Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

For the past few years, Sherwood Company’s sales had been lackluster, and its market share was minimal.

Ivy Sherwood spent the entire morning reviewing sales reports. The company’s range of fragrances was limited, stale, and uninspired, leading to mediocre sales.

Many perfumes that should have been good smelled exceptionally unpleasant instead.

Ivy Sherwood called out to the others, ”Meeting!”

When the meeting was scheduled to start, only a few people straggled in. Hardly anyone had shown up.

”Where is everyone? Is this everyone in the Perfumer department?” Ivy Sherwood looked at the handful of people she could count on two hands. The department was supposed to have over thirty employees.

Thea Sherwood’s former assistant, Amy, hadn’t yet gotten a read on Ivy Sherwood’s temperament. Unsure of what to make of the new manager, she spoke cautiously.

”They’re all busy.”

”I made it clear that everyone in the department must attend this meeting. They have ten minutes. If they’re not here by then, they don’t need to bother coming in again.”

But even after ten minutes, few others had arrived.

Amy said, ”Maybe some of them are on leave.”

The truth was, they simply didn’t want to come. One manager parachuted in, Thea Sherwood, was bad enough. Now they had another, Ivy Sherwood. ’Everyone knows she’s just a nepotism hire,’ they thought. ’At least Thea was a perfume genius. What is this Ivy even supposed to be?’

”Pull up all leave requests and attendance records from the last month. Anyone with more than three unexcused absences is fired. Immediately.”

Ivy Sherwood’s methods were swift and decisive. In an instant, everyone in the Perfumer department realized she was not to be trifled with.

Thea Sherwood had never really managed the Perfumer department, so they’d had it easy. They could get away with doing nothing and leave without even requesting time off.

’And now there’s this Ivy Sherwood. Does she even know the first thing about being a Perfumer?’

During the meeting, some Perfumers deliberately used highly technical jargon that a layperson wouldn’t understand. But Ivy Sherwood cut right to the heart of their issues with pinpoint accuracy, appearing thoroughly professional. This made the others start to see her in a new light.

Before the meeting had even concluded, the conference room door was suddenly pushed open, and a woman in high heels strode in.

”What gives you the right to fire us?”

Ivy Sherwood glanced at her. ”What’s your name?”

Amy, standing beside her, quickly whispered in Ivy’s ear, ”Her name is Linda. She studied abroad.”

Ivy Sherwood found Linda’s name on her list. ”One week of unexcused absence this month. A salary three times higher than your colleagues. And yet, you’ve produced zero results. Why exactly should I keep someone like you around?”

”I signed a five-year contract with the company, and this is only the third year. What right do you have to fire me? Besides, do you even know the first thing about fragrances, coming in here and ordering us around?” Linda was furious.

”Whether or not I know about fragrances has nothing to do with my ability to manage you. You’re drawing a salary, so you’re expected to do your job. As long as you finish your assignments, you can leave whenever you want. But you people can’t even complete the most basic tasks, letting a one-month project drag on for three.”

”I will be laying out the next set of assignments. As long as everyone cooperates, bonuses won’t be an issue. As for you,” she said, looking at Linda, ”since you showed up before the meeting ended, I won’t fire you. Someone else can fill you in on my requirements. I want to see everyone’s submissions within three days. Meeting dismissed!”

Ivy Sherwood was nothing if not decisive, but many were still unhappy with her. ”What’s the big deal? She’s just another ’paratrooper’ who got dropped in here.”

”Exactly! Linda is so talented. If the company were fair, she’d be the manager by now, not getting pushed around by these nepotism hires. Now she’s not even a team lead.”

Linda clenched her fists as she listened to them talk.

”So, should we teach this ’paratrooper’ a lesson?” someone suggested.

”Yeah, let’s do it!” the others chimed in.

Back in her office, Ivy was joined by Amy, Thea Sherwood’s former assistant.

Ivy had Amy give her a brief rundown on Linda, then she pulled up Linda’s portfolio. In her first year, Linda had indeed planned and designed a great deal. But by her second and third year, it was as if she’d become a completely different person and started to just let everything slide.

’She’s truly talented,’ Ivy thought, carefully studying the fragrances Linda had conceptualized in the past. ’If she could just get her motivation back, she has the makings of someone great.’

For the next few days, Ivy was incredibly busy. Back when she was in the Planning Department, she had come up with numerous proposals and had always wondered why they were never implemented. She had even asked her superior about it back then, but was just told to mind her own business.

Now Ivy understood. It turned out those proposals had never even made it to the Perfumer department.

Every day, Ivy worked until the early hours of the morning before going home, only to wake up again at five or six.

Nina Scott called her around noon to remind her not to forget the banquet that evening.

The banquet at the Scott family’s estate that night was for Mrs. Scott’s birthday.

Nina Scott wasn’t on good terms with the Scott family and had no desire to attend. But she had no choice, as tonight was also when it would be announced that her eldest brother was taking over the family business.

”I knew you’d forget! I already have a gown ready for you. I’m on my way to pick you up.”

”Okay!”

Ivy took the afternoon off, and Nina Scott brought her to her studio.

Nina Scott was a fashion designer, and she had designed this gown herself.

”Ivy, you look gorgeous! It’s like you’ve walked straight out of a fairy tale.” Nina felt like an absolute genius. ’If only Ivy would agree to be my model!’

”That’s because your design is so good. I love this gown,” Ivy said, looking at her reflection in the mirror.

The pale blue dress cinched at the waist, accentuating her figure. Ivy had a fantastic body, all the right curves in all the right places, and she filled out the dress perfectly.

Her legs were long, straight, and so fair they seemed to glow. But because she usually wore makeup to make her face look darker, Ivy rarely wore short dresses that would reveal her true skin tone.

”Ivy, why don’t you take off your makeup? Let me do it for you,” Nina said, looking at Ivy’s face and eager to show off her skills.

”Is that really a good idea?”

”What’s wrong with it? I’ll just say you’re my best friend. Besides, nobody there has seen your real face. Who’s going to know you’re Ivy Sherwood?”

With that, Nina pulled Ivy down in front of the mirror and began to remove her makeup. She was one of the few who knew Ivy’s secret, having been her best friend for many years.

Soon, all the dark foundation was wiped away, and the face in the mirror gradually revealed its true appearance.

Ruby-red lips, pearly-white teeth, and skin as smooth and flawless as jade. She was more beautiful than a fairy, outrageously stunning even without a hint of makeup.

Nina couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. ”My dear Ivy, you are an absolute bombshell!”

”I just don’t get it. You’re so gorgeous, so why do you make yourself look so plain every day? If you went out looking like this, you’d have men falling at your feet. And that Silas Blackwood—if he’d ever seen your real face, he never would have chosen Anna Nash.”

Ivy just smiled. ”I dress up this way precisely to avoid men like Silas Blackwood.”

”Nina, who all is going to be at the banquet tonight?”

Nina Scott listed a few names, all of them friends of the Scott family.

Ivy thought for a moment. ”Will... Quentin Blackwood be there?”