Chapter 5

Sadie looked down. She could not help thinking about how ironic this was. She pushed away the glasses on the table, picked up the case of vodka from the floor, and put it on the table.

"It's pretty slow to drink by the glass, Mr. Umbridge. It would be insincere of me to start small. How about drinking by the bottle?"

Sadie did not become the top social butterfly of Seaport because of her beauty alone. She had brains and great emotional intelligence.

Men would always become full of themselves when their careers took off.

Men who proclaimed to be self-made always desired to conquer women. They had no interest in submissive women who gave in to their every whim.

The more rebellious and uncontrollable a woman was, the more they admired them.

"You have a great spirit, Miss Ellis. If you can finish this case tonight, you'll get the contract."

Sadie did not waste any time. She grabbed the vodka and guzzled down bottle after bottle.

She started to feel tipsy when she felt the burning sensation in her stomach.

Chad quickly grabbed her. "You can hardly stand, Sadie. Can you still drink?"

The alcohol had gotten to Sadie. She humiliated herself by asking, "If I can't do it, are you willing to let Josie take over?"

Chad looked at her with clear eyes. "Don't be absurd, Sadie. She's not good enough to take over drinking with Mr. Umbridge."

That made Sadie feel horrible. She smiled self-deprecatingly.

When Chad saw her smile, he felt a tinge of unhappiness.

Late that night…

Sadie finished every bottle of vodka. Mr. Umbridge applauded her as he heaped praises on her.

"You really live up to your name, Miss Ellis. I can't outdrink you. I admit defeat!"

Sadie finally smiled. "That means we'll get the contract for that land development project in South City, right?"

Mr. Umbridge looked bewildered when he heard her. "What land in South City? Are you drunk, Miss Ellis? Mr. Simmons is here to talk about City Hall's refurbishment."

Was this meeting not about her mother's grave? Chad lied to her!

Sadie's arm weakened, and the empty bottles smashed on the ground.

She glanced around. Chad and Josie were gone from the private room.

Sadie brushed aside Mr. Umbridge's surprised questions and apologized for remembering the wrong details because she was drunk. She asked to leave for the washroom to throw up.

Mr. Umbridge nodded understandingly, dismissing her.

Sadie could hardly walk when she left the room. She headed straight for the washroom.

She really wanted to throw up.

Sadie did not expect to hear a satisfied man's moaning coming from the female stall next to her.

"Chad, you said…

"You said you wanted me to replace Sadie in getting to know these VIPs. Why did you separate me from Mr. Umbridge?"

The crisp clanging of the metallic door locks echoed around them. The man laughed softly and huskily.

"You silly thing! Mr. Umbridge is a known lecher. I brought you here to learn to talk business, not let an old man molest you."

Josie's seductive moans got increasingly passionate. "I knew you loved me the most, Chad. Would Sadie get revenge on me if she found out it was my idea for you to trick her tonight?"

Chad was silent for a few seconds before replying, "She won't know it was you, but it doesn't matter even if she does. Sadie is so in love with me that all I need to do is beckon her, and she’ll come running.

"Besides, she's already thirty years old. It takes someone youthful to be a social butterfly. Who else can she go to besides me? Those old men who ravaged her for an entire night?"

Josie's laughter echoed in the washroom. "Chad, let's get married on the day you leave her at the altar!"

Sadie could not bear to listen any longer. Their conversation was too disgusting.

She stumbled out of the washroom.

It was raining late that night. Sadie walked through the rain, feeling numb.

She knew what kind of person Chad was.

However, she was still stupid enough to believe his lie tonight. She even dared to think he still cared a little about her.

In the end, it was nothing but his scheme. He was unscrupulous enough to squeeze every drop of value she had for his gain.

Sadie had drunk a lot and got wet in the rain. She had gone through an emotional rollercoaster, and she finally fell apart as she passed out on the ground.

Many people passed by, but none of them stopped to help her.

A limousine drove by slowly and eventually stopped next to her.

The back door opened, and a young man in casual attire got out of the car with an umbrella in his hand.

He passed the umbrella to his driver, who jogged over to him.

The man knelt on one knee to carefully pick Sadie up in his arms.

His driver quickly shaded him with the umbrella and opened the car door for him.

The man carried Sadie into the back of the car. He wiped away the rainwater and dirt from her face without hesitation and took off his coat to put it on her.

He leaned close to look at Sadie's pale face. There was fury deep in his eyes.

It took him five minutes to finally give instructions softly.

"Take her to the hospital. No need to mention me."

"Yes, Mr. Walker!" His driver quickly started the car without daring to glance at the rearview mirror.

He was a personal driver sent to Blake by Old Mr. Walker.

The driver had been working with Blake for two years. He had witnessed Blake's playboy antics and ruthless business executions.

He had never seen his powerful boss, who could have anything he wanted, rush to a little city by sea in one day just to tear up over a woman covered in dirt and rainwater.