SWNOVELS Chapter 43: Forced To Drink
Zac said, turning his head to Jayson, who was sitting beside Patricia, with a strong warning in his eyes.
Jayson felt flustered when he suddenly became Zac's target and tried his best to disappear into his seat.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Jayson turned his attention to Patricia while ignoring Zac's bold gaze.
He believed that Patricia would come to his rescue.
Seeing Zac glaring at Jayson, Patricia understood what he was trying to do.
So, waving her chopsticks between them, she said, "Zac, what are you staring at so intently? Return to your senses at once!"
Zac was brought back to reality upon hearing her words.
He turned his gaze to Patricia this time.
"I know Jayson is handsome and lovely, but he is still a child.Even if you are attracted to him, you must wait for him to grow up at
least!"
Patricia curled her lips and glanced at Zac with disdain before continuing to eat the dishes on the table.
Jayson was shocked.
'When did I become a lovely man? Why wasn't I aware of this before?’ Stunned, Zac had to wonder if he really gave off such a
vibe that others thought he was interested in men! ‘Also, didn’t I just say that I was looking at Jayson because I liked him? And to
wait for him to grow up at least? What is this woman thinking?’ Knock! Knock! Knock! Just as the two of them were left
speechless, the knock on the door saved them further embarrassment.
"Come in!"
Zac's cold voice echoed in the room.
The door opened, and five middle-aged men walked in.
Without having been introduced, Patricia already knew that they were the board members Zac had mentioned before.
As soon as they came in, they greeted Zac first and then turned in her direction.
Patricia was already standing, so after they greeted Zac, she said to them politely, "Please have a seat, directors.We were
waiting for your arrival."
"No need to be so courteous, Miss Sampson!"
After everyone was seated, a short, fat middle-aged man sitting next to Zac stood up, picked up a glass of wine, and walked
towards Patricia.
"He's Sampson, one of the founding members of the Reynolds Group! He's a typical smiling tiger! So, be careful!"
Jayson said in a low voice, moving a little closer to Patricia.
"Thank you.I'll keep that in mind."
Patricia nodded and thought to herself, ‘Fortunately, I brought Jayson along today.
Otherwise, I'd be in hot water since I don't know any of these men!’ Sampson Cullen came to her side and, beaming at her, said,
"I've heard a lot about you, Miss Sampson, but today I finally get to see you with my own eyes.You are truly extraordinary! I'd like
to propose a toast to you!"
Patricia quickly stood up, picked up her glass, and said, "Mr.Cullen, I'm flattered! I should be the one proposing a toast to you!"
"You can drop the formalities, Miss Sampson.Since we're on the same page, let's have a toast! I'll be drinking first to show my
respect to you!"
As Sampson spoke, with an outstretched arm he clinked their glasses together and drank the wine in one go.
He then turned his empty glass over to show Patricia, as if to say, ‘Look, I've drunk it all!’ There was an unwritten rule on the
table.
If one clinked cups with yours and he drank all the wine, you would also have to consume the wine in your cup as a sign of
respect.
As this was the case for Patricia, she was forced to clink Sampson's glass.
The worse part about this situation was that she needed to ask these men for their help! Thus, she was compelled to consume
the wine and treat them cautiously.
Glancing at Zac, she couldn't help but glare at him for the predicament he'd placed her in.
Suppressing her displeasure in her heart, she turned to the middle-aged man, plastered a smile on her face, and said,
"Mr.Cullen, you're good at drinking! I'm honored.I should have been the one proposing a toast to you, but you beat me to it!"
As she spoke, she raised the glass in her hand and continued, "Since you were so generous, naturally, I can't fall too far
behind.I'll be drinking as well!"
As she spoke, she lifted her glass to her mouth and drank it all in one breath.
"Great! Great!"
Sampson said two "great" in a row, with a look of appreciation on his face.
He grabbed the wine bottle on the table, poured himself and Patricia another glass each, and raised his again.
"Miss Sampson, I might be old, but I appreciate straightforward people like yourself.Come on, let me propose one more toast to
you!"
After saying that, Sampson emptied his glass of wine.
Patricia was taken aback.
‘What was going on? Did he really think he was immune to getting drunk? One toast was enough, wasn't it? And what did he
mean by his words? Did he truly appreciate me?’ Patricia wasn't foolish enough to believe that this old man really appreciated
her.
This was more likely a scheme he'd thought up to use against her! However, she knew that this could turn out poorly for the
company today if she didn't give in.
Raising her glass, she drank the contents again.Jayson, who was sitting next to her, was becoming anxious.
He pulled her sleeve worriedly and said, "Miss Sampson..."
"This is nothing! Don’t worry."
Patricia patted Jayson's shoulder to relieve his worries.
But the more Patricia behaved like this, the more concerned Jayson was.
It seemed that Patricia was ready to risk everything.
He didn't know what he could do to assist her. If anything happened to her, how would he explain it to the company? Jayson's
worries only sky-rocketed when Sampson continued, "Good job, Miss Sampson.You are indeed the female hero in this saga.
And as the saying goes, ‘A man shouldn't pass the mountain after drinking three bottles of wine.’ But looking at you, you seem to
be able to drink even ten.Come on, cheers!"
Sampson said easily and poured another glass of wine for her, leaving her no chance to escape. Everyone knew that alcohol
can paralyze a man's consciousness and slow down their reaction, and that was how Patricia felt now.
Before she could react, the glass in her hand was filled with wine again.
Seeing this, Jayson was troubled.
He had a feeling that they wanted to get her drunk purposefully.
As expected, before Jayson could react, Patricia drank yet another glass of wine under the encouragement of Sampson.
However, as soon as Sampson left, Palmer stood up.
He was the closest to her, only two steps away from her.
He raised his glass and repeated Sampson's speech, his words forcing Patricia to drink yet another glass of wine.
When Palmer Prescott was about to persuade Patricia to drink again, Jayson suddenly stood up and grabbed the full glass in her
hand.
He said in a distressed tone, "Miss Sampson, don't drink anymore! You are drunk! "
Feeling a little dizzy, Patricia stood beside Jayson.
Her face was as red as a dainty flower, which added a bit of charm to her beauty.
As her feet were unsteady, she was like a delicate beauty, making people want to support her.
"Miss Sampson, you are drunk.Let me take you home!"