Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

”She’s an adult, not a child. If she’s sick, she should know to go to the hospital,” Quentin Blackwood said flatly.

Zane Linton said, ”Not necessarily. People are vulnerable when they’re sick. Miss Sherwood is all alone, with no one to look after her. I wonder if she’s even eaten today.”

After a moment, Zane Linton added, ”Actually, Miss Sherwood does have a best friend, but Miss Scott is probably very busy. If she doesn’t have time to take care of Miss Sherwood, she might ask someone else to do it.”

”People are vulnerable when they’re sick, and when you’re vulnerable, you want to rely on someone. If a person could offer some comfort at a time like that, they would definitely be touched.”

Zane Linton’s words were clearly pointed, and Quentin Blackwood’s expression darkened.

”What does this have to with me? Do you have too much free time? Is your work finished?”

Zane Linton gathered his files. ”On my way.”

Quentin Blackwood was left alone in the office. He sat in his chair, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

His computer screen was covered in dense text, and stacks of files lay on the desk beside him.

Even though Quentin Blackwood was working out of Lustre now, his workload hadn’t decreased in the slightest. His days were filled with an endless stream of tasks.

Although he had plenty of work to handle, none of it was on his mind.

’Zane Linton had a point. If Ivy Sherwood was sick, some unsavory characters would definitely try to take advantage of her vulnerability.’

’Especially a certain someone with the surname Scott, who was absolutely relentless.’

’Nina Scott was Ivy’s best friend, so she must know Ivy was sick. If that Scott fellow found out too, who knew what he would try to pull.’

’Ivy Sherwood was practically one of the Blackwoods. How could he let someone else have designs on her?’

Quentin Blackwood pressed the intercom button on his desk. The call went straight to the secretarial pool and was answered immediately. ”President Blackwood.”

”What else is on my schedule today?”

The secretary checked and recited Quentin Blackwood’s schedule.

Quentin Blackwood said simply, ”Cancel it all.”

”What? But, President Blackwood—”

Before the secretary could finish, Quentin Blackwood had already ended the call.

’Quentin Blackwood glanced at the time. It was already three in the afternoon. Leaving early or skipping out on work just this once shouldn’t be a big deal.’

Quentin Blackwood grabbed his car keys and left the office.

...

After lying down for a while, Ivy Sherwood felt a little thirsty and got up to drink a glass of water.

Whether it was because of the medicine or not, she felt incredibly drowsy. Just as she was about to go back to sleep, she got a call from Nina Scott.

”Nina?”

”Ivy, do you have plans tonight? My brother’s taking me to dinner. Want to join?” Seth Scott was right beside Nina at that moment.

Seth Scott had suggested they eat together, then asked if Ivy Sherwood was by herself and whether they should invite her along.

When Nina had left Ivy’s place the other day, Ivy had seemed perfectly fine. They had kept in touch over the past two days, but Nina hadn’t seen her, so she had no idea Ivy was sick.

”I don’t think so. You two have fun,” Ivy Sherwood said.

”Are you planning on working late again? I’ll come pick you up after work.” Nina Scott glanced at her brother. Even though she knew he didn’t stand a chance, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to have dinner together as friends.

Ivy didn’t want Nina to make a trip for nothing. ”No, no, don’t worry about it,” she said. ”I think I’m coming down with a cold, so I’d better not get you two sick.”

”You have a cold? Is it bad? Have you seen a doctor?”

”Don’t worry, Nina. It’s not serious. I’ve already seen a doctor, gotten an IV, and taken medicine. I’ll be back on my feet by tomorrow. You don’t need to come see me. I’m really okay.”

”You’re sure?” Nina was worried, but she had an important client to meet that afternoon and probably wouldn’t have time to see Ivy anyway.

”I’m sure.”

”All right, then. I’ll come see you tomorrow.”

”Okay, sounds good,” Ivy agreed.

As soon as Nina hung up the phone, Seth Scott immediately asked, ”Ivy’s sick?”

”Yeah, she has a cold,” Nina nodded.

Seth Scott said, ”Aren’t you going to go take care of her?”

”It probably isn’t serious. She sounded fine just now.”

”But she’s all by herself with no one to look after her. What if she’s actually much sicker than she’s letting on?”

”You’re overreacting, big brother. Calm down.”

Seth Scott seemed to realize he was a bit worked up. He cleared his throat. ”I just think you should go check on her. But I know you don’t have time.”

Seth Scott paused, then revealed his true motive. ”So, I’ll go check on her for you.”

”Big brother, what makes you so sure Ivy has no one to take care of her?” Nina wasn’t so sure about that. ’For all I know, Quentin Blackwood is right there with her,’ she thought.

’Of course, I didn’t hear anyone else on the line, so he might not be there.’

”What do you mean?”

”N-nothing...” ’I promised Ivy I wouldn’t tell anyone.’

Under Seth Scott’s suspicious gaze, Nina had to add, ”I mean, Ivy has an assistant. What if her assistant is taking care of her?”

”Big brother, why are you more concerned about Ivy than your own sister? So, are we still having dinner tonight or not?”

Seth Scott said, ”Don’t you have work to do? Let’s do it next time, after Ivy is feeling better.”

...

’She knew it. Her brother’s invitation to dinner wasn’t so simple.’

”Big brother, I think Ivy has her own life, and maybe she’s happy with it. Besides, she still has a marriage arrangement with the Blackwood family. You know that, right?” Nina wanted to remind Seth, but she didn’t quite know how to put it.

Seth hadn’t said anything explicitly, but based on her observations, it wasn’t hard to figure things out.

Her brother had always been good to her, and to Ivy as well. At first, she thought Seth just saw Ivy as another sister. But later, she realized her brother seemed a little too concerned about her.

No wonder he always had her ask Ivy to join them for meals, even though Ivy rarely came.

”She doesn’t want to marry into the Blackwood family.”

”How do you know? She just doesn’t want to marry Silas Blackwood,” Nina muttered the last part under her breath.

’It’s still the Blackwood family, but Silas isn’t the only one in the Blackwood family.’

Seth Scott said, ”You should get back to work. I won’t bother you anymore. I’ll ask you to dinner next time.”

...

When Quentin Blackwood arrived at Ivy Sherwood’s front door, he was carrying a bag of food.

The last time he was over, Ivy had made him noodles. ’Consider this my way of thanking her,’ he thought.

He raised his hand and knocked, but there was no answer.

Quentin Blackwood took out his phone and dialed Ivy’s number.

The call connected, but no one picked up.

Quentin Blackwood’s brow furrowed. ’Why isn’t Ivy answering? Could she be so sick that she’s passed out?’

’It’s not impossible. She’s so petite; this illness must have hit her hard.’

’Can’t she take care of herself? Doesn’t she know to call someone when she’s sick? What if something happens?’

’Good thing I got here when I did. Otherwise, if Ivy really became delirious from a high fever, no one would ever know!’

Quentin Blackwood dialed another number, and this time, the call connected almost instantly.

Quentin Blackwood’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice edged with anxiety and impatience. ”Hello? Is this a locksmith?”