Chapter 15

Someone chimed in, "Call her boss if you're curious about her!" Natalie quickly said, "Don't!" She wouldn't want to stir trouble for the manager of the bar, who had generously helped her out. Staring into Taylor's eyes, she confessed, "I sneaked in. This has nothing to do with the bar owner. I can settle this problem myself." He looked up at her. With a disdainful tone, he questioned, "And how are you going to do that?" "I…" As she stammered, the other excited onlookers suggested, "Why don't we share this lovely lady among us? We can surely consider that." "Mr. Castello, great idea! It'll be my first time enjoying an ice-cold beauty. I'm really curious about her reaction when she's under a man!" Taylor's expression fell under the dim lights of the bar. A ball of rage flashed across his eyes. Without a word, he grabbed a wine glass from the table and hurled it at the two men who were frivolously discussing sleeping with Natalie. The glass shattered on the ground in front of the two men. They jumped in shock and stuttered, "M-Mr. Jones, what was that supposed to mean?" "Get lost!" Taylor addressed them with a calm yet intimidating tone. The two men hastily left the room with their tails between their legs. After that, an oppressive silence descended on the room. No one dared say a word when they noticed Taylor getting worked up. After a long pause, someone finally blurted out, "Mr. Jones, why don't we delete the footage on her phone and release her? We have business to discuss today." Natalie wholeheartedly agreed with the proposal. She cast a grateful look at the person speaking, only to be shocked when she recognized the familiar face from a photo she saw before entering the room. The speaker was none other than Bethany's husband, Luis Ashe. What was going on here? She wondered if Taylor was having a business meeting with Luis and if he was aware of Luis' relationship with Bethany. "Mr. Ashe, you might be lenient with a lady, but I'm different," Taylor remarked. Then, he grabbed an unopened bottle of brandy from the side and handed it to Natalie. "Empty this bottle and I'll let you go." The unsettling atmosphere finally went away. The men in the room seemed excited for the dare, and they sat up in anticipation. Meanwhile, the staff members in the room exchanged looks with each other. Natalie frowned at the sight of Taylor's smug expression. He clearly intended to make things difficult for her. She replied, "But I can't hold my drinks." "How is that my problem?" The light in her eyes dimmed. Finally, she caved in and accepted the bottle. "You'll keep your word, won't you?" "Of course!" "Great." Then, she threw her head back and drank the brandy. She immediately coughed when the hard liquor made contact with her throat, and her cheeks flushed. Squinting, Taylor made a cruel, oppressive remark, "I don't have the patience for you to take sip after sip." Shooting daggers at him, Natalie bit the bullet and downed the contents. Despite her body literally fighting back against the strong taste, she ignored the sick feeling in her stomach and swallowed the liquor. No one dared make any comments after seeing what Taylor had done to the two men earlier. Time passed slowly for Natalie. For the first time, she realized that alcohol was pretty unpalatable. Her tears nearly fell from the ordeal. Finally, she saw the end of the bottle. She placed the bottle on the table and stared at Taylor. "May I leave now?" "Of course." She staggered when she rose from the couch, and she tried to grab onto something as she was about to fall. Alas, she unknowingly touched Taylor on his muscular thigh, earning her a cold glare from him. Jolted by the warm sensation of his skin, she quickly removed her hand, only to lose her balance again. Just as she was tilting toward the front, Taylor emotionlessly reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist to hold her. An unreadable look appeared in his eyes. With a smirk, he teased, "Why? Have you changed your mind about leaving? Trying to throw yourself at me now?"