Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

Chapter 110: Chapter 110: The Younger Brother is a Tea Art Master

Anne saw her meal ticket lying on the floor, her face completely drained of color. She was so shocked she practically lunged forward.

"Boss, what’s wrong?"

Her hands trembling, she checked for Nina Halloway’s breathing...

"Okay, she’s breathing."

Sophie Shaw: "..."

"Don’t just stand there gawking, come over here." Anne looked at her hopeless brother, disappointed.

He reluctantly walked over, bent down, and lifted the unconscious woman off the floor.

She was much lighter than he’d imagined, weighing almost nothing in his arms.

Ethan Austin glanced down at the woman in his arms. Her eyes were shut tight, her head lolled back, and she was completely unconscious. He was surprised at how light she was.

"Where do I put her?"

Sophie Shaw pointed to the living room sofa. "Over there."

Anne didn’t understand. "Shouldn’t we rush her to the hospital?"

"Alaric Blackwood is on his way. He’s probably bringing a doctor."

As she spoke, Sophie followed behind Ethan. After he laid Nina Halloway on the sofa, Sophie straightened the hem of Nina’s shirt, covering her slender waist.

"What happened to my boss? What’s going on?"

Sophie Shaw summed it up concisely, "Relationship drama."

Nina Halloway had most likely fainted out of anger at Jaden.

Sophie could sympathize. No one understood better than her what it felt like to have your heart shattered by a cheating scumbag.

The three of them stood frozen, at a loss as to what to do with the unconscious woman on the sofa. All they could do was wait for Alaric Blackwood to arrive.

Fortunately, he was quick. In less than half an hour, he not only arrived but also brought the family doctor with him.

After a brief examination and hearing the details, the doctor’s conclusion was that Nina Halloway had become overly emotional and, on top of that, had yelled so hard she’d made herself hypoxic.

In her efforts to stay camera-ready, she often dieted and starved herself, leading to poor nutrition and low blood sugar. Her physical condition was worrying.

"Miss Halloway has to give herself a break. She needs to eat well and rest properly. Otherwise, her body won’t be able to take it, and she’ll get sick sooner or later."

The doctor said to Alaric Blackwood with a serious expression.

"Understood."

The doctor sighed. "She should be fine once she wakes up on her own. She just had a bit of a shock, it’s nothing major."

Alaric Blackwood thanked the doctor and saw him to the door.

Once the doctor left, he looked at the three people standing in the living room. He knew Sophie was here about the brand endorsement deal with Nina, but he was surprised to see Anne and her brother here during the holiday.

"Did you bring them?"

He asked Sophie.

Before she could answer, Anne spoke up. "It has nothing to do with Sophie. I brought my brother here for an interview."

"An interview for what?"

"My boss said she wanted to hire a bodyguard, so I recommended my brother to her."

Alaric Blackwood’s expression turned stern as he sized up Ethan Austin.

He was a big guy, built like a water buffalo, but it was hard to say what his actual skills were.

"You?"

Ethan Austin shot him a glare. He didn’t like Alaric. Ever since their last meeting, when he’d taken a punch from the guy, Ethan had really disliked him.

"I’m talking to you. What’s with the attitude?"

"Yeah, me."

Ethan’s tone was impatient.

It’s not like he came voluntarily. His sister had practically dragged him here by the ear.

He had no high hopes for this interview. He figured a high-and-mighty young lady, and a superstar at that, would definitely hire a professional bodyguard and would never even consider someone like him.

He was just here to go through the motions and get it over with.

"If you want to be my sister’s bodyguard, you need real skill. A big lummox with flashy but useless moves won’t cut it."

He clenched his fists, glaring at Alaric Blackwood. "Who are you calling a big lummox with useless moves?"

"That’s the impression you give me."

"How about we spar a little?"

As he spoke, Ethan Austin was already rolling up his sleeves, ready for a fight.

Alaric Blackwood was amused by his impulsive and hot-headed demeanor.

’He’s just a kid fresh out of school. So easy to provoke.’

Seeing the other guy walk toward him, Alaric Blackwood’s lips curved into a smile. "I’m not the one you’ll be sparring with. Your opponent today is someone else."

With that, he took his phone out of his slacks and called Evan Ford.

"Contact Jaden and tell him to wait at the boxing gym. Don’t say I’m the one looking for him."

The go-to guy, Evan Ford, felt a massive headache coming on. "Are you two going to fight again?"

"I’m not fighting him."

"Then why are you asking him to the boxing gym?" fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

"To test the bodyguard my sister wants to hire."

"?"

Without giving Evan Ford a chance to ask any more questions, Alaric Blackwood ended the call and looked at the big lummox. "Do you dare come with me to the boxing gym?"

Ethan Austin pulled his rolled-up sleeves back down, not backing down an inch. "Why wouldn’t I dare?"

"Let’s go."

Before heading out, Alaric Blackwood instructed Sophie, "You stay here and keep my sister company."

How could Sophie possibly feel at ease? She was afraid he and Jaden would start fighting the moment they saw each other. So, she stopped Anne instead. "You take care of Nina. I’ll go with them and see."

She grabbed her bag and chased after them, catching up to Alaric and Ethan in front of the elevator.

"What are you following us for?"

Alaric hooked a long arm around Sophie’s waist, effortlessly pulling her into his embrace.

"I’m afraid you’ll get into another fight."

Alaric tightened his grip on her waist and raised his other hand to affectionately ruffle her hair. "I promise I won’t fight."

"I don’t trust you."

"Then you can come along."

As soon as the elevator doors opened, he led Sophie inside, his arm still around her waist.

Ethan Austin followed them in with a sour look on his face.

He stared at the lecherous hand wrapped around Sophie’s waist, wanting desperately to yank it away and punch Alaric Blackwood hard. But they were a couple in name, and Sophie wasn’t resisting or minding it, so what right did he have to interfere?

He held his breath in frustration. When the elevator reached the ground floor, he deliberately bumped Alaric’s shoulder hard and stalked out first.

Alaric Blackwood watched him with a thoughtful expression, then followed with his arm still around Sophie.

"I drove my own car here," Sophie said.

He grunted in acknowledgment and called out to Ethan ahead of them, "Kid, you’re riding with me."

"No thanks, I’ll ride with Sophie."

The man’s long-legged stride gradually slowed. His gaze sharpened as he looked at Ethan. "Sophie?"

Ethan stopped and looked back at Alaric Blackwood. "That’s what I’ve always called her. Is there a problem?"

"What’s with the sweet-and-innocent act?"

It was "Sophie" this, "Sophie" that...

How could a grown man be so good at playing sweet?

Ethan’s expression froze, and his scowl deepened. "If you’ve got the guts, fight me at the gym. Stop making snide remarks here."

"Don’t you two argue."

Sophie was exasperated. "What is there to argue about?"

She pushed Alaric’s hand off her waist and gestured toward where her car was parked, telling Ethan to go on ahead.

The corner of Ethan’s mouth twitched into a barely perceptible smirk. He shot Alaric a triumphant glare, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and swaggered off with the air of someone who owned the world.

Watching that infuriatingly cocky figure walk away, Alaric’s face paled with anger. "Your best friend’s brother is a rare master of the innocent act."

"What’s wrong with you?"

"..."

"He’s immature, but are you going to be immature too?"

They were at each other’s throats the moment they met. It was really strange.

"Alaric Blackwood, you’re twenty-six, not three."

"He provoked me on purpose."

"You’re the one who accused him of putting on a sweet-and-innocent act."

"He also bumped me with his shoulder."

"When?"

"..."

Sophie hadn’t seen Ethan bump into Alaric. All she saw was Alaric picking a fight over a simple form of address.

"He’s called me Sophie ever since I met him. It’s just a name, don’t make a big deal out of it."