Morgan Sterling clapped his hands. "That's more like it. Come, have a seat."
Leah Sinclair didn't move. When Ben Coleman came over to pull her, Ethan Shaw gave him a shove. "Weren't those three slaps enough for you?"
Ben Coleman flinched. Ethan Shaw hadn't held back at all with those three slaps, and his face still throbbed with pain.
"Come here," Asher Keating said lightly.
Leah Sinclair still didn't move. This time, it wasn't that she didn't want to, but that she was too dizzy. The alcohol was hitting her, and she felt awful.
Ethan Shaw helped her up. She staggered, seeing double when she looked at Asher Keating. Ethan guided her to a seat next to Asher, then quickly retreated to Riley Sterling's side. He could sense Asher was in a bad mood and didn't dare get on his wrong side.
Leah Sinclair couldn't sit straight and started to slump toward the other side of the sofa. Asher Keating wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. Leah said in a low voice, "I'm sorry. I think I've caused you trouble."
Asher Keating's hand on her waist paused for a moment, but he didn't say anything.
"Third Master Keating, she was just swearing up and down that she wasn't your woman. I'm the one who took a liking to her tonight. This move of yours... isn't very proper, is it?" Morgan Sterling narrowed his eyes, the look behind his glasses anything but friendly.
"Whether she's my woman or not is up to me, not her." Asher Keating turned his head and asked Leah Sinclair, "You said I was handsome?"
"Mhm."
"Good body?"
"...Mhm."
"Good in bed?"
"...Mhm."
"That sleeping with me would be no loss?"
"..."
'So he heard everything.' Leah Sinclair's face turned two shades redder than when she'd been drinking. Nearby, Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling were trying their best not to burst out laughing.
"So, would it be a loss?"
"No loss..." Leah Sinclair's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"Perfect. I happen to be looking for a bed partner right now. You in?" Asher Keating spoke slowly, his voice laced with a tempting allure.
'Has he lost his mind? Is he more drunk than I am? Otherwise, everything I worked so hard to deny all night has just been undone by a single sentence from him.'
'Then what was I even doing all night?' Leah Sinclair's head spun, and a wave of nausea washed over her. But in this situation, she had no choice. She gritted her teeth.
"I'm in."
"Did you hear that? From now on, she's my woman." Asher Keating jutted his chin at Morgan Sterling.
"Ooooh!" Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling clapped and cheered wildly from the side.
"Third Master Keating, are you really dead set on fighting me for her?"
Morgan Sterling leaned back lazily into the sofa. "Then let's make a bet. If you win, she's yours. If I win, she's mine."
"She's already my woman. Unlike Eldest Young Master Sterling, I never gamble with my own people."
Asher Keating pulled Leah Sinclair a little closer. He sensed something was wrong with her; she was constantly pinching her own leg, and she'd bitten her lip until it bled.
Hearing this, Morgan Sterling's gaze turned even colder. "Heh, so you have principles. Then let's change the stakes. That plot of land in Southwood. Care to bet?"
At this, even Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling sat up straight. They knew Asher Keating was negotiating for that Southwood land, but Morgan Sterling had been obstructing him at every turn. The whole affair had been dragging on for nearly half a year.
"I'll bet."
Asher Keating said calmly, "If I win, you drop your little schemes and pull out of this project. If you win, I'll pull out."
"Asher!"
Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling were panicking. This was no small matter. If the old Mr. Keating found out, he'd break Asher Keating's legs.
"Done."
Morgan Sterling passed a dice cup to Asher Keating. "Simple. High roll wins. Winner takes all in one round."
Asher Keating asked Leah Sinclair, "Did you win or lose with the dice today?"
"Won..."
Leah Sinclair shook her head slightly. She was really not in a good state, her whole body trembling uncontrollably, but she stubbornly held on.
"Then you roll."
"No, I can't..."
Leah Sinclair refused immediately. Although she didn't know what they were talking about, judging by the reactions of Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling, that plot of land was very important to Asher Keating.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here."
Saying that, Asher Keating took her hand and placed it on the dice cup, then covered her hand with his own. Leah Sinclair's hand was cold; it was hard to tell if it was from the alcohol or the air conditioning.
RATTLE.
Asher Keating guided her hand for a single shake and then stopped.
On the other side, Morgan Sterling had also finished shaking. They opened the cups at the same time. Morgan had four sixes and a five. Asher, however, had five sixes.
"You lost, Eldest Young Master Sterling. A bet's a bet."
After seeing the result, Asher Keating helped Leah Sinclair to her feet, took her phone, slipped it into his pocket, and led her away. Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling hurried to follow.
"Holy shit, Asher, you scared the hell out of me!"
"Yeah, really. Asher, that was way too risky."
Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling chattered nervously behind him as they walked out the door. Suddenly, Leah Sinclair grabbed Asher Keating's arm, stopping him. "I'm going to be sick."
Asher Keating glanced at her. Hearing this, Ethan Shaw quickly grabbed a waitress and had her escort Leah Sinclair to the restroom.
The three men waited outside. Asher Keating lit a cigarette. "You think he's actually interested in the Southwood land? He's just trying to piss me off."
"I know, but Asher, he might not be interested, but you are! If you had lost just now, your grandfather..." Riley Sterling also lit a cigarette, tossing the lighter to Ethan Shaw.
"Exactly. But you were damn cool just now, Asher. Getting five sixes in one go, awesome." Ethan Shaw grinned and nudged him.
"How much did she drink?" Asher Keating tilted his chin toward the restroom.
"Don't know about before, but after we got here, she had a big glass of hard liquor, plus those six shots. Holy shit, let me tell you, she can really hold her liquor. I'd probably be on the floor after half of those six shots." Ethan Shaw got animated talking about it.
"But that girl is stubborn as hell. Morgan Sterling told her to go with him, she refused. Told her to admit she was your woman, she refused that too and just drank instead. And you, Asher... really. If you'd just said something earlier, I wouldn't have told her *not* to admit it."
Asher Keating's hand, holding the cigarette, paused. 'So, she refused to admit she was my woman and drank all that liquor just because of what Ethan said?'
'But she doesn't understand Morgan Sterling. The more she denied it, the more certain he would become. No wonder she apologized for causing me trouble earlier. It seems she figured it out later.'
The three of them chatted, but after a while, she still hadn't come out. Asher Keating raised his wrist to check his watch. "How long has she been in there?"
Ethan Shaw checked his watch too. "Twenty minutes, I think? You don't think she's passed out in there and can't get up, do you? Should I go check?"
Leah Sinclair wasn't just throwing up from the alcohol; she was forcing herself to vomit. The waitress who had accompanied her was stunned, watching as Leah looked like she was trying to turn her stomach inside out.
When there was finally nothing left to bring up, she stopped. The waitress helped her over to the sink to wash her face. "Leah, why do you have to be like this? Young Master Keating is a great catch, but so is Eldest Young Master Sterling. His family is even richer and more powerful than the Keating Family."