Chapter 99 Ex-Wife’s Suitors

Chapter 99: Chapter 99: Ex-Wife’s Suitors

Julian Sterling was surrounded by a crowd of people. Standing tall and elegant in the center, he fastened a button on his suit jacket with one hand, his gaze sweeping over with calm indifference.

The two buildings were adjacent to each other, and the distance between them was short. Given the open layout of the area, Lucas Langley’s voice carried over exceptionally clear.

Sophie Winslow hesitated. She hadn’t expected Julian to be in talks with the opposing company for so long, let alone that they would coincidentally bump into each other under these circumstances.

Seeing that Sophie didn’t answer, Lucas took a step closer, seemingly leaving her no room to refuse. "Even if Helios has countermeasures in place, it will take a full cycle for them to rebuild their reputation. As an employee of Helios, securing my investment would guarantee your rapid climb up the corporate ladder. Accept my terms. It’s a highly lucrative deal for you."

Sophie raised her eyes, meeting Lucas’s determined gaze. Her lips moved slightly. Before she could give her answer, a car pulled up in front of Julian nearby.

In that brief moment, Julian’s gaze swept past her. He looked as nonchalant as if he had merely stumbled upon a stranger’s romantic entanglement. Stepping straight into the car, he showed absolutely no curiosity about the answer his soon-to-be ex-wife was about to give. The vehicle then sped off, leaving a trail of dust in its wake.

Sophie quietly weighed her pros and cons.

Lucas stared at the fair, pink-tinted skin of her cheeks. "If you agree, come to Seabourne with me for a vacation. I can sign the contract at any time."

Sophie could certainly see the desire to conquer in Lucas’s eyes, but she didn’t care whether his intentions toward her were pure or not.

"Since Mr. Langley has shown such sincerity, sharing a meal is no big deal." She looked at him with utter indifference. "Time?"

Lucas, of course, caught the underlying message. It was strictly limited to a meal. If he didn’t agree, the deal was off.

This attitude made Lucas frown involuntarily. Sophie was much harder to handle than he had imagined. However, he decided not to dwell on it. What he wanted was to see Sophie shed her pride on her own. Women were not complicated creatures; they easily fell into sweet traps. He wanted to see if Sophie could maintain this aloof attitude all the way to the end.

"Tomorrow. See you in Seabourne."

"Alright."

Having gotten the time, Sophie turned and walked away. She didn’t think much of it. Helios was currently facing financing issues because of Stella Sutton, and there was no reason to reject an investment that Lucas was delivering right to her doorstep.

Lucas, on the other hand, was somewhat surprised. Having been rejected by Sophie so many times, he had expected her to give him the cold shoulder again. It caught him off guard for a moment. Turning to watch Sophie’s retreating figure, he finally raised an eyebrow.

Just as he had expected. Since Sophie was capable of setting her sights on Julian, a man who already had a girlfriend, it fundamentally proved she was a social climber. It was impossible for her not to be tempted by the terms he had offered. Since money could sway her, winning her over wouldn’t be difficult.

Sophie ended up discussing the matter with Peter Preston.

Peter sneered. "Men and their base instincts. Why would Lucas suddenly be interested in you? I thought he despised you in every possible way before?"

Sophie looked down at her project report. "You said it yourself—it’s just how men are. Besides their own wives and girlfriends, who don’t spark much interest in them, they harbor desires for every beautiful woman they see equally."

"..." Peter struggled for a moment. "Could you exclude me from that generalization?"

Sophie nodded in agreement. "True. Peter, your shop is completely closed for business." He was a total workaholic.

Peter laughed and scolded her jokingly. "Anyway, you don’t need to force yourself into doing anything you don’t want to just for Helios’s financing. This issue will get resolved eventually."

Sophie smiled. "I’m going to Seabourne because I happen to need to inspect the smart medical tech there. Domestic products like these are usually tested in a Tier 1 city like Seabourne before being implemented in Kingsford. Seabourne has the newest and broadest resources. I was actually planning to go learn more about it so we can start on our own project."

Rather than saying she agreed to have dinner with Lucas, it was more like she was going on a field inspection and securing an investment on the side.

Peter knew Sophie was a forward thinker, but he still insisted, "Then I’ll go with you. Otherwise, I won’t have peace of mind.

"Besides, your birthday is coming up. I can’t let you spend it all alone," he finalized the decision on the spot.

Sophie agreed.

As for Ivy Hawthorne, Sophie planned to retrieve the raw documentary footage after returning from Seabourne. She knew exactly how she was going to handle the incident regarding Seth Sutton’s allergy.

Sophie and Peter bought tickets and flew to Seabourne that very day.

They visited a few large top-tier hospitals and inspected several pioneering smart medical tech companies. Once they had a solid understanding of the market, they finally arrived at the resort hotel Lucas had designated.

This was the most luxurious hotel in Seabourne. Opening the windows offered a stunning view of the ocean. Sophie had set her sights on a premium ocean-view room that came with a private pool. Although she didn’t know how to swim, the environment was pleasing to the eye.

The only downside was the hefty price tag. Since this was a rare vacation, Sophie gritted her teeth and booked it with her own money. Having booked the room online, she and Peter took a car to the hotel to check in.

The receptionist verified Sophie’s order and immediately put on an apologetic expression. "I am so sorry, ma’am, but this suite is no longer available. Our rooms are currently fully booked. Would it be alright if we changed you to another room?"

Sophie was confused. "I booked it online. How could it be unavailable?"

Peter also looked over. "This is your hotel’s mistake, isn’t it?"

The receptionist smiled awkwardly. "There was an unexpected situation. Rooms with that specific view are very scarce. Aside from this eighteen-thousand-dollar room, the only other option with a comparable view is the presidential suite, which costs over three-hundred-thousand a night."

Sophie understood immediately. The unexpected situation just meant that someone else had snatched it away.

She looked at the receptionist, not really wanting to make things difficult for her. "So you’re saying that if I want to enjoy that specific viewing experience, my only option is to book the three-hundred-thousand-dollar presidential suite?"

Not to mention the fact that Julian hadn’t yet transferred her share of the assets from their divorce settlement. Even if she did have that much cash on hand, she couldn’t afford to burn it like that. Didn’t she know the presidential suite was better?

"My confirmed reservation is right here. Your hotel needs to resolve this and give me a satisfactory answer." Sophie was no pushover. She wasn’t about to suffer in silence.

The receptionist looked conflicted. Catching sight of something out of the corner of her eye, she immediately spoke up, "Mr. Sterling, about the suite for your girlfriend—this lady refuses to give it up..."

Sophie’s spine stiffened. She turned her head and saw a group of people walking into the lobby from outside.

Leading the group was Julian, closely followed by Stella. Beside them was Finn Lockwood, who was currently on a phone call. Accompanying them were a few other men in sharp suits.

With a single glance, Sophie recognized two of them as executives from smart medical tech companies. Presumably, they were also here to discuss projects. Furthermore, Seth Sutton’s issue was likely not serious anymore. Otherwise, Stella wouldn’t have been able to strut out of Kingsford so freely.

Julian had been looking down at his phone and only raised his eyes at the sound of the receptionist’s voice. His deep, dark eyes glanced at Sophie without a single ripple of emotion.

Sophie frowned imperceptibly. Even after fleeing all the way to Seabourne, she still managed to run into this plague of a man.

Stella cast a fleeting glance at Sophie before ordering the receptionist, "Just follow the rules and regulations. I’ve already checked in. Simply have everyone else choose a different room."

Her commanding tone suddenly brought clarity to Sophie’s mind. This top-tier luxury hotel... did it belong to the Sterling family? Stella’s tone was entirely that of a boss’s wife giving orders to her staff.

Peter leaned against the front desk. "Is this how such a high-end hotel conducts its business? Mr. Sterling, this is highly inappropriate, isn’t it?"

Blatantly opening the back door to snatch a room away from a customer just so his girlfriend could stay in her preferred suite—did he no longer care about the brand’s reputation? What was the difference between this and being completely blinded by lust?

Julian finally put away his phone and strode over, coming to a stop in front of Sophie, bringing with him a faint scent of fir and ebony. "She likes the pool in that room, Miss Winslow. What will it take for you to negotiate?"

Sophie raised her eyes to look at him. Miss Winslow—this form of address was truly polite and distant enough.