Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

”Where were we? Let’s continue. Or does nobody want to get off work early today?”

The others: ???

’Why does President Blackwood seem so eager to leave? Isn’t he supposed to be a workaholic?’

Someone mustered their courage and stood up. They first admitted their mistake, then proposed a solution. They had expected to be reamed out, given President Blackwood’s usual temper, but to their surprise, Quentin Blackwood just nodded without a word.

The rest of the meeting went exceptionally smoothly. They had thought it would drag on for another two or three hours, but it was over in just over half an hour. President Blackwood hustled them all out and then promptly left for the day.

”Is President Blackwood in a hurry for something?” someone asked, confused.

Everyone else shook their heads, admitting they had no idea.

”President Blackwood was never like this before. He’s a workaholic maniac who usually stays at the office until two or three in the morning.”

”Didn’t you all notice? Ever since President Blackwood took that call, his mood improved drastically. He even stopped yelling. Who in the world was that living saint on the other end of the line?”

”Exactly! And President Blackwood *never* takes calls during meetings. His phone is usually with Secretary Linton or on silent. But this time he actually answered it—and even docked his own pay.”

”Don’t you guys think he’s been a completely different person since he got back from Lustre? I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s like he’s walking on air. The past few days, he’s been leaving much earlier than usual, though not in as much of a rush as today.”

”Do you think... the Archfiend could be dating someone?”

”Impossible. With that foul temper of his, who could he possibly be interested in? It’s always others fawning over him. All these years, so many beautiful women, and not a single one has caught his eye. Just look at Miss Sheridan, chasing him around every single day. The result? He won’t even give her a second glance.”

”You never know. It’s an old story: even a hero is no match for a beautiful woman. President Blackwood has incredible self-control, but what if he’s finally met ’the one’? How else would you explain what happened today?”

A group of senior employees stood around, gossiping about Quentin Blackwood.

Quentin Blackwood was just acting too out of character. Becoming so agreeable after a single phone call... Something was definitely up.

If he really was dating someone, they were dying of curiosity. What kind of woman could possibly tame Quentin Blackwood?

...

Ivy Sherwood was still in the middle of cooking when she heard a noise at the front door.

She was wearing a floral apron and curiously poked her head out to see Quentin Blackwood walking in.

”Why are you back so early? Dinner isn’t even ready yet.” Ivy Sherwood, a spoon still in her hand, had thought he wouldn’t be back for a while.

She had bought a lot of groceries; tonight’s dinner was definitely going to be a feast.

”Things were quiet at the office, so I came straight home,” Quentin Blackwood said as he closed the door and walked in.

His gaze fell upon Ivy Sherwood. She had been out for work earlier and was wearing a long dress that made her look incredibly gentle and graceful.

’The apron was tied around her, cinching her delicate waist. It wasn’t a uniform, but he found himself fantasizing about stripping that very apron off her with his own hands.’

’The office was still busy—very busy. But Ivy had asked him to come home early for dinner, and in that moment, nothing else mattered. He had to come back immediately.’

’He wanted to see her. Right now. He couldn’t wait another second.’

’Now, seeing her, he finally felt a sense of completeness.’

’It was a strange feeling. Before meeting Ivy Sherwood, Quentin Blackwood could never have imagined he would experience something like this in his lifetime.’

”Then you’ll have to wait a little longer. I’m almost done.”

”Okay. Do you need any help?” Quentin Blackwood asked, walking into the kitchen still in his suit, completely disregarding the fact that the custom-tailored piece cost six figures and wouldn’t be easy to clean if it got splattered with grease.

”No, no, it’s fine. You should go rest for a bit. Besides, your cooking...”

Ivy Sherwood trailed off, stopping herself before she could say ”...isn’t very good,” not wanting to wound President Blackwood’s pride.

The last time he’d cooked at her place, his dishes had been mediocre at best.

”What’s wrong with my cooking?”

”Nothing’s wrong with it. You just cook slowly, and I’m fast,” Ivy Sherwood said, quickly glossing over the subject.

After shooing Quentin Blackwood out of the kitchen, Ivy Sherwood got back to work.

But Quentin Blackwood didn’t go rest. Instead, he simply stood in the doorway, watching her.

Though busy, Ivy was methodical. She knew exactly what needed to be done, not just randomly chopping one thing before fussing with a pot.

’He had so much work waiting for him, yet he’d rushed back just for this—just to watch her.’

Finally, Ivy Sherwood had prepared a table laden with dishes—a feast of both land and sea. She even opened a bottle of Quentin Blackwood’s prized red wine.

”What’s the occasion? This is quite a spread,” Quentin Blackwood asked, intrigued.

”It’s no special occasion,” Ivy Sherwood said. ”I’m just in a good mood.”

She raised her glass. ”I landed the overseas contract. I really have you to thank for this project, so I wanted to thank you properly. Your proposal was absolutely perfect. If it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t have secured the deal.”

Quentin Blackwood clinked his glass against hers, his lips parting slightly. ”The proposal was just an aid. What they were really evaluating was your company’s product line. Besides, I only made revisions to your original draft. My contribution was negligible. The one you should be thanking is yourself.”

Ivy Sherwood said, ”Yes, everyone at the company deserves credit for landing this project. I’m going to give them all bonuses and gifts to show my appreciation. But you deserve credit, too, so this is a special thank you just for you!”

”In that case, I accept your thanks.”

”Wait a minute, I have something for you,” Ivy said, then hurried off.

’Quentin Blackwood drained his glass in one go. He realized then that Ivy Sherwood was, at times, a truly pure-hearted person. Show her a little kindness, and she’d want to give you her whole heart in return.’

’If only the Sherwood Family had treated her with a shred of kindness when she was growing up, she would have had such a happy life.’

’But that didn’t matter. She had him now.’

Ivy Sherwood returned a moment later, a gift box in her hands. ”I told you, all my key contributors get a gift. They’re getting one, and so are you. I saw this when I was at the mall this afternoon and thought it would be perfect for you.”

Ivy Sherwood placed the gift box in front of Quentin Blackwood. As he took it, he asked, ”Oh? So you picked out their gifts personally as well?”

”Of course not. I had Edie pick those out. Edie knows everyone at the company better than I do, and what if I chose something they didn’t like? This is the only one I picked out myself. I chose it very carefully, so I really hope you like it!”

Quentin Blackwood opened the box. Inside was a dark-colored tie and a set of cufflinks, both with a unique pattern.

A smile touched Quentin Blackwood’s lips. ”I love it,” he said, accepting the gift.

’He’d received many gifts over the years, but he rarely used any of them. The gift that had stayed with him the longest was probably the watch on his wrist. He still wore it to this day and had no plans to ever take it off.’

The two continued their meal, but it seemed Ivy Sherwood still had something on her mind.

She hesitated for a long time before finally speaking up as they finished their meal. ”Actually, there’s something else... I...”

But just then, the doorbell rang.