CHAPTER 74: CHAPTER 74: MEETING FRIENDS

The sampling inspection of the new product went smoothly, and Ruby Sullivan finished her work quickly after communicating with the factory technicians.

She originally wanted to go back to the office to check the video shot last night, but received a call from Nathaniel Truman while sitting in the taxi.

"You’re going to work in Ariston?" Ruby Sullivan was overjoyed and somewhat incredulous. Back then, he left with regrets, even sacrificing his future to become a plastic surgeon, and now he’s back.

"Not only working in Ariston, but I’ve also been promoted. Our hospital is opening a branch in Ariston, and I’ve been appointed as the new branch’s director, starting next week." Nathaniel Truman was quite pleased with himself, although this job was initially something he planned to refuse.

His parents are getting older, and he originally wanted to stay longer in R City to take care of them, but after much consideration, he still couldn’t stop worrying about Ruby Sullivan.

"Do you have time this afternoon? I’ll call Sasha Shaw in a bit, and we can celebrate properly."

"I just happen to be free today." Ruby Sullivan thought for a moment and then said, "I also have something very important I want to discuss with you guys."

She felt uncertain about the path ahead and wanted to ask her two friends for advice.

When she arrived at the company, she learned that Cindy Sterling had come looking for her and had been waiting in the guest room for a long time. Ruby Sullivan remembered their earlier agreement and hurried over after putting her things down.

Cindy wasn’t working today; she wore an oversized olive-green T-shirt, cropped ripped jeans, paired with sneakers, and topped with a navy-blue bucket hat, looking like the girl next door.

It’s just that when she raised her head, those bright, big eyes immediately caught one’s attention.

Her eyes were particularly attractive, the kind that seemed to speak, conveying joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness with just a glance.

Upon meeting, she mischievously raised a finger, "Big brother didn’t come home last night, was he with you?"

Ruby Sullivan smiled wryly, "Something did happen last night, but I don’t think you’d be interested." She handed her a small sample bottle, "This is a sample of the new product, give it a try."

As soon as Cindy heard it was a new product, she immediately dropped her gossip curiosity, her eyes sparkling as she extended her wrist, "I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time." Perfume, a fashionable item, was an indispensable part of her life.

Ruby Sullivan dabbed a few touches for her, eagerly awaiting her feedback.

"Hmm... very special, there’s a... sweet scent." Cindy sniffed her wrist for a while, "I’ll pre-order a bottle; it must be included in my collection." She thought for a moment and said, "Compared to Blue Mountain, your Blue Dream seems softer in fragrance."

Hearing her comment, Ruby Sullivan felt a boost of confidence.

"Blue Mountain is my mentor’s main fragrance; I’m just the assistant. My mentor’s scent was grander, but mine, I’ve infused it with more youthful notes." Ruby Sullivan explained with a cheerful smile.

She boldly adjusted the camphor proportion in this perfume.

In the fragrance formula, a camphor content of less than 1% can enhance the sweetness of white floral scents, but this ratio was something she refined after countless experiments, serving as the new product’s secret weapon.

Due to the precise content requirements, after handing over the formula to the factory, she stayed day and night to provide technical support.

"I wanted you to smell it because I wanted to discuss the advertisement issue. I’m not satisfied with any of the styling plans; they don’t quite match the scent."

According to the contract, before the product is released, the advertising company staff had only smelled the sample at The Sterling Group and couldn’t take it away. Cindy Sterling was the spokesperson, but she hadn’t actually smelled the new product until now.

However, today, she purely visited to see her old friend since she had one day off left.

Cindy Sterling pouted, resting her chin on her hand, complaining, "Wenny, I’m here to check on you and big brother; can we not talk about work?"

Ruby Sullivan mirrored her, resting her chin on her hand with the same pouty face, "But now the ad company can’t give me a satisfactory plan, and it’s really stressing me out."

"Alright, next time I’ll bring my stylist. Honestly, I also find their ideas dull, borrowed from major foreign ads. If it weren’t for big brother’s sake, I would have flipped out." She pursed her lips, sighed, and then smiled, "But don’t worry, my popularity is definitely reliable, worthy of the ’queen of endorsements’ title."

She winked, "So, were you with my big brother last night?"

Ruby Sullivan smiled helplessly, "Miss Sterling, have you been too busy to catch up on gossip news? My first press conference at The Sterling Group, I was exposed as married with a daughter; surely you know this?"

"How could I believe the news?" Cindy became even more curious, "Perhaps there’s an even bigger surprise secret!"

Ruby Sullivan pursed her lips, pulled down Cindy’s bucket hat to cover half her face, "You’re overthinking it. I arranged to go for lunch with someone; if I don’t leave now, I’ll be late. Hmm... I’ll pick up Honey at your place tonight, see you."

Ruby Sullivan saw her lift the hat brim and puff her cheeks at her, gave her a sweet smile, and waved, "Bye-bye."

Cindy wouldn’t give up, immediately chasing after her and hugging her shoulders from behind like a big sister, tilting her head, "I don’t have many friends here, take me along."

Ruby Sullivan typically didn’t wear very high heels on workdays; being quite tall, she felt a head shorter immediately when this young girl caught her.

She tilted her head to look at her, a bit helpless but had to agree; after all, anything related to Ethan Sterling today was also a mess of confusion, so might as well not talk about it.

Sasha Shaw was so surprised to see Cindy that she covered her mouth and stared at her without blinking, practically moved to tears, "Oh, my god!"

Cindy felt a tad embarrassed; it wasn’t the first time she’d seen Sasha like this, but in this setting, she felt a bit shy, raising her hand slowly to wave, "Hi."

Ruby Sullivan and Nathaniel Truman were also surprised by Sasha’s reaction. This girl mixes in film sets all the time, having worked with nearly every top celebrity in the country. She’s like an insulated body, remaining unmoved even meeting someone else’s "husband," so why lose her composure now?

"I’m your fan." Sasha, excited, rushed over, wanted a handshake, but then felt it wasn’t appropriate, rubbing her hand on her pants a few times before extending to shake Cindy’s hand again.

Ruby Sullivan was at a loss, "Sasha, calm down!"

Cindy was equally amused, "Want to take a photo?"

"Of course!" Sasha’s face lit up with joy, handing her phone to Ruby Sullivan, positioning herself beside Cindy.

Sasha wasn’t tall, further highlighting her short legs next to Cindy. The key was... with shorter legs, her face seemed even bigger, but she smiled happily!

Nathaniel Truman, concerned Sasha might have a heart attack, felt it was his duty to change the fan-meeting atmosphere, stood up, and introduced himself to Cindy, "Hi, I’m a doctor at Elysian Aesthetics Clinic. If needed, feel free to reach out."

Cindy was a bit displeased, "I think my original face is quite good."

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow, ambiguously saying, "Could be better."

Cindy unabashedly rolled her eyes.

Sasha, having calmed down, suddenly jumped up, smacked him on the head, and said crossly, "Can’t you let people eat?"

"Do you lack any ladylike demeanor? I spent over an hour spraying hairspray for this hairstyle!"

"Alright, alright, keep it up, or we’ll get booted out," Ruby Sullivan scolded, leading Cindy to a seat.

Cindy watched their interaction, smiling, "You all get along so well."

Sasha chuckled, blurting out, "The three of us were university classmates, known each other for years."

After speaking, she noticed Ruby Sullivan and Nathaniel Truman’s stiff expressions, her mind buzzing, face turning rigid too.

Before coming, Ruby Sullivan had already informed them about Cindy and Ethan Sterling’s relationship.