Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

’But how should I thank him?’ Ivy wondered. ’Should I buy Quentin Blackwood a gift?’

But she couldn’t think of anything he needed. And it didn’t seem like he had any particular favorites, either.

Just when Ivy Sherwood was out of ideas, her phone rang. She picked it up and glanced at the screen. It was Nina Scott.

”Nina!” Ivy answered quickly. She hadn’t spoken to Nina in several days.

Nina Scott had her own career and was very busy. Plus, with everything going on with Ivy, they usually only exchanged a few words.

Nina Scott’s voice came through the phone. ”Ivy! What are you up to? When are you coming back to Lustre? I’m so bored here all by myself. Why don’t I come to Aethelgard to see you? I could even move my studio over, and we could start a sister company.”

”That’s a great idea! When would you come over?”

Ivy Sherwood would, of course, be happy if Nina Scott could come.

”In the next couple of days?”

”If it’s in the next couple of days, I’m afraid you’ll be in Aethelgard by yourself.”

”What’s wrong?” Nina asked.

Ivy said, ”Iris just finalized a contract, so I have to go abroad. I’ll probably be gone for several days.”

”Ivy, you’re incredible! You landed an international contract so quickly!” Nina Scott was happy for Ivy. As best friends, all you want is to see the other person succeed... and then have them support you!

”It’s actually thanks to Quentin Blackwood. He helped me write the project proposal. I was just trying to figure out how to thank him properly.”

Ivy was troubled just thinking about it. She hadn’t come up with a good way to thank him.

”That’s easy! You’re the best gift. Just strip naked, wash yourself squeaky clean, and deliver yourself to President Blackwood’s bed!”

”Stop messing around.”

’How is Nina getting more and more absurd?’ ’What kind of thank-you gift is that? I want to thank Quentin Blackwood properly.’

Nina Scott said, ”In that case, I’ll get a gift for you. I guarantee your Mr. Blackwood will love it. Just wait. Tell me your address, and I’ll order it right now!”

With that, Nina Scott hung up.

Ivy didn’t even have time to ask what the gift was. But whatever Nina was preparing was her own gesture. Ivy was the one who needed to thank Quentin Blackwood, so she still had to prepare a gift herself.

Ivy decided to go pick out a gift for Quentin Blackwood later. After that, she would personally cook him a feast.

Living with Quentin Blackwood, Ivy had discovered that while he wasn’t a picky eater, he barely touched any takeout or delivery food.

If she cooked, however, he would eat more. ’His stomach is already weak,’ she thought. ’It needs to be properly looked after.’

Ivy Sherwood left work early and went to the mall to pick out a gift.

She spotted a set of cufflinks and a tie right away. A salesperson came over. ”Miss, are you buying this for your husband? This is a matching set; it would be perfect.”

The word ”husband” made Ivy blush.

She and Quentin Blackwood weren’t in that kind of relationship yet. She said, ”It’s for my boyfriend.”

”Oh, then this is perfect. The design is simple and elegant, and the dark color is very sophisticated. It’s also a global limited edition. This is the only set we have in the store. It’s quite popular, though the price is a bit steep.”

Since Ivy liked it, she didn’t care about the price. ”Please wrap it up for me.”

The salesperson was surprised by how decisive she was. She hadn’t asked for a discount or anything. She didn’t even ask for the price before wanting it wrapped?

Despite their surprise, the salesperson felt compelled to say, ”Miss, the cufflinks and tie are over a million.”

Ivy nodded. ”Okay. I’ll pay by card.”

After buying the gift, Ivy realized she was starting to understand Quentin Blackwood’s way of thinking.

’It’s not about buying him things to compensate him. It’s just a simple desire to buy something for him.’

’I think I was really wrong before.’

For example, she would definitely be hurt if Quentin didn’t accept her gift. Yet on the cruise ship, she had refused the gift he’d won at auction for her.

Ivy’s heart suddenly felt a sharp pang. She missed Quentin Blackwood.

Quentin was probably busy right now, but Ivy called him anyway. She just wanted to hear his voice.

...

「DG Group.」

The atmosphere in the conference room was heavy. They had bungled a project that Quentin Blackwood hadn’t been monitoring as closely, and the results that came back today were far from satisfactory. Quentin Blackwood was furious.

No one else dared to speak. They hardly dared to breathe.

The project was a fairly important one that Quentin valued highly. However, he hadn’t been in Aethelgard for a while, so he hadn’t devoted as much attention to it.

Now that Quentin Blackwood pointed out their most basic problems, none of them dared to refute him.

If Quentin Blackwood didn’t speak, they didn’t dare to either.

At this rate, the meeting wouldn’t be over for at least another two or three hours, well past the end of the workday.

Just then, a phone started to ring.

Everyone else tensed up. They all knew President Blackwood’s rules for meetings; a phone ringing and interrupting was the ultimate taboo. This was clearly a major transgression.

’We’re so screwed,’ they thought. ’President Blackwood is already in a bad mood. He’s going to be absolutely livid now.’

As the others sat ramrod straight, cold sweat beading on their foreheads, they glanced at one another. ’Whoever’s phone it is should just stand up and confess! If you admit it now, maybe President Blackwood will cut you some slack.’

However, two seconds later, they saw President Blackwood pick up his phone.

It was Quentin Blackwood’s phone!

”Excuse me, I have to take this call.” With that, Quentin Blackwood picked up his phone and walked out of the conference room.

His phone was normally on silent. It was his habit, as he hated being interrupted during meetings.

However, he had set a custom ringtone for Ivy Sherwood’s number, configured to ring no matter what.

So, upon seeing Ivy Sherwood’s name, Quentin stepped out and answered the call.

”Ivy, what’s wrong?”

His voice was as deep as ever, and hearing him call her ”Ivy” through the phone made her heart feel like it was being tickled by a feather.

She didn’t think anything of it when other people called her Ivy, but hearing it from Quentin Blackwood’s lips felt completely different.

”N-nothing... I just wanted to ask when you get off work. We can have dinner at home tonight!”

The conversation sounded just like a wife, having prepared everything, asking her husband when he would be home.

A warmth spread through Quentin Blackwood’s chest. ”Alright. I’ll come back early, then.”

”Okay, I won’t disturb you then. Get back to work. Bye!”

With that, Ivy hung up.

For some reason, her heart was pounding.

It was only a few short sentences, but Quentin Blackwood’s mood had completely changed.

When he returned to the conference room, a faint smile played on his lips. Everyone else thought they were seeing things. ’Did President Blackwood’s lips just curl upward by a few degrees?’

”Apologies. Taking that call delayed all of you. As a penalty, I’ll forfeit this month’s salary.”

The others: ”...”

’President Blackwood is so hard on himself,’ they thought. ’He’ll dock his own pay just like that.’