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This was the scene that greeted Joel Winslow when he returned from his meeting.

Lynn Winslow was holding their framed photo, her expression gentle.

He approached quietly and said softly, “Sis.”

“You’re back?” Lynn Winslow put down the photo frame and looked at him. Seeing the dark circles under his eyes, she sighed. “You need to take better care of yourself.”

But Joel Winslow just shook his head, unconcerned. He smiled and said, “Once this is all over, you can give me a proper vacation, Sis. Then I’ll just laze around at home all day.”

Lynn Winslow nodded in agreement and continued, “I didn’t have much going on. I just didn’t come by yesterday, so I thought I’d stop in to see you. I didn’t expect you’d be in a meeting.”

“They’ve been watching us closely lately.” Joel Winslow pressed his lips together, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Lynn Winslow patted his shoulder and said in a low voice, “Don’t rush. We can take our time. They can’t make any big waves.”

“Yeah. You too, Sis.”

After leaving Joel Winslow’s office, Lynn Winslow returned to her own. Just as she sat down, a call came from Zane Lancaster.

Lynn Winslow settled into her office chair before answering the phone.

“I haven’t even settled the score with you yet, and you have the nerve to call me first.”

Zane Lancaster chuckled. “What? Are you blaming me for making your precious darling jealous?”

“Why did you have to provoke him? You know he’s petty.” Lynn Winslow said, exasperated. She put the phone on speaker and set it aside, handling her documents as she spoke.

“It’s because I know he’s petty that I wanted to provoke him. Besides, didn’t you two break up? Why do you still care if I make him mad or not?”

His words left Lynn Winslow speechless. She frowned and said, “If you have nothing else to say, I’m hanging up. I’m busy.”

Zane Lancaster quickly said, “Don’t hang up! I really have something I need to tell you.”

“Ian Sterling called my father. He specifically requested that I be the Cruz family’s representative to expand their business in Veridia, and he promised he would look out for the Cruz family.”

Lynn Winslow was stunned. Before she could reply, Zane Lancaster continued, “Since he’s made that promise, the Sterling family, the Norton family, and the Jennings family—all those on good terms with the Sterlings—will give me the green light when Cruz enters the Veridian market, all for the Sterling family’s sake. Even those with a weaker connection won’t dare to cross me with the Sterling family backing me up. That’s why my father agreed.”

‘Ian Sterling has no reason to help Zane Lancaster,’ Lynn Winslow thought. ‘And how did he even know Zane wanted to go to Veridia?’

Zane Lancaster was silent for a moment before saying, “I suspect he’s only doing this for your sake.”

Lynn Winslow just hummed in response, then said, “Got it. I’m busy.”

Before Zane Lancaster could say another word, Lynn Winslow had already hung up. She sat in silence for a moment, then pulled out her phone and dialed Ian Sterling.

He had never changed his number, and the call connected quickly.

“Lynn, what’s up?”

It was noisy on his end, which made Lynn Winslow frown. “Why is it so loud over there? What are you doing?”

“Ah, I’m not doing anything.” Ian Sterling stammered, clearly not intending to tell her.

Lynn Winslow cleared her throat and asked lightly, “Zane Lancaster just called me. He told me about you contacting Cruz and specifically requesting him for the Veridia job.”

“Mhm, didn’t he want to go? It was nothing for me to mention it.”

Lynn Winslow bit her lip. “Why did you help him?”

Ian Sterling went silent for a moment, and the background noise quieted down significantly. He said, “Isn’t he your childhood friend? You grew up together, and he’s helped you so much.”

“He helped me, and I will repay him. But what about you?” Lynn Winslow lifted her gaze, staring into empty space as she asked softly, “What’s your reason?”

“Because I love you.” Ian Sterling lowered his eyes, a blush creeping into them, and his voice quickly became muffled. “And because he helped me, too.”

‘Helped Ian Sterling? If Lynn Winslow remembered correctly, Zane Lancaster and Ian Sterling met for the first time when she went to Morelia to find him. How could Zane have possibly helped him?’

Lynn Winslow’s heart jolted as she recalled the things Ian Sterling had said when they met again after several months apart.

She had asked him then, “When you saw me that time, why did you react like that?”

Ian Sterling let out a sound, about to play dumb, but then he heard Lynn Winslow’s warning: “Don’t play dumb. Ian Sterling, where did you learn to do that?”

“Uhm…”

He was hesitating, but Lynn Winslow cut straight to the point. “Come to my office. Tell me to my face.” She refused to believe Ian Sterling could keep playing dumb and not tell the truth in front of her.

Ian Sterling hesitated again. Lynn Winslow threw out two words and hung up the phone.

“Hurry up!”

Ian Sterling put away his phone with a sense of resignation. He looked at the group of people opposite him and said flatly, “Let’s end it here for now. I’ll contact you later.”

He strode away, leaving the others completely bewildered. ‘He was the one in a hurry, so why is he the one ditching us halfway through?’

It took Ian Sterling only ten-odd minutes to reach the Winslow Group building. Lynn Winslow’s secretary was waiting at the entrance of the first-floor lobby. Seeing him from a distance, the secretary hurried over.

“Finn.”

Ian Sterling had never met him before. He raised an eyebrow. “Have we met?”

“No, but Director Winslow showed me your photo.”

The secretary was of Veridian descent. He had a constant smile that made him seem good-natured, and he was quite handsome. Ian Sterling quietly sized him up.

The secretary knew that this Finn was a petty man. ‘He’s probably looking at me like this because he’s jealous.’ So he decided to be proactive and said tactfully, “My girlfriend is also in Veridia. She works at the Jennings Group.”

Ian Sterling relaxed, his expression becoming calm as he nodded. “A long-distance relationship like that must be tough,” he commented casually.

“It’s not too bad. Director Winslow knows, so she often gives me extended leave.”

“Mm.” Ian Sterling lowered his gaze, a trace of tenderness flickering in his eyes. ‘His Lynn always seems fierce, but deep down, she’s a very kind person.’

They took the elevator up together. The transparent elevator walls made it easy for the secretary to give Ian Sterling a general overview of each floor of the group’s headquarters.

“This is our Mr. Winslow’s office. Mr. Winslow is Director Winslow’s younger brother. You probably already know that.”

Ian Sterling followed his gaze for a quick look, but the elevator was moving fast, so he didn’t see much.

When they reached the top floor, the secretary led him to the office and said softly, “Here we are.”

Ian Sterling nodded and pushed the door open, entering by himself. Lynn Winslow was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, a slender cigarette between her fingers. Smoke swirled around her. Even with the air purifier on, it couldn’t fool Ian Sterling’s incredibly sensitive nose. ⅇ

His nose twitched, and he let out a huge sneeze. Lynn Winslow frowned and turned around. Seeing his discomfort, she quickly extinguished the cigarette.

“I didn’t expect you to get here so fast,” Lynn Winslow said as she opened a window. “Maybe wait a moment before coming in.”

Ian Sterling covered his nose and shook his head, stepping forward to stand about a meter away from Lynn Winslow.

“What did you want to ask me?”

Seeing his gesture, Lynn Winslow rolled her eyes. “You should probably wait a bit before trying to talk.”