Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

A few minutes later, Anne came to Sophie Shaw’s office.

"Sophie, you were looking for me?"

Anne had a huge grin on her face.

"What’s the happy occasion?"

"Hehe."

Anne trotted over to her, leaned down, and whispered in her ear, "Your cousin asked me to dinner last night. He gave me a really expensive gift—a diamond necklace! Diamonds!"

Sophie was quite surprised. "Things are moving that fast between you two?"

Anne’s face flushed. "It’s all your fault for saying your cousin has a great butt. I have zero resistance to handsome guys with nice butts."

"..."

"Besides, he’s so rich. That’s a huge plus."

Before Sophie could say anything, Anne giggled and leaned in closer to whisper, "Tonight, he said he wants to... try."

"Try what?"

"You know, that thing between a man and a woman."

It dawned on Sophie. "Oh, I get it. But I still think things are moving a little too fast."

"Life moves so fast these days, of course dating has to keep up. Your cousin is such a great catch, yet he’s never had a girlfriend. There were even rumors he was gay, but I don’t think he is."

Sophie hummed thoughtfully. Then she listened as Anne chattered on, "Last night, after our candlelight dinner at the restaurant, he walked me home and he clearly wanted to kiss me. But I got nervous and took a step back, so he didn’t push it. I think he might be shy because he’s never dated before."

"?"

’That iceberg could be shy?’

Sophie couldn’t picture Evan Ford being shy. She had never seen any expression on his face other than indifference; she’d never even seen him smile.

"How did you two even get to this point?"

Sophie couldn’t resist gossiping.

Anne straightened up, planting one hand on the desk and the other on her hip as she began her story. "You know how I used a Matchmaker service to set me up on some dates? I paid to meet ten guys, and I met all of them over a weekend. Your cousin was supposed to help me screen them, but he said none of them were good enough... not as good as him, anyway."

"And then?"

"In the heat of the moment, I shot back, ’They’re not good enough, but you are?’ He said he was. So I said, ’Want to give it a try?’ And he said yes."

With that, Anne lifted her chin smugly. "I’m a VP now, after all. It’s not like I’m not in his league. So I thought, why not? Let’s give it a try."

Sophie couldn’t help but laugh. "Don’t worry, Heart of the Ocean will become more and more stable. It won’t be long before you can pay off the mortgage on your spacious apartment completely."

Anne was thrilled. "Thank you, Sophie, for giving me this chance and putting me on the path to riches."

"You’re my best friend. You never looked down on me when I was at my lowest. Of course, I was going to help you out. I was originally planning to let you buy in for a share of the profits once the company was a little more stable, but then I suddenly got seriously ill and was stuck in the hospital. I didn’t have time to manage the company, and you were the perfect person to take over."

And it was true. With Anne’s help, her workload had become much lighter, leaving her with free time to work on her design sketches.

"You’re my great benefactor."

Overcome with excitement, Anne hugged Sophie and planted a big kiss on her cheek.

After the kiss, she warned Sophie, "Don’t you dare tell your Mr. Blackwood I kissed you. That jealous man will definitely lose it."

Sophie laughed. "Is it really that dramatic?"

"It is!"

Anne couldn’t help but complain as she recalled visiting Sophie in the hospital. She couldn’t even sit by the bed for a few minutes and hold Sophie’s hand without Alaric Blackwood squeezing her out of the way the very next second. "Your Mr. Blackwood is basically the reincarnation of jealousy itself."

"So, while he’s not here, I’m going to get my fill of kisses."

As she spoke, she hugged Sophie again and planted several more firm kisses on her face.

And just like that, right as she was kissing her, the office door was pushed open.

Alaric Blackwood walked in and caught them in the act.

Both sides froze for a moment.

Before Anne could even pull her arms away from Sophie, the man strode over like someone was stealing his treasure, scooped Sophie up, and slung her over his shoulder.

"Who gave you permission to kiss my wife?"

"She’s mine!"

Anne was speechless.

Alaric Blackwood shot her a glare, strode to the coat rack, took down Sophie’s coat and bag, and draped them over his arm. Without a backward glance, he marched out with Sophie still over his shoulder.

Seeing the helpless look on Sophie’s face, Anne shrugged and waved at her departing bestie. "Goodbye, Mrs. Blackwood! See you tomorrow!"

Sophie gave a bitter smile and pounded Alaric Blackwood’s back. "What is wrong with you? Put me down."

Alaric Blackwood ignored her protests, swaggering out and kidnapping Sophie right in front of the gossiping eyes of all the employees.

It wasn’t even quitting time yet. Anne watched Sophie disappear into the elevator, then obediently returned to her own office to get back to work.

While she was busy, she received a new message on WhatsApp from Evan Ford: [Be downstairs at six o’clock sharp.]

She replied with a simple "Okay."

Ever since she sold her car to buy Damian Morgan’s shares, Evan Ford had been driving her to and from work.

And since he was already driving her, if Evan Ford spotted a decent restaurant on the way home, he would invariably stop so they could have dinner together.

Evan Ford wasn’t much of a talker. When they were together, it was basically her chattering away nonstop. It seemed that rather than talking himself, Evan preferred listening to her lively banter.

After finishing up her work, she put on her coat, grabbed her bag, and hurried to the elevator.

When she reached the ground floor, it was exactly six o’clock.

As soon as she stepped out of the office building, she saw Evan Ford’s black Cullinan parked by the roadside. She jogged over, pulled open the passenger door, and got in.

The heat was blasting inside the car. Evan Ford was dressed as usual in a dark overcoat and a suit.

"I’ve already booked a restaurant."

The man said calmly as he started the car.

She hummed in acknowledgment, buckled her seatbelt, and turned to stare intently at the man driving.

The more she looked, the more she felt that Evan Ford was a high-quality man, the kind that was one in a hundred.

After they had been driving for a while, the man seemed to notice her gaze and the corners of his lips curved up slightly. "You seem to enjoy sneaking glances at me, don’t you?"

"I’m not sneaking glances. I’m staring at you openly and righteously."

Evan Ford let out a low chuckle. For some reason, he really liked her straightforward spirit.

After getting to know her, he found that while she was a bit of a gold-digger, she had a frank personality and was surprisingly strong. The last time they crossed the street, he was on a call and didn’t see an oncoming car, and Anne yanked him back with one pull.

The force of it nearly sent him flying. He was stunned at the time. Looking at her, only five-foot-three and so petite, he had no idea where she got that much explosive strength.

"What did you eat growing up?"

He had blurted out at the time.

Anne had scratched her head honestly and replied, "Rice!"

He was silent for a few seconds, then asked, "How many bowls do you eat in one meal?"

"Three bowls!"

He had been dumbfounded. So he asked her, "How big are the bowls?"

She immediately gestured with her hands to show him the size. He was positive then that this woman’s appetite was three times his own.

’It was clear she had been deliberately holding back when they ate at restaurants.’

"How do you eat so much and not gain any weight?"

She grinned carefree. "From worrying about money."