Chapter 357 - 355: Murder! Help!

Cecilia Sterling paid no mind to his dark, livid expression. As she turned away, a flicker of contempt showed in her eyes.

Seeing this, Caleb Cross glared and ground his teeth. "Miss Sterling," he began, "being young and hot-headed isn’t a good thing. By burning your bridges like this today, are you truly not afraid you’ll come begging me for a favor in the future?"

It’s always wise to leave yourself an out, so you can meet again on good terms.

In society, few people with any real power or status weren’t diplomatic. Regardless of their true feelings, everyone maintained a civil facade.

Caleb Cross knew that in every circle he moved in, there were plenty of people who couldn’t stand him. But no one had ever treated him the way Cecilia Sterling did, with such blatant disregard and utter indifference to the consequences.

He had never expected a woman in her early twenties to have such an unconventional temperament. It wasn’t the petulance or rudeness of a spoiled girl; she genuinely, thoroughly despised him.

He could feel it viscerally, which was why he felt humiliated again and again in her presence. He wasn’t receiving the respect he believed his status commanded.

His last words had been a thinly veiled threat, enough to make Cecilia Sterling stop in her tracks, even though she was already several yards away.

A faint smirk touched Caleb Cross’s lips. He thought she was scared.

’After all, no matter how brazen she acts, she’s still just a young woman at the end of the day.’

However, when Cecilia Sterling turned back to face him, her expression was still impassive and her tone was flat. "There’s no need for any cordiality between President Cross and myself, because you and I are not the same kind of people."

"And you don’t need to fantasize about a day when I’ll come begging you for a favor. I’m a person of principles and standards. And what a coincidence—you fail to meet my principles and you’ve already sunk below my standards. So ’begging you’ for anything? It will never happen!"

With that said, Cecilia Sterling had no interest in wasting another word on him and turned the corner into the elevator lobby.

Estelle Goodman glanced back at Caleb Cross and curled her lip in contempt. ’I don’t know this guy,’ she thought, ’but if Cecilia hates him, then so do I!’

Once the three of them were gone, an eerie silence descended upon the hallway.

Caleb Cross’s three assistants and his secretary had witnessed the entire exchange, watching their boss get publicly humiliated by a young woman. They all lowered their heads, studiously examining the floor, not daring to utter a sound or even breathe too loudly.

Caleb Cross ground his teeth so hard he thought they would shatter. The encounter reminded him of the early days of his startup, when he had faced constant rejection and contempt while trying to build his company.

But that was a long, long time ago. Now, he was basking in success, with all the wealth and status he could ever want. Even the people who had given him a hard time back then had to be exceedingly polite to him now.

It had been a long time since anyone had dared to disrespect him so brazenly. Rage burned within him, and he clenched his fists unconsciously.

"Mandy!"

After a long moment, Caleb Cross suppressed his fury and called out his assistant’s name.

Mandy, who was standing nearby, quickly looked up. "President Cross?" she asked timidly.

Caleb Cross let out a slow breath. "That streamer who wants to terminate her contract," he said slowly, "go find out what’s going on."

"Oh, right away." Mandy nodded quickly.

A dark look clouded Caleb Cross’s eyes. ’I might not have a way to get back at Cecilia Sterling directly right now,’ he thought, ’but her friend is still signed to my company!’

Once the three of them were in the elevator, Blair looked at Cecilia with a hint of confusion. "Wasn’t that guy at our table during the banquet? Is he the head of Wanderlust?"

Cecilia nodded gently. "Even though that was only the second time I’ve met him, the man is absolutely detestable. I let my sharp tongue get the better of me and was a little too harsh."

"You’re still signed with Wanderlust, and I can tell that man is incredibly petty. He can’t get to me, so he’ll probably try to make your contract termination difficult."

Blair, however, looked completely unfazed. She wasn’t scared at all. "Let him try. I’m terminating this contract one way or another."

"Don’t worry," Cecilia said. "I’ll help you figure something out."

’Truthfully,’ Cecilia thought, ’even if that confrontation hadn’t happened, Caleb Cross would have made things difficult for Blair’s contract termination. He’s the type to seek revenge for the smallest slight. Our feud began that day at the banquet table. As long as he has a chance to make my life difficult, he won’t pass it up.’

’On the surface, he seems petty, but at his core, he’s just sensitive and insecure.’

’Petty, sensitive, and insecure. When those three traits are combined in one person, you can just imagine how paranoid and irrational they can be!’

Cecilia and her friends found a cafe by the side of the road and sat down. The afternoon temperature in Lorcain was perfect this time of year—warm sunlight that didn’t scorch, a cool breeze that wasn’t chilly. It was the perfect weather for a hot latte.

"I’ll schedule a meeting with Lawyer Quincy first," Cecilia said. "We’ll have him take a look at the contract."

Blair had her own concerns. "I’m not sure the legal route will work. Hundreds, maybe thousands of streamers have signed this contract. Wanderlust must have made it ironclad, with no loopholes for us to exploit."

"That’s true, I agree with you." Cecilia looked at Blair. "But Lawyer Quincy is a professional. Even if the contract is airtight, he can still give us some expert advice. It might be useful, you never know."

Hearing this, Estelle’s face scrunched up. "If even the legal route won’t work, isn’t that company completely lawless? Are they really allowed to just openly scam people and bleed them dry?"

Blair lowered her gaze and sighed softly. "You can’t blame them entirely. It’s also my fault for not doing my research. I was completely clueless and had no experience, which is how I ended up in this situation."

She had come to terms with her own role in this, so she couldn’t place all the blame on them. ’If I had just been a bit more careful back then,’ she thought, ’I might not have been fooled so easily.’

"There’s no point in talking about that now," Cecilia said. "Right now, we need to focus on figuring out how to terminate the contract."

Blair and Estelle nodded. But just then, a terrified scream suddenly erupted from the street, instantly drawing the attention of all the customers at the outdoor cafe.

Nearly everyone jumped to their feet and ran to the edge of the sidewalk, looking in the direction of the sound. The sight made them all turn pale with fright. A middle-aged woman, covered in blood, was screaming in panic as she staggered toward the cafe. "Mur-murder! Help me...!"