Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

"Take my advice: give the shares back to me, and the Blackwood family will protect you from now on."

Ivy Sherwood almost laughed. ’What a pretty picture he’s painting. He really thinks he can get something for nothing.’ Caleb Blackwood didn’t want to spend a single cent; he just wanted to take the shares back from her.

"Well, thank you for the kind offer, Uncle Blackwood, but I don’t really need it. If you want the shares, this is the price." Ivy Sherwood held up her fingers.

Caleb Blackwood stared, his eyes narrowing. "Impossible."

"You should reconsider, Uncle Blackwood. My time is limited. If you don’t want the shares by the end of the day, I’ll put them on the open market. I’m sure many people would be interested."

Ivy Sherwood thought of something and feigned surprise. "Oh, that’s right. I heard a certain big shot is in Lustre recently. I bet he would be interested in the Blackwood family’s shares."

At this critical moment, Ivy Sherwood was playing her Elijah Hawthorne card. ’If it comes to it, we can all just use each other,’ she thought.

With that, Ivy Sherwood stood up to leave.

Just then, the office door was pushed open again. A secretary followed Anna Nash in, and Anna had a panicked look on her face.

"Director Blackwood, Miss Nash insisted on coming in. I couldn’t stop her."

Caleb Blackwood waved his hand, dismissing the secretary.

Seeing Anna Nash, Ivy Sherwood deliberately said to Caleb Blackwood, "Miss Nash, what perfect timing. We were just talking about you."

"By the way, Uncle Blackwood, I think..."

"Ivy Sherwood!" Anna Nash cut her off.

"What are you doing here, disturbing my father at work? Get out of here, now!"

Ivy Sherwood was no longer on the defensive. Anna Nash was the one who should be panicking, so she remained completely calm. "But I haven’t finished talking."

"Do you even have a right to speak here?" Anna Nash deliberately chided.

Ivy Sherwood’s expression darkened, her gaze lethal. "What did you just say?"

Anna Nash flinched. ’I’m supposed to be at the top of the food chain now, but this damned Ivy Sherwood is actually threatening me with that secret!’

"I... Just get out!" Not wanting Caleb Blackwood to notice anything amiss, Anna Nash shot Ivy a meaningful look and gave her a slight push.

"Uncle Blackwood, I hope you’ll consider my offer."

With that, Ivy Sherwood left Caleb Blackwood’s office.

Anna Nash said, "Dad, she didn’t cause you any trouble, did she? I was so worried when I heard Ivy was upstairs."

"What are you doing here?" Caleb Blackwood looked at her with disgust. "Get out!"

Anna Nash had been wondering how to explain her sudden arrival, but Caleb Blackwood telling her to get out saved her the trouble of finding an excuse. She retreated from his office and left the Blackwood Group building.

Downstairs, Ivy Sherwood got into her car but didn’t leave right away. She checked her phone and saw a message from Quentin Blackwood.

"Not done yet?"

Before going to see Caleb Blackwood, Ivy had talked to Quentin about her plan to sell her Blackwood Group shares to Caleb.

Quentin had simply told her the shares were hers to do with as she pleased.

"It’s done. Anna Nash showed up. I doubt she came empty-handed," Ivy replied.

"She won’t give it to you that easily. Be careful."

"Okay."

At the same time, Quentin Blackwood received another message on his phone. It was from Elijah Hawthorne.

"You had me come all the way over here just to stand around outside the Blackwood Group building?"

"Be patient."

"Quentin, I only agreed to come because I owe you a favor from that game of pool. Are you sure you want to waste it on something like this?"

Quentin had used that favor to make him tail Ivy Sherwood. But from the moment she went upstairs to when she came back down, nothing had happened.

"Right now, you’re just a bodyguard. Do your job, and don’t ask questions you’re not supposed to."

Elijah Hawthorne: "..."

’That Quentin Blackwood is as infuriating as ever.’ He, the great Elijah Hawthorne, a man who could command the wind and the rain, was here acting as a bodyguard for some woman.

If it weren’t for that debt to Quentin, he never would have come. Elijah Hawthorne might not be the nicest guy, but he always kept his word.

His gaze fixed on the spot where Ivy Sherwood’s car was still parked.

’Anyway, once I make sure she gets back safely, my mission is complete, and I won’t owe Quentin anything anymore.’

...

Soon, Anna Nash came down as well. When she saw Ivy’s car, she knew Ivy was waiting for her. She gestured toward her phone, then got into her own car.

Ivy read the message Anna had sent her: "You said that as long as you got your mother’s ashes, you would keep my secret forever. You also promised to persuade my parents to leave the Blackwood family and never bother them again."

’I did say that, and I can keep my word.’ All Ivy Sherwood wanted were her mother’s ashes.

"Good. I just placed your mother’s ashes inside the Blackwood Group building. You can go get them yourself."

Along with the message, Anna sent a photo and a location pin for the ashes. But based on the photo and pin, all Ivy could tell was that they were somewhere inside the Blackwood Group building, with no specific location.

Ivy’s heart tightened. ’What is Anna playing at?’

"Anna, is this what you call sincerity? I think you should deliver them to me personally. Besides, how do I know if what’s in there are really my mother’s ashes?"

"You can have them verified after you get them, can’t you? If they’re fake, you can expose me at any time. I was planning to give them to you in person, but you’re the one who went to see Caleb Blackwood. Consider this a small punishment. I’ll tell you the exact floor once you’re inside."

Ivy frowned. ’Why is Anna making things so complicated? Why not just give them to me directly?’ Ivy felt that something wasn’t right.

"What are you hesitating for? The Blackwood Group building is full of people. Do you really think I’d try to do something to you? My secret is still in your hands. You can hold it over my head whenever you want, can’t you?"

"I’m not going in."

Anna replied, "Suit yourself. The ashes are already in place. If you go inside, I’ll give you the exact location. If you don’t want them, there’s nothing I can do."

In other words, no one but Ivy would be able to find them.

The Blackwood Group building was huge, and it was their territory. Ivy couldn’t just send someone else in to search for them blindly.

"Aren’t you afraid I’ll go to Caleb Blackwood right now?"

Anna replied, "You go to Caleb Blackwood, and I’ll go up, grab the ashes, and scatter them. If it comes to it, we’ll go down together. Can you afford to take that gamble?"

This truly left Ivy with no choice. She didn’t know what to do.

Her first thought was Quentin Blackwood. ’Maybe he’ll have an idea.’

Ivy sent a message to Quentin, and he called her back almost immediately.

"Do you have your earbuds?"

"Yes." Ivy took her wireless earbuds out of her purse and put them in.

Quentin said, "Good. Stay on the line with me. Go on up. Don’t be afraid. I’m here."

Quentin’s voice put Ivy at ease. She got out of her car, glanced in Anna Nash’s direction, and walked through the main doors of the Blackwood Group building.

Anna quickly sent Ivy another message: she had left them on the eighteenth floor.

Ivy took the elevator to the eighteenth floor.

Her heart hammered against her ribs, filled with a sense of foreboding.