Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

Chapter 127: Chapter 127: There Is a Price to Pay for Acting Recklessly

The sudden barrage of scolding left Sophie Shaw stunned for a few seconds.

She scratched her head. "When I got there and found out they were your friends..."

"My friends, so that makes it fine to drink with them?"

"They drugged me."

"I could tell."

She’d slept like the dead through the entire night, woke up still foggy-headed, then crashed again for nearly three more hours. That alone said everything about how strong whatever they’d slipped her was.

"You made it in time, didn’t you? Nothing happened."

That lit the fuse. Alaric Blackwood tossed the tablet aside, his gaze settling on Sophie with a weight that hadn’t been there before. "Come here."

Sophie stood up and walked over to him, rubbing the pins and needles from her arm as she went.

"I promise I’ll be more careful next time—"

Before she could finish, Alaric grabbed her by the arm and yanked her forward, pulling her down across his lap in one swift motion.

"What are you doing?"

She twisted and tried to push herself up, but he pressed a hand firmly against the small of her back, raised his other hand, and brought it down hard on her backside.

"Alaric Blackwood!"

"How dare you hit me—"

She’d barely gotten two words out before another smack landed.

Her ass was on fire.

Her face burned. She thrashed against him with everything she had. "Let go of me — you are not spanking me."

"If I don’t, will you actually learn anything?"

"I won’t see them again, okay? I won’t." fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

If the investment fell through, it fell through. She wasn’t about to put herself at risk again.

"And let them off that easy? I don’t think so."

Alaric flipped her upright, one arm looped around her waist, settling her firmly onto his lap.

"If they were bold enough to pull something like that, they can deal with the consequences."

His grip around her waist tightened, and the hard edge in his expression eased just slightly. "I’ve set up a lunch with Oscar Lynch and Caleb Cheney today. You’re coming with me. I’ll make sure they fall in line and put money into your company."

Using investment as bait to get their hands on his woman — that wasn’t going to come cheap. Not without five million on the table.

Sophie blinked at him. "They were pouring drinks down my throat just last night."

He curved his lips into a slow, wicked smile. "I’ve already found them a drinking buddy."

"Who?"

"Someone who’s very motivated to make it up to me."

Sophie frowned. "Who’s trying to make it up to you?"

"You’ll see when we get there."

Alaric gave her backside a light pat. "Go upstairs, wash your face, and change."

"Fine."

He released his hold on her waist. She climbed off his lap without complaint, headed back up to her room, washed up, changed, and even did a full face of makeup.

By the time she was done, over an hour had passed.

She came downstairs to find Alaric already dressed — suit, tie, everything perfectly in place.

He hooked an arm around her waist, and they walked to the entryway together, swapped into their shoes, and headed out.

A black Bentley was waiting in the courtyard. Preston Chase and a driver stood beside it. Preston pulled open the rear door with practiced deference. "Mr. Blackwood, the restaurant reservation is all set."

Alaric gave a slight nod and guided Sophie into the car.

Preston and the driver got in afterward.

Sophie had just opened her mouth to ask about her own car when Preston turned around from the passenger seat and held out a set of Cayenne keys. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

She recognized them as hers and reached out to take them.

"Your car’s been brought back," Preston said. "It’s in the garage."

Sophie gave a vague little "oh" in response. "Thanks."

The black Bentley pulled out of Maplewood Estate and arrived at their destination before long — the very same restaurant where she’d had dinner with Oscar Lynch the night before.

She followed Alaric out of the car, through the entrance, up the stairs, and found that even the private room they’d booked was the same one as last night.

Someone was already inside. It was Jaden.

Sophie blinked in surprise and glanced at Alaric. He leaned down slightly and murmured near her ear, "He’s the one trying to make it up to me."

"...?"

"Preston, sit down. Eat with us."

"Yes, Mr. Blackwood."

Preston did exactly as he was told — Alaric said sit, so he pulled out the chair next to Jaden and sat down without hesitation.

"Go ahead and order."

Alaric handed the menu to Sophie. "Just get whatever you like."

"Shouldn’t we wait for the others?"

"The others aren’t the priority here."

Sophie nodded and picked out a few dishes she liked, then turned to Preston and asked quietly, "Assistant Chase, anything you can’t eat?"

"I’m not picky."

She looked over at Jaden next. "What about you, Garland?"

"Anything’s fine. You choose."

Jaden figured he wasn’t here for the food anyway. Alaric had dragged him along specifically to drink — his job was to make sure Oscar Lynch and Caleb Cheney ended up flat on the floor.

If he could pull that off and get back into Alaric’s good graces, he thought it was worth it.

They’d been brothers for years. He didn’t want Nina Halloway to be the reason that changed.

Sophie finished ordering and set down the menu. She heard Alaric tell the server: "Two bottles of Moutai."

The server, clearly thrilled at the commission this would earn, broke into a wide smile. "Of course, sir."

The appetizers and drinks arrived. Oscar Lynch and Caleb Cheney showed up fashionably late.

Oscar had already had a bad feeling about this, so he’d come prepared — bringing Claire Sterling along as a buffer against the drinking.

Caleb, not quite as sharp, had no idea this was a setup and walked in grinning like an idiot.

"Let me introduce her — this is Claire Sterling, a friend of mine."

Oscar made the introductions for those at the table.

Alaric had met Claire before. So had Jaden. The only ones she was new to were Sophie and Preston.

Preston studied Claire’s perfectly made-up face for a moment, then dropped his gaze thoughtfully and opened his phone’s camera roll to pull up a photo he’d saved.

It was of a woman named Ava Sterling — the one Mr. Blackwood had asked him to look into.

Ava Sterling had worked at The Nocturne Club’s ground-floor bar for three months. The night before Alaric’s wedding, she’d used her position as a server to slip something into his drink without anyone noticing — and nearly caused him to miss the ceremony the next morning.

Every lead Preston had, he’d pulled from the club’s employee records, including the detail that Ava Sterling was an orphan.

The photo showed a plain-looking woman — small eyes, a flat nose, and noticeably protruding teeth. Yet Preston couldn’t shake the feeling that the attractive, polished Claire Sterling bore a strange resemblance to Ava.

The eyes and face shape were uncannily similar. Even the eye color matched. Their height and build weren’t far off either. Maybe it was just because he’d rewatched the footage of Ava spiking that drink so many times that her height, build, and the way she carried herself had lodged themselves in his memory — enough to make him see a connection that wasn’t there.

He set his phone down and kept a quiet eye on Claire throughout the meal.

When she smiled, her teeth were bright and even — clearly a full set of dental veneers. Looking more closely, there were subtle signs of surgical work on her face, especially around the nose. That was a hundred percent a job.

He knew what to look for because his girlfriend was a cosmetic surgeon at an aesthetic clinic, and he’d picked up more than a little from her over time.

Without Claire noticing, he took a quick photo of her and sent it to his girlfriend, asking her to take a look and tell him whether Claire had had any work done.

The food had arrived and everyone was eating by the time his girlfriend’s reply came through.

[Double eyelids, inner and outer canthoplasty, rhinoplasty, chin implant...]

Preston immediately forwarded the unflattering photo of Ava Sterling. [Is there any chance these two are the same person?]

His girlfriend studied both photos for half an hour before writing back: [Very possibly.]