Vera Xavier quickly said, "Mr. Sterling, it's not that serious…"
"From now on, please don't call me Mr. Sterling," Quentin Sterling said with a smile. "My name is Quentin Sterling. If you don't mind, you can just call me Sterling."
In truth, given his age, it wouldn't have been out of line for Vera to call him 'Uncle'. However, he had known Nathaniel Nathan for years and addressed Nathaniel's father as 'Uncle', which put him in the same generation as Nathaniel. And since Vera was Nathaniel's girlfriend, it was also appropriate for her to address him as 'Sterling'.
If he had merely held Vera in high regard during their previous two meetings, then this time was completely different. They now shared a bond forged through a life-and-death situation.
