Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

”Still on the line?” Quentin Blackwood asked, noticing the call hadn’t ended.

His voice snapped Ivy Sherwood back to reality. ”Hanging up now. Good night!”

After hanging up, Ivy Sherwood lightly tapped her own head.

’How could one laugh from Quentin leave me so completely spellbound? Especially since it was over the phone—he wasn’t even here in front of me.’

She finished organizing her notes, reviewing what Quentin had said to solidify her understanding. Then, she looked up some case studies. It wasn’t until after two in the morning that Ivy Sherwood picked up her phone again, only to see a missed call from Joy Sheridan’s number.

’What could Joy Sheridan want with me?’

But Ivy Sherwood didn’t call back or send a message to ask why.

Ivy Sherwood returned to her room, lay on her bed, and fell into a deep sleep.

This time, Joy Sheridan spent even more money, hiring more people to investigate the events of that night. Finally, the next morning, she got a small lead.

Rumor had it that Silas Blackwood knew something. Others had been there, but they were all too afraid to talk. The information suggested that prying the truth out of Silas might be her best bet.

Joy Sheridan got Silas Blackwood’s number and called him immediately.

Silas Blackwood was still in bed. The bed was massive, and besides him, two women were lying in it, with another on the couch.

Clothes were scattered all over the floor. They had had a wild night, leaving Silas Blackwood deeply satisfied. As a result, the sun was already high in the sky, long past the start of business hours, but he still hadn’t woken up.

Silas Blackwood’s phone rang incessantly. His brow twitched. ’Who the hell is so damn annoying?’

A woman picked up his phone. ”Young President Beckett, it’s for you.”

Silas Blackwood glanced at the number. It wasn’t saved in his contacts, but he answered anyway. ”Who is this?”

”Is this Silas Blackwood? My name is Joy Sheridan.”

”Joy Sheridan? Never heard of you.” Silas wasn’t fully awake yet.

”I’m Quentin Blackwood’s future wife. I wouldn’t mind you getting a head start and calling me ’Aunt’ now.”

Silas: ”?”

”Plenty of women want to be my aunt. You think saying it makes it true?” Silas hung up immediately. He was still tired.

Having been hung up on, Joy Sheridan was furious.

Joy Sheridan called again. After a moment, Silas picked up. ”Are you ever going to quit?”

”I need to ask you something.” Joy Sheridan stated a date, then asked, ”Did you see Quentin Blackwood that day? Who was the woman with him that night? Tell me, and I’ll grant you any one request. You can ask for anything.”

So much had happened that day; of course Silas hadn’t forgotten.

”Why do you want to know?”

”I just want to know—was the woman with Quentin that night Ivy Sherwood?” Joy asked bluntly.

The image of that beautiful face surfaced in Silas’s mind. ”No.”

’It really wasn’t Ivy Sherwood. Ivy couldn’t hold a candle to that other woman.’

Now that she was mentioned, Silas realized he hadn’t thought about that woman in a long time. But the moment he did, he felt that nothing beautiful in the world could compare to her.

She was truly a thing of beauty, as if meticulously crafted by God.

Just last night, he’d thought the women entertaining him were gorgeous, but they were nothing compared to her.

’If I could just get a taste of her,’ he thought, ’I could die without regrets.’

Silas felt his heart stir again. It seemed he had fallen for two women at once.

’After being with such a beautiful woman, how could Quentin possibly settle for someone like Ivy Sherwood?’

’And everyone gives me grief for having a lot of women, but doesn’t Quentin have just as many? Why haven’t I heard Ivy Sherwood say anything about it?’

”It wasn’t Ivy Sherwood? Then who was it?”

”Why should I tell you? Stop calling me.” He didn’t want to hear Quentin’s name right now. The very mention of it was irritating.

’Quentin, Quentin, everything is always about Quentin.’

’One day, I’m going to be even greater than him.’

Joy Sheridan was hung up on again and seethed with anger. But knowing it wasn’t Ivy Sherwood made her happy for a moment. She’d known it all along—how could it possibly be Ivy?

...

Ivy Sherwood’s days fell into a routine: the company and home.

The Iris brand had recently established a good reputation and name for itself, and its profits were quite good.

She was still troubled by her mother’s affairs. She wouldn’t know a day of peace until she had her mother’s ashes back.

Her mother also had some personal effects with Timothy Sherwood that Ivy had never been able to retrieve. With the Sherwood family now in chaos, Ivy seized the opportunity to return to the family home.

The Sherwood Company was now in Thea Sherwood’s hands; she had seized complete control.

Although Charlie Rhodes had already bought her a new house, Thea hadn’t moved in.

She insisted on staying at the Sherwood residence. She wanted to see Timothy Sherwood unhappy but unable to fight her. She wanted to watch him suffer, to watch him wallow in regret.

When Ivy Sherwood arrived at the Sherwood residence, Thea was home, but Timothy was not.

”What are you doing back here?” Thea glared at Ivy.

”I’m not here to see you, so relax. I’ll be gone soon.” With that, Ivy headed upstairs.

’Where could Timothy Sherwood have put Mother’s things?’ She had looked for them before but had never found them.

But Thea followed behind her. ”This is the Sherwood residence. It’s not a place you can just come and go as you please.”

”And you know this is the Sherwood residence, not the Thea Sherwood residence. So I’ll come and go as I please. Do you have a problem with that?”

”You!”

”If you have a problem with it, call the police. Tell them I’m trespassing. They can come and drag me away,” Ivy said, completely unfazed.

On paper, she and Timothy Sherwood were still family.

And as long as that was true, the police had no authority to throw her out.

Thea didn’t feel as much hatred for Ivy anymore. Or rather, it wasn’t even hatred; she just disliked her and looked down on her.

’I’m rich and powerful now, living a good life,’ she thought. ’Why should I bother with someone like Ivy, who’s still stuck in the muck?’

She also thought Ivy was an idiot. The Blackwood Family, while maybe not as good as Charlie Rhodes, was still quite impressive and respectable, yet Ivy had just called off her engagement on a whim.

Thea continued to follow Ivy. Ivy turned to look at her. ”Why are you following me?”

”To make sure you don’t steal anything, of course.”

Ivy ignored her. Thea continued, ”Ivy, I hear your company is doing pretty well lately.”

”I’m surprised you didn’t have the guts to enter the perfumery competition. I would have thought someone as arrogant as you would have signed up.”

Ivy paid her no mind. ’Back when I was entering competitions, Thea was probably still playing in a sandbox somewhere.’

”You ruined my reputation before, but this time I’ll prove myself. A spot among the winners is guaranteed for me, Thea Sherwood!” Thea declared smugly.

Ivy said, ”What’s there to be proud of in a victory you stole?”

”What did you say? Who are you calling a thief?”

”Am I wrong? The judging hasn’t even started; people have only just registered. No one can be sure they’ll win an award, yet you’re already certain you’ll place. You know better than I do if there’s something shady going on. But if that’s what it takes to feel good about yourself, then by all means, be happy.”