Chapter 306

Chapter 306

The private room was packed—men and women, the atmosphere loud and lively.

A man with a beer belly and fleshy jowls stared at Lisbeth, squinting as he smiled. "Ms. Whitaker, it's rare you agreed to have dinner with us. You gotta give me some face here. At least have a drink."

Quinn stepped forward immediately. "Mr. Duke, Ms. Whitaker can't hold her liquor. Let me take this one for—"

Quinn reached for the glass, but Mr. Duke dodged. He glanced at Quinn, then slowly turned his gaze to Lisbeth. "This drink is for Ms. Whitaker. Are you Ms. Whitaker?"

Quinn was at a loss for words.

Lisbeth looked around the room. Besides Mr. Duke, everyone else was watching the show. Since Citrus Shine was founded, they'd had their share of business dinners—but Megan always handled them.

She could drink. She was smooth, charming, good with people.

There wasn't a situation she couldn't handle. So all this time, Lisbeth had never had to drink with clients herself.

But today, Megan was still in the hospital, working hard every day just to practice speaking again. And with the company in crisis, Lisbeth had no choice but to step up.

She picked up the glass. "Mr. Duke's right. If I came out tonight and didn't have a single drink, that'd be disrespectful to everyone here."

She didn't want to waste time with pleasantries. It was pointless. They'd just keep pouring anyway.

She downed it in one go.

The room erupted in applause.

"Ms. Whitaker can really drink!"

"Guess we misjudged you, Ms. Whitaker. We thought you looked down on us."

"That was all a misunderstanding, right, Ms. Whitaker? If you really looked down on us, you wouldn't be here tonight. And someone who never drinks at business dinners just had her first glass. That's a first."

As he spoke, Mr. Duke poured her another.

Lisbeth frowned slightly. The first drink had left her throat and stomach burning. She'd been sitting here getting pressured to drink nonstop. She hadn't even touched the food.

Mr. Duke said, "Ms. Whitaker, drink up. That first one was you toasting me. This second one's for everyone. We've invited you out so many times, and you never came. Today you finally gave us face and agreed to have dinner with us. It's an honor."

He said "honor," but his tone was all pressure.

Before, they'd been the ones chasing her. Lisbeth had refused. But this time, she'd been the one to ask them out. The power dynamic had flipped instantly.

Lisbeth could tell Mr. Duke was deliberately making things difficult—probably holding a grudge over all those past rejections. She didn't waste words. She downed the second glass.

The first had burned. The second—maybe she was getting used to the taste—didn't seem as bad. Or maybe she'd just gone numb.

Mr. Duke looked impressed. "Damn. That's our Ms. Whitaker."

Scattered applause followed.

Lisbeth sat in her chair, eyes unfocused, her hand gripping Quinn's tightly under the table.

Quinn saw the look on her face and knew she'd had too much. This wasn't good. She quietly pulled out her phone and sent Sebastian a message.

She used Lisbeth's phone, of course—she didn't have Sebastian's number.

When she unlocked the phone with Lisbeth's finger, Lisbeth didn't even react.

She was really drunk.

Quinn just hoped she could protect Lisbeth. Keep these wolves from taking advantage.

……

Sebastian was putting the kids to bed. He glanced at the time—nearly 8:00 p.m. He wanted to call and ask how things were going, when she'd be home.

But he was afraid she'd think he was being clingy.

He closed his eyes, trying to calm down and fall asleep. So he wouldn't wake the kids, his phone was on silent on the nightstand.

So he didn't see the screen light up for a moment.

Meanwhile, Lisbeth sat there motionless. Not talking. Not eating. Anyone could see the alcohol had hit her.

She was close to drunk.

So everyone immediately turned their attention to Quinn. Quinn could hold her liquor pretty well, but not against this many people pouring drink after drink.

And they needed these people. They couldn't afford to offend them.

After a few more glasses, Quinn felt her thoughts slowing down. But one idea stayed rooted in her mind, impossible to shake.

Protect Lisbeth.

Clinging to her last shred of awareness, she pulled out her phone. Suddenly, a number flashed on the screen.

Sebastian.

Quinn's fingers trembled as she tried to tap the location-sharing button.

The next second, someone snatched the phone out of her hand and tossed it on the table. It was Mr. Duke, back from another round of drinks. "I know your type. First time, you think you can't handle it. But you'll love it soon enough. Drinking helps you forget all your troubles."

Without even looking, Mr. Duke threw the phone into the ice bucket. The screen went black instantly.

……

A black sedan tore down the road, running several red lights.

Sebastian gripped the steering wheel tightly, getting closer and closer to the location on his phone.

Meanwhile, Quinn had clearly had too much as well. She found an excuse to take Lisbeth to the restroom, where they both splashed cold water on their faces. It helped a little.

Lisbeth rubbed her forehead. "Something's wrong. Just a few drinks shouldn't have done this…"

Her tolerance wasn't great, but she shouldn't be this drunk after three or four glasses. Even thinking felt sluggish.

Quinn shook her head. "You think they spiked the drinks?"

Lisbeth couldn't say for sure—there was no proof. She gripped Quinn's shoulder. "You willing to take a gamble with me?"

"What do you mean?"

Quinn was usually sharp, but with the alcohol clouding her mind, her thinking had slowed.

She only half understood.

Lisbeth leaned in and whispered something in her ear. Then the restroom door swung open. Mr. Duke stood in the doorway, one hand patting his belly. "What's taking so long? We were worried about you two."

Lisbeth pulled Quinn along, swaying as they left the restroom.

Mr. Duke followed right behind them, like he was afraid they'd run off. The moment they sat down, he poured them both more drinks. "We talked over the partnership Ms. Whitaker mentioned. Citrus Shine has a solid future. Sure, you're having a little trouble right now, but we believe Ms. Whitaker can handle it. In fact, we brought the contract."

He actually produced a contract, looking quite serious about it. Lisbeth forced her eyes open and scanned the terms. There didn't seem to be any hidden traps—at least not at first glance.

And he'd already signed it.

They were willing to invest and help Citrus Shine get through this crisis.

"Sign it. Once you do, we're partners." Mr. Duke sat down next to Lisbeth, draping one arm over the back of her chair.

The other men saw and started hooting.

Lisbeth picked up the pen. The tip had just touched the paper when the door burst open.

Sebastian stood in the doorway, breathing hard. The first thing he saw was Mr. Duke sitting way too close to Lisbeth. He walked in slowly, grabbed Mr. Duke's wrist, and twisted it hard.

Mr. Duke howled, struggling desperately. But the pain kept him from moving too much—he just writhed his fat body around. The other executives exchanged glances. No one spoke up. No one dared step in to help.

Sebastian felt the greasy skin under his fingers and let go in disgust. He grabbed a napkin and wiped his hand clean before pulling Lisbeth and Quinn to his side.

"Are you okay?" He looked down at her.

Lisbeth shook her head. Actually, she'd sobered up. Before coming here, she'd taken something to counteract the alcohol. Those first few drinks had hit hard, but she'd cleared up quickly.

"Let's go." Sebastian grabbed her hand and turned to leave.

But Lisbeth stopped him. "Wait! I'm not done here yet."

"What could you possibly still need from them?"

Sebastian was only holding back his anger so he wouldn't scare her.