Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

Ivy Sherwood: ”?”

’An insurance salesman, all the way out here?’

But Ivy didn’t give it much thought and went back to eating. The doorbell, however, kept ringing.

Quentin Blackwood had no intention of opening the door. Ivy even heard a voice outside, which seemed to be calling her name.

At the door, Seth Scott had just seen Quentin, and he was shocked. ’Quentin is actually here? They must be alone in there. What if something happens?’

At this thought, Seth Scott began ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door with even more force.

”Who could that be? Is it someone I know?” Ivy said, getting up to open the door.

Quentin Blackwood, however, stopped her. ”Do you have a mask?”

”Over there.”

Ivy went and got a disposable mask, watching as Quentin tore open the packaging.

She assumed that because of his status, Quentin didn’t want to be recognized and was going to wear the mask himself.

To her surprise, after Quentin unwrapped it, he put the mask on her face, covering it completely. He even adjusted her hair to cover her forehead, leaving only her eyes visible.

Only after all that was done did Quentin go to open the door.

”President Blackwood? What are you doing here? Where’s Ivy?”

”Seth Scott? What brings you here?” Ivy hadn’t expected to see him.

’Didn’t he say it was an insurance salesman?’

Ivy glanced at Quentin. It seemed he had deliberately kept the door shut earlier. She wasn’t wearing any makeup today, so he had put the mask on her for a reason.

”I happened to be there when you were on the phone with Nina. She has something this afternoon and can’t get away. She was worried, so she asked me to come see how you are.” Seth was also carrying several bags filled with fruit and other snacks.

”I’m fine, it’s just a common cold. I’m sorry to have worried you all.”

”Nonsense. Have you seen a doctor?” Seth asked caringly, completely ignoring Quentin who was standing right beside them.

Quentin’s expression was cold, even bordering on displeasure.

Before Ivy could even speak, Quentin cut in. ”She’s already seen a doctor and taken her medicine, so Mr. Scott has nothing to worry about. Now that you’ve seen for yourself that she’s fine—and in no state to entertain guests—you can leave.”

”What are you doing here, President Blackwood?”

”That’s none of Mr. Scott’s business, is it?”

Seth Scott’s eyes lit up in mock realization. ”Ah, could it be that President Blackwood is visiting on behalf of his nephew? By your own logic, then, since you’ve also seen that Ivy is fine, you can leave as well.”

”I’m different from you. I was invited,” Quentin said, turning to Ivy. ”Isn’t that right?”

Both Quentin and Seth’s gazes snapped to Ivy. Even someone as dense as her could feel the palpable tension in the air.

’These two CEOs really seem to despise each other.’

”You’re both my guests,” Ivy said, trying to offend neither of them.

Clearly, Quentin was not satisfied with this answer. ’How could he be put in the same category as Seth Scott?’

’Zane Linton was right, though. If I’d been a minute later, Seth Scott would have swooped in and taken advantage of the situation.’ ’That fox, Seth Scott... his intentions are as plain as day, but of course Ivy is the only one who can’t see it. If he actually stayed to take care of her, she’d be moved to tears, and then my stupid nephew would be a full-blown cuckold.’

Quentin angled his body slightly and mouthed to Ivy, ”Get rid of him.”

Ivy understood what Quentin meant, and she agreed that it was unnecessary for Seth to visit.

”I’m doing much better, it’s just a little cold. I’ll be fully recovered soon. And I’d hate to get you sick, so you should probably head back, Seth. Don’t you still have to get dinner with Nina?”

”Oh, and please tell Nina that I’m really fine, so she doesn’t have to worry.”

”It’s fine, I have a strong immune system. I’m not worried about catching it. Besides, Nina was the one who sent me. If I don’t take good care of you, I’ll have a hard time explaining myself to her, won’t I?” Seth said, using Nina as an excuse.

”I brought you some fruit and other things to eat. Let me just bring them inside,” Seth said, trying to step into the apartment.

”No, really, it’s fine. Quentin already brought me plenty of food—it’s piled high. I won’t be able to finish it anytime soon. Why don’t you take it to Nina? It’ll just go to waste here.”

As she spoke, Ivy could feel Quentin’s icy gaze on her.

’She knew Quentin misunderstood her relationship with Seth. They were just friends—or not even that, really. They barely interacted at all.’ ’Seth probably only came this time because Nina asked him to.’

”I’d like to get some rest. Seth, you should head back for now. When I have the chance, I’ll treat you and Nina to a meal.”

Seth didn’t press the issue. He nodded. ”Alright, then. Rest up. I’ll come see you again when you’re better. If you need anything, just call Nina or me. We’re not busy, we’re always available.”

Ivy nodded. ”Okay.”

Seth shot a final glance at Quentin. ”Aren’t you leaving, President Blackwood?”

Ivy said, ”He’s about to leave as well.”

Quentin: ”...”

’Who said I was leaving?’

”Get out. I need to close the door.” Quentin shoved Seth out of the doorway and slammed the door shut.

Ivy didn’t rush to take off her mask, her damp, doe-like eyes simply staring at Quentin.

”I think you should probably go too. You must be very busy, right? Don’t you have a lot of work to do? I’m really fine—I can eat and drink on my own. Besides, what if I get you sick?”

”I’m already here, so a little more time away from work won’t make a difference. Besides, do you really think my immune system is so weak that I’d catch your little cold?”

Quentin’s eyes narrowed. ”Or are you just trying to get me to leave so you can call that Scott guy back over?”

”That’s not what I was thinking.”

’Seth already left. How could Quentin even think that?’

”Then go finish your meal. And from now on, use the peephole. If you see that man, do not, under any circumstances, open the door.”

”Oh.” Ivy didn’t argue. She took off her mask and quietly went back to her food. She knew Quentin didn’t like Seth.

Quentin had already eaten lunch, so he wasn’t hungry. He noticed two books nearby and picked one up to look at.

”You read this stuff?” he asked. They were two finance books—rather niche titles that most people wouldn’t choose to read.

Ivy replied between bites, ”Zane Linton gave them to me. They’re filled with his annotations. I think his notes are brilliant—even more insightful than the original text.”

Quentin flipped through the pages and saw familiar handwriting.

”You’re saying these are Zane Linton’s annotations?”

The book certainly looked like it had been read many times over. The pages had started to yellow, giving it an aged feel.

’This must be from when Zane first started working for me. I probably told him to read these.’

’These are all my notes. Back then, I really threw myself into this stuff. I read almost every finance book I could find, analyzed the market, and then started putting my theories into practice.’

’I had no mentor to guide me; I figured it all out on my own. There were no shortcuts, and I made plenty of mistakes along the way.’

Ivy said, ”I think so?”

’She wasn’t sure if Zane had written them, but whoever did was a deep thinker. Even today, many business tycoons probably wouldn’t have come up with some of these ideas.’