Chapter 208: Are We Your Spare Tires?

Chapter 208: Chapter 208: Are We Your Spare Tires?

"Finn is very thoughtful," Mrs. Sterling chuckled.

Lynn Winslow turned her face away and muttered, "I know."

Since she hadn’t seen her in a long time, Lynn Winslow stuck close to Mrs. Sterling all day. She accompanied Mrs. Sterling to the Powell family’s home to visit Elder Winslow, then went shopping with her, which made Ian Sterling feel like a third wheel.

After Lynn Winslow told him for the third time that he was being too clingy and in the way, he stormed out of Calyx Hall in a huff, floored it, and sped toward the Jennings Group headquarters.

Jasper Jennings was just walking out of a conference room when Mr. Jennings saw Ian Sterling and teased with a smile, "I hear from Jasper that you spend every day with your fiancée now. What made you willing to come out today?"

Ian Sterling smiled and casually made up an excuse. "She’s busy today."

Jasper Jennings’s lips curved into a smirk as he tried to stifle a laugh. Mr. Jennings knew the younger men had things to discuss, so he left with the other executives. ℯℯ𝘭.

Ian Sterling turned and strode into Jasper Jennings’s office ahead of its owner. He threw himself onto the sofa, utterly bored. "I’m bored to death."

Standing beside him, Jasper Jennings nudged his foot with his own and asked with an amused tone, "Where’s your wife?"

"She went out with Mrs. Sterling. They didn’t take me." Ian Sterling ran a hand through his hair, his lips twisting in annoyance.

"You can’t expect her to spend every single day with just you. A girl’s got to have her own life." Jasper Jennings walked over to his desk and sat down. "How long has it been since you’ve been to your own office?" he asked while sorting through his emails.

Ian Sterling didn’t answer. He was looking at his phone, checking if Lynn Winslow had messaged him. Seeing the empty notification screen, his mood sank, and he pressed his lips together.

Jasper Jennings glanced up at him, let out a soft snort of a laugh, then looked away and ignored him.

After some time, the quiet atmosphere was broken by the man lying on the sofa.

Ian Sterling sat up straight and declared solemnly, "I’m not going home tonight!!"

Jasper Jennings gave a lazy, half-hearted clap. "Wow," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "so impressive."

Ian Sterling stood up, went over to Jasper Jennings, and pulled him to his feet. "Let’s go out," he said, dragging him toward the door. "To a bar, to Vespermount, Austermount, anywhere."

"Dude, what time is it?" Jasper Jennings let himself be pulled along without a struggle, his question laced with resignation.

Ian Sterling frowned. "Where did we used to hang out during the day?"

Jasper Jennings was speechless. "When have we ever hung out during the day? We were all busy with our own stuff. At most, we’d meet up for lunch."

’It’s not like they were a bunch of rich playboys. Before taking over their family businesses, they had all worked directly under their fathers’ watchful eyes. Who would have dared to sneak off to have fun?’

Ian Sterling asked in disbelief, "Really? You guys were that diligent?"

Jasper Jennings gritted his teeth, slapped his hand away, and turned back to his office. "Get lost," he tossed over his shoulder. "The sight of you is annoying."

Outside was the secretarial pool. Hearing the exchange, all the secretaries were trying to hold back their laughter. The moment Ian Sterling followed Jasper Jennings back into the office and the door closed, they all burst out laughing at once.

’Who would have thought that the once cold, aloof, and untamable Finn Sterling would be like this after falling in love?’

Ian Sterling was out of options. He had pestered Jasper Jennings for ages, but Jasper just ignored him. So, he had no choice but to go find Kenneth Keller.

Kenneth Keller, on the other hand, was taking it easy. He was leaning back in his executive chair, feet propped up on his desk, playing a video game.

When Ian Sterling walked in, he didn’t even look up. "What’s up?" he asked lazily. "Your girl ignoring you, so now you remember we exist?"

"What do you mean she’s ignoring me? Am I not allowed to hang out with you guys normally?"

Kenneth let out a "Ha!" and asked incredulously, "Dude, you never come when we call you. The second Lynn Winslow ignores you, you come looking for us. Are we your backup plan or something?"

Ian Sterling was speechless, knowing Kenneth was right. He gritted his teeth and left.

He decided to just go find his future brother-in-law, Nigel Abbott. ’Surely Nigel won’t give me a hard time too, for his future brother-in-law’s sake, right?’

Nigel Abbott worked for the Quartos municipal government. When Ian Sterling entered the lobby, people recognized him, so no one stopped him. He had a clear path straight to Nigel’s office.

Knowing Nigel was in a conference room with guests, he let himself into Nigel’s office and flopped onto the long sofa, staring at his phone with a look of profound misery.

When Nigel came in, this was the first thing he saw. As his future brother-in-law, he couldn’t very well say much, so he just asked with a smile, "What’s all this about?"

Ian Sterling shook his head, tossed his phone violently to the side, and draped an arm over his forehead to cover his eyes. "I’m bored," he sighed. "Came to hang out with you guys."

"I have more work in a bit. I have to go out for some visits. Why don’t you just hang out here?" Nigel Abbott said with a helpless smile.

Ian Sterling propped himself up. "I’ll go with you."

Nigel agreed, grabbed some documents from his desk, and led Ian Sterling downstairs.

A colleague was already waiting in the lobby. Seeing Nigel arrive with the very recognizable Mr. Sterling from the Sterling Family trailing behind him, one who was friendlier with Nigel sidled up and asked, "Why’s your brother-in-law here too?"

"He’s coming with us. Just ignore him."

With one hand in his pocket, Ian Sterling didn’t react much to this, though his eyes kept darting to his phone screen.

Nigel Abbott had already heard from Jasper Jennings why Ian Sterling was making the rounds. Seeing him act like this now, he just chuckled softly and said nothing.

He spent the afternoon out with Nigel, had dinner with him in the evening, and then they went to Nys.

Jasper Jennings and the others were gathered together drinking, while Ian Sterling sat alone in an armchair, looking completely zoned out.

Zachary Quincy walked over to him. "Why don’t you take the initiative and give Lynn Winslow a call?"

Ian Sterling pressed his lips together. "I’m not calling."

’Why should I always be the one to make the first move? Not this time. This time, I have to stand my ground.’

"...You’re so spoiled," Zachary Quincy said, rolling his eyes before turning and walking away.

Ian Sterling rested his forehead in his hand, his expression growing darker by the second. Finally unable to take it anymore, he shot to his feet, pulling out his phone to call Lynn Winslow as he headed for the door.

He hadn’t even dialed the number when the door pulled open, and there stood Lynn Winslow, a bright smile on her face.

Ian Sterling froze, staring dumbfounded at the woman before him.

"Where were you going?" Lynn Winslow took a step forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Were you going to look for me?" she cooed.

Ian Sterling blinked and silently hummed in agreement.

"I knew it, so I came to find you." Lynn Winslow planted a kiss on his cheek, then leaned past him to wave at the others. "I’m taking him with me now," she announced with a smile.

"Please, take him away," Jasper Jennings said with a roll of his eyes and a wave of his hand. "He wouldn’t hang out with us anyway, just sat here sulking at us."

Lynn Winslow reached up and scratched Ian Sterling’s chin. "Is that true?" she asked softly.

Ian Sterling didn’t say anything, only tightening his arms around Lynn Winslow.

They walked out of the bar together, Lynn Winslow softly coaxing Ian Sterling as they went.

"Are you still upset?"