Chapter 427 - 423: Julian Summers

Cecilia nodded in understanding. "Alright, I’m going to go talk to Mr. Sullivan about something. I’ll find you when I’m done."

Seeing Cecilia was serious about learning, Coach Warner perked up instantly. "No problem, beautiful. I’ll wait for you in the main lounge area."

Cecilia changed back into her heels and returned to the lounge. Seeing it was still just the young secretary inside, she asked in surprise, "Isn’t Mr. Sullivan finished yet?"

"He’s finished, Miss Sterling. I’ll take you to him. Please, follow me."

They left the lounge and walked to the right for a short while. Secretary Grant led Cecilia to a spacious public relaxation area.

On a sofa by the window, Julian Summers was scrolling through his phone, dressed in a white bathrobe with his legs crossed. His short hair was slightly damp, and a pleasant fragrance wafted from him.

Hearing the sound of high heels, he subconsciously looked up. When he saw Cecilia behind Grant, Julian Summers’s eyes lit up. He slowly uncrossed his legs and straightened his posture slightly.

’Grant was right.’

’She’s a young beauty.’

’Absolutely stunning!’

"Sir, Miss Sterling is here."

Julian Summers’s gaze was fixed on Cecilia. After a moment, a smile played on his lips and he nodded. "Miss Sterling, I presume?"

"Hello, Mr. Sullivan. I’m Cecilia Sterling," Cecilia introduced herself softly.

The expression on Julian Summers’s face grew more amused. "Mr. Sanders... If he had told me earlier that the ’Mr. Sterling’ he was talking about was a beautiful young lady, I wouldn’t have been so negligent. He kept saying ’Mr. Sterling,’ so I thought you were some old man."

Cecilia smiled, pressing her lips together. Julian Summers gestured for her to take a seat. "Please, Miss Sterling, have a seat."

Cecilia thanked him and sat down with graceful composure. But as she looked up, she accidentally caught a glimpse of the "scenery" under Julian Summers’s bathrobe. She blinked lightly and pointed it out directly, "Um, Mr. Sullivan... you’re a little exposed."

Julian Summers froze, looked down, and quickly adjusted his disheveled bathrobe. "Oh, sorry about that."

’Good thing he was wearing underwear, so the view wasn’t completely unobstructed.’

Cecilia shook her head with a smile, but then an unrestrained snicker sounded from the side.

Secretary Grant slapped a hand over his mouth in horror as Julian Summers’s glare shot toward him.

"What would you like to drink, Miss Sterling?" Secretary Grant quickly turned to Cecilia, ignoring his boss’s death stare.

"A glass of ice water, please. Thank you."

Once Secretary Grant had left, Cecilia looked at Julian Summers again. He was more or less as she had imagined: tall and fair-skinned, with the air of a rich playboy, but lacking the calm and commanding presence of a true boss.

’To put it bluntly, he was like a big kid who hadn’t fully grown up, even though he was already twenty-six.’

"Mr. Sanders told me you’re interested in The Crimson Hotel?" Julian Summers got straight to the point when he spoke again, a faint smile lingering on his lips, as he found her quite pleasing to the eye.

Cecilia nodded. "If you’re planning to sell, Mr. Sullivan, why don’t you name a price?"

"So direct?" Julian Summers was surprised. They had barely exchanged a sentence, and she was already asking him to quote a price.

Cecilia gave a slight smile and said softly, "We’re both young. Let’s not bother with the old-fashioned business song and dance, shall we? If you have no intention of selling The Crimson, Mr. Sullivan, then there’s no point in talking further. If you are willing to sell, it will all come down to the price eventually. So why not skip the unnecessary steps in between?"

"Haha..." Julian Summers laughed out loud at her words and clapped his hands lightly. "Well said. It seems Miss Sterling is a very efficient person. I like working with people like you. After all, my time is precious too, and I’d rather spend it on things I enjoy, like my cars."

"So, are you willing to sell The Crimson to me, Mr. Sullivan?"

Julian Summers shrugged. "Of course, I can sell The Crimson. Miss Sterling, you’ve probably already looked into my company’s situation. The Crimson is losing money every year, and personally, I don’t think it’s worth renovating. After all, in a place like the Sunstone District, it doesn’t matter how luxurious you make a hotel."

"If you want to take it over, Miss Sterling, don’t blame me for not warning you. If you end up losing money on it later, I’m not responsible."

His words were quite frank. To Julian Summers, The Crimson Hotel was no longer important. Whether it was sold or left to rot made little difference to him. The Sullivan Company had extensive holdings in the hotel industry; the fate of a single hotel like The Crimson was trivial.

Cecilia smiled faintly. Her impression of this playboy scion improved a bit.

"Thank you for the warning, Mr. Sullivan, but I understand the risks of investment. Whether I make a profit or a loss later on will be my own doing and has nothing to do with you."

Seeing Cecilia’s completely calm and composed demeanor, he couldn’t tell if she simply didn’t care about the money or if she had absolute confidence in The Crimson.

Julian Summers raised an eyebrow slightly. "The Crimson’s location may not be ideal, but acquiring it outright is no small sum. If you’re just doing this for fun, isn’t the cost a bit too high?"

Cecilia laughed at his words. "Mr. Sullivan, you’re the seller. This is the first time I’ve met a seller who keeps urging the buyer to be cautious."

Julian Summers laughed too. "Because everyone in the industry knows The Crimson’s value. I’m just afraid you’ll suffer a loss from being an amateur, Miss Sterling."

Perhaps in Julian Summers’s eyes, Cecilia was just like he used to be: clueless, but able to do whatever she wanted because her family had money. She could pursue any whim simply because she had the capital.

But The Crimson was a hotel, not something that cost a few dozen or a few hundred dollars. If she played such a high-stakes game and lost, it would hurt no matter how wealthy her family was.

So his warning was genuinely well-intentioned, but it was also just for Cecilia. Who could blame him for having a soft spot for a pretty face?

If it had been anyone else, he wouldn’t have bothered with the extra words.

"I appreciate your good intentions, Mr. Sullivan. Thank you," Cecilia said slowly. "However, I did my due diligence before I contacted President Sanders. You don’t need to worry about me. My mind is made up. Now, it’s all up to you. Or has someone else already spoken with you? From what I know, there are plenty of people interested in acquiring The Crimson. I’m not the only bold one out there."

Julian Summers nodded. "That’s true. But I don’t like any of them. They think that just because The Crimson is no longer valuable to my company, they can try to lowball me into the ground."

"But I refuse to let them get what they want. My company can afford The Crimson’s annual losses. A lot of people might not understand my approach, but I just have that rebellious streak in me."

As he spoke, he looked at Cecilia and a smirk touched his lips. "So, Miss Sterling, if you want The Crimson, you’ll have to accept my price. Otherwise, there’s nothing to discuss."

He had expected Cecilia to at least offer some rebuttal to his words, or at the very least, think it over carefully.

But he never imagined she would immediately laugh and blurt out, "The first thing I did after sitting down was ask you to name your price, Mr. Sullivan. As long as it’s reasonable, I won’t haggle."

’Just how high could the price for The Crimson be, anyway?’