the table.

At noon, when Claire and Wendy went out to eat, they saw her still sprawled on the lab table. Having interacted with her for so long, they knew Ruby’s temperament, understanding that going in now would only disturb her without offering any help.

Ruby lay on the lab table, drifting into sleep. She vaguely heard footsteps, opened her eyes, turned her head, and saw Ethan Sterling slowly approaching.

She thought she was dreaming, staring at him in a stupor, not speaking.

Ethan smiled, raising his hand to ruffle her hair, "Claire called me, saying you’ve been off ever since meeting Rhonda Sullivan this morning, so I came to check on you."

Only then did Ruby understand, realizing it wasn’t a dream, he really came.

She slowly gave a faint smile, "Nothing much... Rhonda is getting married, invited me to her wedding, I... feel a bit emotional."

"If you don’t want to go, then don’t."

"Hmm." Ruby lowered her head, "I know."

Ethan tilted his head to look at her face, frowning slightly, "Is that all?" He felt there had to be more to make Ruby so downcast, "Are you... envious?" He recalled her earlier longing and guessed, feeling a little thrill inside.

He really hoped she was envious; he could plan a lavish wedding in a heartbeat, as long as she nods!

Ruby was absent-minded, thinking he was worried about her, smiled and said, "It’s nothing," then stood up to stretch, "What time is it? How about we go for lunch?"

A hint of disappointment flashed across Ethan’s face, but he quickly regained his composure, "Alright, what do you feel like eating?"

"Hmm... Let me think."

The two of them talked while leaving the lab. Even though Ruby wore a smile, internally she felt uncomfortable, like a balloon hanging by a needle, not knowing when the needle might drop and explode with a bang, also knowing this bang wouldn’t matter much, yet still feeling scared in advance.

She felt what Rhonda said wasn’t meant to reassure her, but a reminder that she had seen the video and even handled it. Although L had her delete it, she might still have a backup, ready to release it at any time.

At any time.

But at this moment, Ruby Sullivan, more than hating Rhonda, despised L even more. If L were in front of her now, she couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t literally tear him apart.

After much deliberation, Ruby Sullivan decided to attend Rhonda Sullivan’s wedding. She thought it over for a night, worried that Rhonda’s words were a threat, suggesting something would happen if she didn’t attend.

She could no longer judge if threats nowadays were issued in such subtle ways, but she was truly, truly afraid that something might happen again.