Chapter 100 Mr. Sterling, the Woman I Want to Sleep With is Sophie Winslow

Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Mr. Sterling, the Woman I Want to Sleep With is Sophie Winslow

Even Peter Preston frowned.

Miss Winslow?

A wife of seven years, and all she got was a cold "Miss Winslow"? And he was forcing his wife of many years to make way for the other woman?

Sophie Winslow, however, felt no emotional fluctuation. The hotel belonged to the Sterling Family; naturally, the brand’s reputation was paramount. Rather than causing a scene, it was better to just take a step back. This was Julian Sterling’s way of solving things.

"It’s just a room, Sophie. You shouldn’t be so petty about it," Finn Lockwood said patiently, walking over after finishing his phone call.

Especially at a crucial juncture like this. With Seth Sutton’s situation still unresolved, shouldn’t Sophie be treading carefully and figuring out how to please Stella Sutton to smooth things over?

A hint of mockery flickered in Sophie’s eyes. He had left no room for argument. What else was there for her to say?

"Give Miss Winslow a complimentary upgrade." Julian seemed unconcerned with Sophie’s thoughts. His polite inquiry moments ago had merely been a formality. He gave the instruction to the receptionist with a passive glance.

The receptionist was taken aback. Upgrading an 18,000-yuan room to a 300,000-yuan suite. This was an absolute windfall.

Even Stella Sutton couldn’t help but frown. She hadn’t expected Sophie to get such a huge advantage out of this.

Since Julian was being so generous in smoothing things over for Stella, Sophie withdrew her gaze, cleanly snatched her new room card, and walked away.

Peter, maintaining professional courtesy, offered a polite smile and a nod before catching up to Sophie.

"She just had to fight you for it. I’m starting to suspect Stella insisted on that specific room because she saw your name on the reservation," Peter said, shaking his head. After all, this was a Sterling Family hotel. Stella certainly had her ways of accessing guest information.

Stepping into the elevator, Sophie rubbed her temples. "It doesn’t matter. Come to my room in a bit. Let’s discuss the pros and cons of those surgical robots here in Seabourne."

"Alright."

Just as the doors were about to close, they opened again. Julian and his group were standing right outside.

Finn was the first to step inside, striking up a conversation. "Mr. Preston, I heard Helios’s recent financing round hasn’t been going smoothly?"

Hearing this, Stella silently raised an eyebrow. If he didn’t fire Sophie, Peter wouldn’t be able to withstand the pressure for much longer. With so many investors pulling out, how could a single Sophie compare to the entire future of Helios?

Peter, fully aware of the man’s intentions, replied in a leisurely tone, "We’ll take our time. There’s no rush."

"True, but I’d still advise you to be careful, Mr. Preston. The hospital incident might be unresolved, but it’s a ticking time bomb regardless. Just don’t let your personal feelings cloud your business judgment."

Finn also knew about what happened to Seth Sutton. Frankly speaking, Helios was currently on very thin ice. If they didn’t cut out the "tumor" at the source—Sophie—there would be endless trouble down the road. To put it bluntly, Sophie couldn’t wash her hands of the accusation of using a child as a test subject.

"Thank you for your concern, but Helios has its own countermeasures." Peter made no mention of the camera angles from Ivy Hawthorne’s documentary. After all, he couldn’t afford to alert the enemy.

At this point, Finn felt that Peter was being... somewhat willfully ignorant, refusing to listen to reason. He couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Was Peter really dead set on protecting Sophie?

Stella had also grasped Peter’s attitude. She didn’t understand. What kind of magic spell had Sophie cast on Peter?

Sophie and Julian remained silent the entire time. The only sounds in the elevator were Stella and the executives chatting about AI triage robots.

"Miss Sutton, your insights are very forward-thinking. There are so many domestic companies developing AI healthcare. What made you choose ours?"

Stella smiled softly, her gaze landing gently on Julian. "Julian was the one who pulled strings for me and brought me to Seabourne to discuss things in detail with everyone here. He’s always been very attentive to my affairs."

Sophie didn’t even bat an eyelid. Julian had an extensive network. Forget Seabourne; even going abroad was a breeze for him.

Peter silently patted Sophie’s shoulder, signaling her to let it go in one ear and out the other. When Peter’s floor arrived, he had to get off first. Sophie stepped aside to make room for him.

In that brief moment of shifting around, Mr. Miller, who had been chatting with Stella, suddenly looked at Sophie and remarked, "I smelled it earlier, but this lady’s perfume is exactly the same as Mr. Sterling’s cologne. To have the same custom scent... what a coincidence."

With that single sentence, an eerie silence descended upon the elevator.

After all, fragrances were highly intimate. They involved personal preference, privacy, and habit. They also easily symbolized intimacy. Furthermore, the scent Julian wore wasn’t something you could just buy off the shelf.

The smile that had been plastered on Stella’s face faded. Julian lowered his eyes, his gaze shifting toward Sophie.

Sophie hadn’t anticipated this situation either. Having been married for so many years, it suddenly dawned on her that she and Julian indeed shared many identical tastes and habits.

"Mr. Miller, Miss Sutton is standing right here. You shouldn’t play matchmaker so recklessly," Finn remarked with a half-smile, noticing Stella’s mood and nudging Mr. Miller with a warning.

Mr. Miller instantly realized his blunder. "My apologies. My mouth moved faster than my brain. Please don’t take offense, Miss Sutton."

Only then did Stella’s expression soften. "It’s fine. I never waste my energy on trivial matters like this."

Sophie immediately picked up on the underlying meaning. Stella was implying that Sophie had intentionally faked the coincidence to play mind games.

She couldn’t be bothered to listen to them coaxing Stella not to mind such "trivial matters." Instead, she decisively stepped out of the elevator. Taking a different elevator on the other side, she headed straight up to the top floor. Once Peter had settled in, he came up to her room to discuss the project proposal.

At 8:00 PM, the doorbell rang.

Sophie went to open the door. Lucas Langley stood at the threshold, his gaze drifting past her into the room. "Is it a good time to come in?"

Sophie leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed, showing no intention of letting him in. "Not exactly. Mr. Preston is here with me. Whatever it is, can we discuss it tomorrow, Mr. Langley?"

Lucas frowned, a wave of displeasure washing over him. He had already noticed that Peter was rather protective of Sophie. And now they were spending the evening together in the same room?

"Sophie, shouldn’t there be boundaries between men and women? It’s hardly appropriate for you two to be alone in a room, is it?" He looked down at her, a faint smirk playing on his lips, yet his dissatisfaction was clear.

Sophie chuckled and fired back, "Are you trying to manage me, Mr. Langley? And in what capacity, exactly?"

She was so unapologetically candid that Lucas could feel the sharp, clawing edge of her defiance. He rarely found himself cornered by a woman. Except for Sophie. She always managed to strike a nerve.

Lucas narrowed his eyes. Shifting his peripheral vision from the room back to her face, he simply took a step back. "Take me off your block list."

He still hadn’t gotten over the fact that Sophie had blocked his number.

Considering she needed his investment, Sophie unlocked her phone and removed him from the block list, showing him the screen as proof. "See you tomorrow, then."

Without a moment’s hesitation, she shut the door right in his face. While she did want his investment, she was strictly all-business. She absolutely wouldn’t stoop to fawning over him just to secure the funding. If Lucas was displeased by that, then the deal was off the table.

Lucas was genuinely so irritated by Sophie’s attitude that he laughed. He went downstairs with a dark expression.

There was a bar inside the hotel. By the time he pushed open the door to the private room, everyone else had already arrived.

"Mr. Langley," Stella greeted him with a smile.

Evan York had also just arrived. Seabourne was his home turf, and he had flown in the previous day to handle company affairs, making time to join the gathering. He was the first to notice that Lucas wasn’t looking too cheerful. Swirling the wine in his glass, he raised an eyebrow. "Not in a good mood?"

Julian also threw a casual, sideways glance in his direction, lightly clinking his glass against Lucas’s.

The Langley Family and the York Family were connected by marriage, so Lucas didn’t bother hiding his frustration. "Got any ideas? I’ve been seeing a woman lately, but I’m not making much headway."

The moment he said that, everyone understood. Headway? What other kind of headway could a man possibly be talking about?

Finn chuckled. "Met your match, did you? Just shower her with money and gifts. If that doesn’t work, ask her out for drinks and a heart-to-heart. Alcohol has a funny way of giving people the right illusions. Two mature adults having a few drinks... whatever happens next will just take its natural course."

Evan’s expression, however, suddenly tightened. He stared fixedly at Lucas. "The woman you’re trying to sleep with is..."

Hearing this, Julian looked up.

Lucas smirked, a peculiar undertone lacing his words. "Mr. Sterling knows her too. Sophie Winslow. Remember her?"