Chapter 235: Sterling Get Out My Company

Mia threw her arms around me in a tight, impulsive hug, nearly knocking my lapel pin loose. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she gushed, pulling back with her face bright red. "I’m going to make you something incredible! A custom, one-of-a-kind piece—no, a absolute masterpiece gift! Just wait, Ethan, you’re going to love it!"

"I’m looking forward to it, Mia," I smiled, adjusting my jacket. "Take your time."

While Mia was beaming, Sterling finally snapped.

"THIS IS INSANITY!" Sterling roared, slamming his hands onto the polished oak table, his knuckles turning white. "You can’t just strip me of my life’s work! I built Sterling Co. from the ground up! Every contact, every contract, every piece of prestige—I STARTED THIS COMPANY! YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME!"

I didn’t even blink. I just looked at him with cold, heavy eyes and spoke in a low, measured voice. "Settle down, Sterling."

The sheer authority in my voice hit him like a physical wall. Sterling choked on his next breath, his chest heaving, but he actually clamped his mouth shut and sank backward into his chair, unable to refuse the command.

Right on cue, my phone vibrated. Sarah stepped up beside me and whispered quietly, "Boss, Cornell and Morin just arrived downstairs. I had security bring them straight up."

A clever, dark idea sparked in my head.

A few seconds later, the boardroom doors swung open. Cornell and Morin walked in—or rather, Cornell froze dead in his tracks the second he crossed the threshold. His eyes went wide as dinner plates behind his heavy glasses as he stared at Sterling, his ultimate industry idol, sitting helpless at the table.

Morin just let out a heavy, exhausted sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose as she took in the scene. She already knew this night was turning into something far bigger than any of them had planned.

"Ah, Cornell, Morin, perfect timing," I said smoothly, leaning back in my chair.

I turned my eyes back to Sterling, setting up a psychological trap. "Tell you what, Sterling. I’m a reasonable man. I’ll give you one single chance to regain executive standing and have a chunk of my controlling shares revoked back to you."

Sterling’s eyes snapped up, a desperate glint of hope igniting in his face. "What’s the catch?"

"Simple," I smirked, gesturing toward Cornell. "You give up your upper-class snobbery, take on Cornell’s boutique line as an equal co-brand under Sterling Co., and work directly under Cornell to launch his multi-axis tourbillon line. Agree to that, and I hand back a portion of my equity."

Cornell gasped, clutching his chest like he was about to faint. "W-what?! Work with me?!"

Morin shook her head with a wry smile, instantly catching on to what I was doing.

It was a complete, calculated bluff. Sterling’s massive, inflated ego was his absolute biggest flaw—there was no universe where a corporate elitist like him would ever swallow his pride to work under an independent watchmaker he had looked down on just hours ago.

Sterling glared at Cornell, his jaw twitching with intense disgust, then looked back at me with burning hatred. "Work under him? Under this nobody?! I’d rather rot in early retirement than drag my name through the mud with a basement amateur!"

"Then your answer is no," I said calmly, standing up and buttoning my charcoal suit jacket. "The board’s decision stands. Mia takes the division, Cornell gets the Hidden Gem partnership, and you get escorted off the premises."

As the corporate security team escorted Sterling out of the boardroom—his face purple with helpless rage—the heavy glass doors clicked shut behind him.

The silence that followed was broken by Cornell, who practically tripped over his own feet rushing toward me.

"Ethan, I—I don’t even know what to say!" Cornell stammered, frantically adjusting his glasses as his eyes darted from Mia back to me. "A Hidden Gem partnership? A direct collaboration with Mia?! You just completely reshaped my entire life in a single night!"

Morin stepped up beside him, crossing her arms with a sleek, satisfied smirk on her face. "And more importantly, Ethan, thank you for making this idiot realize his precious idol was an arrogant jerk all along." She nudged Cornell hard with her elbow. "Maybe now he’ll stop bootylicking corporate suits who wouldn’t even step over him in the street."

"Hey! I wasn’t bootylicking—" Cornell tried to defend himself, his hands waving in protest. "I was just... looking up to his brand’s legacy!"

Morin didn’t even speak. She slowly turned her head and hit him with a deadly, bossy glare that instantly cut him off mid-sentence. Cornell winced, swallowed his words, and quietly shrank back down to size.

I let out a soft laugh, raising a hand and waving it off with a casual smile. "Don’t sweat it. It’s nothing big. Just focus on making incredible timepieces together."

Chloe stepped beside me, sliding her tablet into her leather briefcase. "Everything is legally wrapped up here. The shares are locked, the patents are secured, and Sterling Co. is officially restructured under Hidden Gem."

Mia held her custom watch prototype tightly against her chest, her face lighting up with genuine excitement. "I can’t wait to get back into the workshop!"

The heavy SUV doors closed out the quiet night as the driver pulled smoothly away from the Sterling Co. headquarters, steering us back toward the estate.

Chloe leaned back against the leather seat, letting out a soft sigh as she unbuttoned her sharp suit jacket. She turned her eyes toward me, an undeniable look of pride and amazement shining through.

"Long day," Chloe murmured, shaking her head with a light chuckle. "Honestly, Ethan... buying out his controlling board right under his nose while he was busy ego-bidding? How did you even think of that? It was incredible."

I reached out, wrapped my arm around her waist, and smoothly pulled her over onto my lap.

"You did most of the work," I said softly, resting my hand on her waist while my fingers gently reached down to unbuckle the slender straps of her heels, easing them off her feet so she could finally relax.

Chloe rested her head against my shoulder, a relaxed smile settling on her lips as she leaned into my touch.

"How is your Master’s degree going?" I asked casually, running a hand through her hair.

"It’s going well," she replied softly, tracing a pattern on my chest. "I actually switched to part-time classes this semester... just to make sure I have plenty of time to spend with you."

Hearing that put a genuine smile on my face. "That’s good to know."

I leaned my head back against the leather headrest, taking in the quiet moment after a wild string of victories—from May’s record-shattering 9.11-second track run to Benita’s exploding UncuT hype, and now taking over Sterling’s entire corporate horological empire.

"You know..." I mused softly, my fingers gently running along her ankle. "With all this work we’ve been putting in, I was thinking it might be time to take a proper break. Maybe a full world-tour vacation with all the girls—May, Ruby, Patricia, Mia, Benita, and you. Just rent out luxury yachts, private islands, and enjoy the system’s fruits without any corporate distractions."

Chloe hummed thoughtfully, tilting her face up to look at me with a soft, warm glint in her eyes. "A world tour... That sounds amazing, Ethan. But I’m guessing we wait until after the immediate schedule?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Right after Ruby’s upcoming album launch and May’s Grand Prix race. Once those are locked down, we take off."

Chloe smiled, resting her cheek against my chest as the estate gates appeared ahead in the distance. "Hmm... perfect."