Chapter 1932
Balfour lowered his gaze, inadvertently catching a glimpse of her long, slender legs.
Feeling the weight of his stare, Ivy hastily sat back down, covering her thighs with a sheepish cough. “Ahem! I can explain, but, Mr. Howard, where did my clothes go? Can I please get dressed in my own things before we continue this conversation?”
That’s right, if nothing had happened, why on earth was she lying in bed as bare as the day she was born?
She had searched the entire room, but her clothes were nowhere to be found!
“You got plastered last night, ended up puking all over me. Both our outfits are currently in the laundry.”
Balfour gestured towards the crisp white shirt she was wearing, “That shirt you’ve got on is a fresh one the hotel had on hand for me.”
Ivy glanced down at the white shirt hugging her frame, her embarrassment intensifying. “Sorry about that. I couldn’t find anything else to wear, so I just put this on.”
If she had another garment, she would have stripped off the borrowed shirt in a heartbeat.
But, she couldn’t find anything else to wear.
“You know, Ivy, with your tolerance being so low, going out for drinks alone with a guy can send the wrong message.”
She didn’t need Balfour to tell her that. If it weren’t for the persistent calls from her family, she never would have ended up drinking one-on-one with a man.
Looking down, Ivy tugged at the blanket covering her. “Balfour, would you mind asking the hotel to deliver some clothes for me? Then I can give you back your shirt.”
“Sure thing.”
Balfour rang up the hotel service, reeling off Ivy’s clothing size with pinpoint accuracy.
Her cheeks flamed with color.
How did Balfour know her exact size? Had he seen something the night before?
After hanging up, Balfour’s expression remained impassive as he regarded Ivy. “Ivy, are you that strapped for cash?”
“What?” Ivy jerked her head up, nodding then shaking her head in confusion. “I mean, I’m a bit short, but don’t you pay me a salary? Once I get paid, I’ll be fine.”
“If money’s not the issue, then why get yourself into such a situation?”
Realizing Balfour must have misunderstood the events of the previous night, Ivy hastened to clarify, “It’s not like that. My parents… they played me for the sake of my sister, pressuring me to meet this Vincent! I thought they’d be joining me, but when I arrived, it was just me, alone!”
“A setup? By your own parents?”
Even Balfour found the story hard to swallow.
Ivy wished she could offer a different explanation, but the stark truth of the matter was exactly that.
“You find it hard to believe, don’t you?” Ivy laughed bitterly, meeting his gaze with self-derision apparent in her eyes. “I never imagined my own parents could do such a thing to me.”
She looked down again, sighing softly. “My mom told me it’d be the last time. If I just came to apologize to this Vincent, help my sister secure some resources, then they’d stop bothering me.”
Recalling everything that had happened, Ivy couldn’t help the tears that welled up in her eyes. “I didn’t want to get involved, but it was my mother asking. I didn’t want to make her life any harder.”
“So, you just came by yourself?” Balfour’s gaze softened as he noticed the redness around her eyes.
