Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

Quentin Blackwood held a wine glass, his slender and well-defined fingers looking like a work of art as he swirled it.

He brought the glass to his lips, but paused at Julian Grant’s words. Everyone turned to look at Julian.

”What’s the problem?” Graham Sherwood asked.

”Your method is all wrong,” Julian Grant said. ”You’ve spent time with Ivy Sherwood, right? What’s your impression of her?”

Graham Sherwood thought for a moment. ”She seems very nice, but she isn’t the type to just rely on others. How should I put it... She’s very rational and independent. You can see it in the way she’s dealt with the Sherwood and Blackwood families.”

Julian Grant nodded. ”Exactly. That’s the problem. Are you trying to keep Ivy like a canary in a gilded cage?”

”It’s obvious Ivy isn’t the type to be kept in a cage. She goes after what she wants herself. She wants to overcome any obstacle on her own. In that regard, she’s a lot like you.”

”You’re both incredibly stubborn. Neither of you is willing to open up, and you’re both very capable. Sometimes, you don’t have to pave the way for her. She can handle things on her own. You need to trust her.”

Quentin Blackwood said, ”I’m not treating her like a canary.”

’If Ivy really were just a canary, that would be perfect. He’d just keep her caged by his side.’

’But Quentin knew that if Ivy were really that kind of person, he probably wouldn’t have given her a second glance.’

”You may not think you are, but let me ask you: has anyone ever tried to give you expensive gifts? Did you accept them? How did you react?”

That question made Quentin think back to a time before he’d reached his current level of success. Back then, his face alone was enough to attract a lot of unwanted attention.

Especially those wealthy older women. They would find any excuse to meet him under the guise of investing, then try to give him all sorts of gifts. Quentin only felt insulted and never accepted a single one.

His reaction was to get furious and curse them out. When Quentin gets vicious, he doesn’t hold back at all.

Naturally, he faced some backlash for a while, but he never regretted it.

’Now that Julian mentioned it, it did seem that way. Thinking about it from her perspective, Ivy’s personality was exactly like that. Even when he gave her those earrings, she had to return the favor with something of equal value.’

’He glanced at the watch on his wrist—the one Ivy had given him. He loved it and almost never took it off.’

’But if he hadn’t given Ivy something first, if she had just given him the watch out of the blue, he definitely would have found a way to give her something in return.’

’It wouldn’t be to distance himself from her; he would just want to give her something. That’s all.’

”See? And besides, canaries aren’t that easy to keep. You can’t use this method. If you really have too much money to burn, you can buy stuff for me. I guarantee I’ll take whatever you give me and won’t say a single bad thing about it!”

”Get lost!” Quentin said coldly.

Julian Grant didn’t get angry. ”If you want to test whether Ivy still cares about you, if she’s angry, or if she’s gotten together with Seth Scott, there is another way.”

”What is it?”

Julian Grant put on a mysterious air. ”I’m not telling you yet. For now, just keep drinking. Here, have some more.”

”You’re the one who ordered all this booze. You’re responsible for finishing it tonight!” Julian Grant filled Quentin’s glass again.

Quentin downed one glass after another. He’d already had quite a bit. He didn’t feel it at the time, but the alcohol would hit him hard later.

Watching Julian ply him with drink after drink, Graham couldn’t help but say, ”You know he has stomach problems. What if he starts bleeding internally from drinking this much?”

Julian took a sip of his own drink. ”You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet. Besides, someone will be here to take care of him. You don’t need to worry.”

...

After leaving the restaurant, Ivy Sherwood went straight home.

’The partnership with the Scott Group was probably off the table now. Or perhaps Seth Scott never intended to partner with her in the first place.’

’Seth Scott was a good guy, and he’d been nice to her. She thought he was just being kind, the way he was with Nina, who was like a sister to him. She never thought he’d have other intentions toward her.’

’And Quentin Blackwood had been there when Seth said all that. He already had a problem with Seth. Wouldn’t this just create an even bigger misunderstanding?’

’Whatever. It’s not like she and Quentin were anything right now anyway. If he misunderstood, so be it.’

’But what about Nina... does she know about this?’

Ivy had thought about getting something to eat, but she wasn’t very hungry. Instead, she went into her study to get back to work.

By the time she looked up again, it was already ten o’clock.

’It’s getting late, I should get to bed. I have work tomorrow.’

Ivy went to the bathroom, removed her makeup, and took a shower.

After she came out of the shower and dried her hair, she picked up her phone, ready for bed. That’s when she saw several missed calls, all from Julian Grant.

Before she could call him back, her phone rang again. It was Julian Grant.

Ivy’s heart sank. So many calls in a row was unusual. Her intuition told her it had something to do with Quentin Blackwood.

Ivy answered the phone. ”Mr. Grant, why all the calls?”

”Ivy, were you asleep?”

”No, I was just getting ready for bed. Is something wrong, Mr. Grant?”

”That explains it. It’s nothing major, really. It’s just that Quentin is drunk and being a handful. He seems to be in pain, too—he keeps clutching his stomach and won’t let any of us near him. Could you come over? We’ve had a lot to drink ourselves, so we can’t take him home.”

’Quentin’s drunk?’

’Is he really? The last time he said he was drunk, he was faking it. He can hold his liquor really well.’

’He probably didn’t eat dinner after he left, did he? Drinking so much when he already has stomach problems... of course he feels awful.’

”Why don’t I give Zane Linton a call?” Ivy suggested. ’It would probably be more convenient for Secretary Linton to go get him right now,’ she thought.

”Secretary Linton has been working all day; he’s probably still at the office. I’ve already asked a few other people, but nobody’s free. Ivy, if you don’t come, poor Quentin will be all alone. There’s no one else to look after him.”

”He lost his mother when he was just a kid. His dad never cared for him, and he was bullied at home constantly. He had to fight his way up all by himself, which left him with a host of health problems. Now he’s drunk with no one to pick him up. He’s still drinking, and we can’t stop him! It would be awful if he ended up with internal bleeding.”

”Sigh... well, never mind. If he really drinks himself into the hospital, I guess you can just chalk it up to bad luck.”

Ivy thought about Quentin’s health. ’His stomach is already so bad, why would he drink so much? Did something happen?’

”Fine, send me the address,” Ivy said.

Julian quickly replied, ”It’s the same club as last time. You’ve been here before. We’re in the same private room.”

”Okay.” After hanging up, Ivy grabbed her car keys and headed out the door.

’Considering how angry Quentin was when he left, would he even want to see her right now?’

But there was no time to worry about that now. Ivy drove to the club.

It was almost eleven, so there wasn’t much traffic. She arrived at the club quickly.

The private room was dimly lit. Quentin had one hand propped against his forehead, his hair slightly disheveled. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone.

In his other hand, he still held a glass, ready to pour more liquor down his throat.

Just as Quentin opened his mouth to take another drink, a fair, delicate hand pressed down on his glass. His lips brushed against the cool back of her hand.