You're not leaving this time.

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Because the Boss Is Henpecked

Ian Sterling leaned languidly against the table, methodically twirling a dagger. Two bodyguards stood in the distance, silent and still.

A gaunt man sat trembling in a chair. Evan Carson glanced at his stone-faced boss, then stepped forward to address the man. ”Mr. Shawcross.”

The man snuck a glance at the dagger in Ian Sterling’s hand, his voice trembling. ”H-Hello.”

”Mr. Shawcross, you were taking candid photos of Finn. Could you tell me who you sent them to?” Evan Carson chuckled, raising an eyebrow. ”Don’t worry. If you talk, you’ll walk away with a few scrapes at worst. But if you insist on keeping quiet... I can’t make any guarantees.”

Mr. Shawcross swallowed, his throat parched. His forehead was beaded with cold sweat. A drop slid into his eye, and he blinked from the sting, not daring to raise a hand to wipe it away.

The trending story had been taken down for a day with no reaction from the Sterling Family, so he’d thought he was in the clear. But then, on his way to Xylos, he’d been grabbed at the airport by bodyguards in black and dragged here.

”I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” He looked at Ian Sterling, panicked. ”Finn, I’m willing to talk. I just... can you promise you’ll protect me? I’m afraid he’ll come after me.”

Ian Sterling scoffed at his words. He tossed the dagger in the air and caught it neatly, then set it on the table. Leaning in slightly, he smiled faintly. ”Are you trying to negotiate with me?”

”No, no! That’s not it, Finn, I...”

Ian Sterling couldn’t be bothered to listen to his stammering explanation. ”Just take care of him,” he said to Evan Carson.

Evan Carson nodded. As Ian Sterling leisurely started walking out, Mr. Shawcross’s eyes widened. ”Finn! Finn! I’ll talk! It was Zane Lancaster! Mr. Lancaster from the Cruz family!”

Ian Sterling turned, walking backward toward the door. ”Did you record that?” he asked Evan Carson. ”Send me a copy of the video.”

”Got it on recording, Finn,” Evan Carson confirmed with a nod.

”Good.” Ian Sterling turned, pulled open the conference room door, and left without a backward glance.

Trembling, Mr. Shawcross looked at Evan Carson. Evan Carson turned to the two bodyguards. ”Take him away. Rough him up a little before you let him go.”

The bodyguards stepped forward, each grabbing one of Mr. Shawcross’s arms. They dragged him away, walking brazenly through the secretarial pool on the same floor and into the elevator.

Evan Carson walked out of the conference room to find the secretaries staring with pale faces. He chuckled. ”You’re not the ones taking illicit photos. What’s there to be afraid of?”

One of the bolder secretaries stepped forward. ”Secretary Carson, in the past, when someone was caught taking photos of the boss, they just had to delete them and get a warning. Why was he so furious this time?”

Evan Carson replied enigmatically, ”Because the boss is afraid of the missus.”

”Huh?”

Leaving the baffled secretaries behind, Evan Carson entered Ian Sterling’s office. Ian was lounging with his feet propped up on the desk, idly playing on his phone.

”Boss, what’s next?”

”Give him a taste of his own medicine. Mr. Lancaster has plenty of his own ’exploits’ back in Morelia. Dig them up and release them.” Ian Sterling’s finger never stopped tapping his screen as he glanced up at Evan Carson.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and Evan Carson caught it. He quickly averted his gaze. ”I’ll get on it right away.”

”Mm, and remember to issue a clarification.” Ian Sterling thought for a moment, then added, ”Tell them not to throw any more obstacles in my path while I’m trying to woo my girlfriend.”

”...”

”Understood.”

He finished his round of the game, pocketed his phone, and stood up to head to the hotpot restaurant for his dinner gathering.

When he arrived, Jasper Jennings and Zachary Quincy were chatting with the owner. Seeing him, they immediately started teasing him relentlessly.

Zachary Quincy jeered, ”How was it? Trending on the gossip sites with your own sister. Was it fun?”

Ian Sterling wasn’t bothered, simply returning the jab. ”Isn’t your sister Charlotte due back soon? When she is, how about I help you and her get a feature of your own?”

Zachary Quincy immediately shut his mouth and shot Ian Sterling a venomous glare.

Jasper Jennings laughed at his expense. ”Serves you right for picking a fight with Finn when you know you can’t win.”

Zachary Quincy gritted his teeth. ”He’s no fun anymore.”

”Men in relationships are never any fun,” Jasper Jennings said, getting up. He opened a beer and went to pour some for Ian Sterling, but Ian covered his glass. ”Not drinking,” he said flatly. ”I’m going to see Lynn Winslow later.”

”It’s just beer. You won’t even get drunk. Just have your driver take you later.” Jasper Jennings frowned. ”You’re being serious?”

”I’m not drinking,” Ian Sterling refused coldly.

The owner took the bottle from Jasper Jennings’s hand, beaming. ”If he won’t drink, fine. More for us.”

They chatted and drank while Ian Sterling focused on eating, ignoring them whenever their conversation drifted back to him.

Once he finished his meal, he stood up. ”Take your time, you guys. I’m leaving.”

He left in a hurry, disappearing from the private room in the blink of an eye. The other three were left staring at his empty seat.

Kenneth Keller had just parked his car when he saw a familiar vehicle pulling out of the lot. He raised an eyebrow.

Ian Sterling’s car was a one-of-a-kind custom model his older brother, Elias Sterling, had commissioned for his birthday. It was an extremely rare vehicle, with every detail screaming ”expensive.” Even in Quartos, a city teeming with the sons of the elite, it was a rare sight.

He walked into the private room. ”Why’d Finn leave already?”

”What do you think?” Jasper Jennings shot back.

Kenneth Keller opened a bottle of beer and poured himself a glass. ”I figured he was heading to the office at first,” he said. ”But on second thought, our Finn is a consummate capitalist. He wouldn’t rush off like that for work.”

He took a sip of beer. ”So, unless he was going to see Lynn Winslow, I can’t think of any other reason.”

”Yep. Our Finn is completely lovesick.”

”Agreed.”

The four of them clinked their glasses together.

When Ian Sterling arrived at Amberly Bay, he saw several people in work uniforms coming out of the villa. Confused, he went inside.

By the villa’s floor-to-ceiling windows, there was now a natural-wood, Chinese-style tea table. Its style was a complete mismatch for the rest of the villa’s decor, making it stand out conspicuously.

Mrs. Sterling was wiping the table and arranging a tea set. Seeing his puzzled look, she explained, ”Lynn learned the art of tea when she was staying with her grandfather. She asked me to have this set up after she woke up today.”

Ian Sterling nodded. He glanced around but didn’t see Lynn, so Mrs. Sterling added, ”Lynn is upstairs changing.”

As if on cue, Lynn Winslow appeared, descending the stairs at a graceful pace.

She had changed into a pale qipao, her hair loosely pinned up with a hairpin. Her lips curved into a smile when she saw him.

With great tact, Mrs. Sterling led the other servants away, leaving the two of them alone in the vast villa.

Lynn Winslow took the host’s seat. With a playfully solemn air, she gestured with an open palm to the chair opposite her. ”Please, sit.”

Ian Sterling chuckled and played along, taking the seat.

”My grandfather grew up in Morelia, but he never liked coffee, only tea. Once, when I was sick, he wouldn’t let me leave the house. I got so bored I decided to study the art of tea. I forced my grandfather and Joel to watch me practice every day. By the time I got good, they were both sick to death of drinking tea.”

Her pretty eyes curved into crescents as she gave him a sweet smile.

Ian Sterling’s heart stirred as Lynn Winslow continued to speak.