CHAPTER 69: CHAPTER 69: IN DANGER

The other man seemed to be just Tyler Aldrin’s lackey. He didn’t introduce himself and didn’t say much, but as soon as Tyler Aldrin stopped, he swiftly poured drinks for Gemma Joyce and Ruby Sullivan. "Meeting means we’re friends, let’s drink and chat."

"Yes, yes." Gemma Joyce raised her glass, "Meeting is destiny, I’ll down this first as a gesture of respect." She then tilted her head back and drank a glass of beer, looking very bold, and even after drinking, she still maintained a bright smile.

Ruby Sullivan, however, had no intention of raising her glass.

Young Master Aldrin glanced at her with a mocking tone, pretending to reprimand as he laughed with Gemma Joyce, "Janie, how could you drink first by yourself? Come on, Miss Sullivan, let’s toast to our friendship."

Ruby Sullivan almost got blinded by the gold chain around his neck. Besides, she didn’t come here today to listen to these people spout nonsense.

She smiled and stood up, "Sorry, I drove here, I can’t drink." She said and tried to leave.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she headed for the stairs, two bodyguards suddenly stepped forward and blocked her path.

Ruby Sullivan’s heart skipped a beat, tension mounting, but she maintained a casual smirk and turned to look at Tyler Aldrin on the couch with a smug face, "Oh, is Young Master Aldrin trying to forcibly detain a guest?"

He snorted dismissively, playing with the wine glass in his hand, not even glancing at her as he said with an arrogant air, "No one dares not to drink the wine offered by me, Young Master Aldrin."

Gemma Joyce didn’t expect Wenny’s temperament to be so fierce, knowing who Tyler Aldrin was and still giving no face. She was stunned for a moment, then quickly stood up to mediate, "We’re all friends when we go out; we’re all friends." She said, pulling Wenny aside quietly to build rapport.

"I know you don’t like Rhonda Sullivan, I don’t like her either, don’t laugh at me for saying so; though we were college classmates, I’ve always received her aid, and I work at The Sullivan Group now, I can’t really ignore her words. Introducing you to Young Master Aldrin was just because Rhonda Sullivan wants to collaborate with the Aldrin Family."

Ruby Sullivan recalled the manipulation The Sullivan Group did with the new contract and hesitated, "So who asked you to find me today?"

Gemma Joyce bit her lips, saying somewhat slowly, "I’ll be honest with you. After Tyler and Ethan had a falling out, Rhonda Sullivan always had me get in touch with Tyler to discuss cooperation. I was really fed up with Rhonda after the last incident, so I wanted to introduce Tyler to you and mess up Rhonda’s plans."

Ruby Sullivan was skeptical, "Why me? We’re not even familiar with each other, and besides, I’m just a perfumer; on what basis could I disrupt The Sullivan Group as a partner?

Gemma Joyce flicked her hair back, smiling ingratiatingly, appearing somewhat awkward, "You were able to snatch Ethan Sterling from Rhonda’s hands; that proves you’re no ordinary person. Moreover, Rhonda hates you, right? If she knew that her plans got foiled because of you, it would irritate her to death. The angrier she gets, the more satisfied I’d be."

"Ha, you’re calculating it well."

"Don’t you also dislike Rhonda Sullivan? As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. As for Young Master Aldrin, you needn’t worry; when he heard you’re the perfumer Ethan Sterling brought back at a high price, he said no matter the cost, he must collaborate with you." She then timidly glanced at Tyler Aldrin, getting closer to Ruby Sullivan and whispered, "These real estate people are all nouveau riche. Tyler Aldrin is a well-known rich second generation, without much refinement, but easy to fool, you know." She blinked, with a knowing expression.

Ruby Sullivan couldn’t immediately determine the truth of Gemma Joyce’s words, but she was sure that leaving now wouldn’t be a good idea.

The band hadn’t gone on stage yet; if things really got out of hand, Levi Joyce wouldn’t be able to come over and help. She could only choose to first hear what Tyler Aldrin had to say.

Seeing Ruby Sullivan’s expression soften, Gemma Joyce immediately pulled her back to her seat.

"Young Master Aldrin, blame me for not explaining things clearly to Wenny. I’ll drink with her to apologize to you; Young Master Aldrin, please pardon us." Gemma Joyce was very forthcoming about drinking. After speaking, she again downed a drink as if beer was just water to her.

Tyler Aldrin snorted, still putting on a haughty air, "You say you’ll bring her, so you will?" He waved his hand, "Bring a bottle of Louis XIII over, I want to entertain my esteemed guest."

The liquor was quickly brought over, half a glass of strong brandy, and as soon as it was poured, the strong alcoholic aroma filled the air.

Ruby Sullivan, with her sensitive nose, frowned immediately, instinctively leaning back.

Tyler Aldrin pushed the glass in front of him, with a cold smile carrying blatant threat, "Miss Wenny, drink this glass, and we’ll pretend nothing ever happened."

Ruby Sullivan loathed such bullying behavior, and with a cold face, she confronted him for three seconds, then smiled slightly, "Young Master Aldrin, we’re perfumers, we rely on our noses to make a living. If this glass of wine ruins my career, there’s no point in discussing any cooperation between us."

"Oh, such a delicate lady!" Young Master Aldrin suddenly burst into laughter, "I like delicate women the most!" As he spoke, he stood up and put a foot on the long table, "If you don’t want to drink, then don’t drink, I never like to force anyone." Saying so, he grabbed the newly opened Louis XIII and poured it over Wenny’s head.

Caught off guard, Wenny could only close her eyes, listening to Tyler’s wanton laughter, lightly biting her lower lip.

"Miss Wenny, how is it? This wine is quite good, isn’t it? Heard it’s aged sixty years, quite valuable." Tyler sprawled on the couch with his legs crossed, arms stretched out on the sofa back, laughing heartily while slapping the back of the sofa, with his double chin made from his sitting posture, he looked like a butcher selling pork.

Gemma Joyce was dumbfounded, never expecting the situation to escalate like this.

Meanwhile, many ticket-holding music fans had already entered the venue, the lights suddenly dimmed, and the opening band on the downstairs stage was ready, followed by the sound of Levi Joyce’s voice in the venue, "Good evening, we are The Happy Drifters Band!"

Gemma Joyce continued to wipe the wine off Wenny with tissues, playing hardball as a mediator, "Listen to the music, listen to the music, today’s band is quite talented, Wenny, look, that lead singer is so handsome."

Ruby Sullivan slowly pushed her arm away, coldly smiling as she stood up and circled in front of Tyler Aldrin, "Young Master Aldrin, so this is how you like to drink!" She then mimicked the action, pouring a bottle of beer over Tyler Aldrin’s head.

Tyler Aldrin probably didn’t expect to be treated this way by a woman, and the suddenness had the beer entering his nostrils a bit, making him choke and cough while spouting water.

Upon seeing the bodyguards approaching, Ruby Sullivan smashed the bottle on the table and held the jagged end threateningly, "Get the hell back, or I’ll knock him out!" Watching hooligans brawl was one of the critical lessons she learned while in Bellaza!

The boisterous music overshadowed the commotion on the second floor, and the intermittently flashing neon lights made it hard to notice Ruby Sullivan’s body was trembling slightly.

Tyler Aldrin obediently raised his hands, disregarding his wine-soaked self, with the corners of his mouth twitching up and down, "Heroine, let’s talk this over."

Ruby Sullivan gave him a hard look, then discarded the bottle and went to grab her bag, her whole body tensing to maintain toughness, though inside, she was trembling with fear.

*

At eight o’clock, with no sign of Wenny, Ethan Sterling’s face showed great displeasure. He instructed Mama Bennett to set up a room for Honey and put the two children to sleep on time before heading out.

Equally worried, Leon Sterling couldn’t help but ask, "Big brother, Wenny’s phone hasn’t been answered all this time, do you know where she went? I’d like to go find her."

Ethan Sterling frowned slightly, feeling even more irritable, merely responding with "I don’t know" before stepping out.

He got in the car and called Howard, "Send me Wenny’s location."

Not long after, he received Howard’s message on his phone, followed by a long voice message, "The follower said she went in just after Levi Joyce, also chatted with a woman, she probably went to a live music event with friends."

Ethan Sterling pressed on the accelerator, agitated by this speculative response, and had to dial the phone again, "Have her go inside and check it out."

"That’s Tyler Aldrin’s place, and tickets are needed for entry tonight, it’s hard to force our way in." Howard had already given orders earlier, otherwise he wouldn’t have sent that long voice message. Ethan Sterling said nothing more, simply hanging up, causing Howard’s heart to skip a beat, and had no choice but to rush out, leaving his girlfriend who was taking a shower behind.