The Retired CEO's Guide To Being Spoiled Chapter 23: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes

Ethan Caldwell looked at Julian Sterling for a long ti before asking, "Do you know who pushed for the collaboration project between the Sterling Group and Helios Technologies?"

Hearing this, Julian smiled and replied, "It must be our Aaron, right?"

Ethan wrapped his arms around Julian, resting his chin on Julian’s shoulder. Looking at the flashing stock screen, he said, "But how could he accomplish that alone? Guess who else is involved?"

Julian leaned into Ethan’s embrace, opened a new tab on the laptop, and searched for information on Harold Harrington, the current chairman of Helios Technologies. With just a few clicks, he found a family photo of Harold Harrington that had been leaked to the press. Julian zood in on the photo, focusing on the faces of the four n in the background.

Glancing over those four faces while playing with Ethan’s large hand, he said leisurely, "The person behind this project must benefit from it. Therefore, they..." As he spoke, he pointed at the photos of the four n: Harold’s youngest son and his three eldest grandsons. "Therefore, they are the most likely participants."

"Spencer Harrington is the youngest son. He doesn’t participate in the family business and follows his own path. As for the three grandsons, except for Cedric Harrington, who has a lot of support and is seen as the next successor, both Jason Harrington and Kevin Harrington are ambitious but lack the opportunity to stand out."

"Do you think it’s those two?" Ethan asked without comnting further.

But Julian did not answer him; instead, he zood in on Jason Harrington’s photo. "This man is not only ambitious but also ruthless. To gain status, he once abandoned his girlfriend who was five months pregnant to marry the daughter of a family of equal standing, hoping to snatch a contract from Cedric. Unfortunately, it failed in the end. He didn’t get the contract, and Jason was even reprimanded by his grandfather."

Actually, everything was fine initially until the girlfriend left a suicide note and killed herself, causing a scandal online. Jason took the full brunt of public criticism, and the Harrington family also wobbled for a while.

"As for Kevin Harrington..." The mouse in his hand moved slightly. "He wants power but is stupid. All day long, he only knows how to listen to his mother and can’t accomplish anything significant. Evelyn Harrington is a capable woman; she has brains and knows how to sche for her son. It’s a pity her husband died early, and her son is incompetent. Being a daughter-in-law, she doesn’t have the right to interfere in the company, and with no man in the house as a pillar, she can’t stir up any waves."

After speaking, Julian tilted his head back to look at Ethan. From this angle, he could clearly see Ethan’s curved chin, high nose bridge, and deep eyes looking down at him. Julian smiled and asked, "Do you think these two losers have the ability to push such a big project?"

Saying that, he dragged the mouse a bit to show Cedric Harrington’s photo on the screen. The implication was clear: the only person cooperating with Aaron Sterling could be Cedric. Moreover, he added, "Besides, Aaron isn’t stupid."

Jason has brains but his work isn’t clean; otherwise, how could that incident from years ago resurface at such a critical mont? Kevin isn’t even worth ntioning; he has only survived this long thanks to his mother’s capability. Looking back and forth, only Cedric has the potential.

Not to ntion, if Aaron wanted to cooperate, he would certainly choose the best person.

It is just that a poisonous snake like Cedric, who would disregard his family’s reputation for a contract, makes one wonder if Aaron can handle him.

He really looked forward to a vicious dog-eat-dog fight between the two of them.

"You guessed right."

"But why would Cedric cooperate with Aaron? If he sought Edward Sterling, the chance would be much greater. After all, Edward is the director."

"Approaching Edward carries too much risk. Evelyn Harrington isn’t soone to be trifled with. If Cedric approached Edward, as long as she offered enough sincerity, the possibility of Edward turning to help Kevin would be very high."

Although it was a business cooperation, everyone wanted the lion’s share of the benefits. Julian understood this, but why was Cedric so sure Aaron wouldn’t betray him? If Cedric cooperated with Kevin, it ant the majority of this project would belong to the Sterling Group, which also ant Aaron would be more valued.

In comparison, the risk level with Aaron was much higher than with Edward because Aaron was a newcor. He needed an absolute victory to prove himself.

Seeming to understand Julian’s confusion, Ethan added, "Because Aaron is pursuing Cedric."

Julian’s charming eyes widened in shock.

When he was at the Sterling house, Julian had heard that Aaron was pursuing soone, apparently for a long ti. Aaron appeared very lovesick, as if he lived and died for that person. However, based on the mories of the original novel, Julian knew well that Aaron didn’t truly like that person; he wanted to exploit the power behind them. But Julian didn’t rember exactly who Aaron was pursuing; he only knew the person was also a CEO in this circle, very capable, and had his own forces.

He didn’t expect that person to be Cedric Harrington!

Julian suddenly rembered a sentence describing the person Aaron was pursuing that he had once read: "A ruthless and cruel man is not scary; the scariest thing is when he falls madly in love with soone."

It seed to be when that person had fallen for Aaron. Soone blindly tried to touch Aaron, and eventually, that man used the forces behind him to wipe out everything.

It involved quite a few human lives.

Julian shuddered. This Cedric was definitely not simple.

"What’s wrong?" Ethan asked, lowering his head when he saw Julian’s face turn solemn.

"Nothing, I just didn’t expect Aaron to be involved with Cedric." Julian said, then smiled, closed the laptop, and lazily nestled into Ethan’s embrace.

Ethan played with Julian’s hair and suddenly asked, "Do you want to co to work at the Caldwell Empire? With such good analytical skills and stock market expertise, you could move to the Asset Managent Departnt."

Earlier, he had seen that the figure in the stock account had increased fivefold, completely making up for the lost capital.

Julian turned around to look at Ethan and asked, "Are you criticizing for just eating and sleeping without working?"

"Julian, you are suited for finance. Staying at ho is a waste of talent."

"Not interested." Julian sat up and wrapped his arms around Ethan’s neck. "Let tell you, Ethan Caldwell, in this house, you are in charge of making money, and I am in charge of being beautiful as a flower. That is enough."

He wasn’t crazy enough to crawl to the Caldwell Empire to work, was he?

Everyone knew the real young master of the Sterling family was famous for being good for nothing. If he switched to arts now, and happened to achieve sothing, people would just think Julian had studied the wrong major before and had a talent for painting, not business.

But entering the Caldwell Empire now, and specifically the Asset Managent Departnt - a place where a mont of inattention could cost hundreds of billions - was like announcing to the world: "I have a problem."

He had left the house empty-handed, yet Aaron still stared at him relentlessly. If he truly entered the business world openly like that, who knew what that scher would do next?

The most important factor was Cedric. Julian didn’t know if that guy loved Aaron yet, but he was a certified madman and cold-blooded too. While things were unclear, Julian wouldn’t act rashly.

Not to ntion, living at ho as a pampered young master, barely lifting a finger, why would he suddenly go to the Caldwell Empire to be an employee working a standard eight-hour day? He wasn’t interested.

Even if Julian wanted to work, he would open his own company and be his own boss; he had no need to work for soone else.

Seeing him like this, Ethan didn’t force him. In fact, Ethan knew Julian had his own calculations. If Julian wanted to work, with this ability, he would have stepped into the Sterling Group long ago. Why pretend to know nothing?

Actually, Ethan didn’t know that the "Julian" from before really wanted to enter the Sterling Group but simply lacked the ability. As for the current Julian, he mainly looked down on the Sterling Group.

Ethan used both hands to support Julian’s buttocks, lifting him up and walking away.

Julian hurriedly hugged him tightly, wrapping his legs around Ethan’s waist, and asked with narrowed eyes, "What are you doing?"

"Carrying my flower to get washed."