Queen of Wild Cards novel Chapter 148

The other men nearby struggled to stifle their laughter, all staring directly at Rhoda and leaving her completely humiliated, unable to either eat the food or put it down.

Fortunately, Una finally stepped in to save her.

"Eating too much barbecue causes breakouts anyway; we should probably stop. I actually had someone bring over some wine earlier. Let's drink instead! It's nicely chilled and tastes amazing."

She would have been better off staying quiet. The moment she mentioned drinking, all four men instantly shot up from their seats.

Steward cleared his throat. "You guys enjoy. I just spotted someone I know, I'm going to go say hi."

Hammer nodded eagerly. "I need to find Sheridan; I have a business deal to discuss with him."

Ian jumped on the bandwagon. "I'll go with you. My employees want to book his club for a team-building event, I might as well bring it up now."

Vernon tapped his forehead. "I totally forgot to give Sylvie her birthday present! I better go give it to her right now. It's her birthday, I can't be rude."

In a matter of seconds, all four men threw out their excuses and scattered like roaches when the lights come on.

There was absolutely no way they were going to stay and drink with Stella!

Seeing them bolt, Stella casually remarked, "I don't really have anything to talk to you two about anyway. I'm going to go find Sylvie, we actually have things in common. Enjoy your drinks."

With that, she turned to leave.

She had absolutely no desire to hang around these two incompatible women!

Una glanced at the spiked glass of wine and shot Rhoda a meaningful look.

It didn't matter that the guys had left. Their target was Stella anyway!

Rhoda quickly grabbed two glasses of wine and called out, "Please wait a moment, Ms. Hawthorne."

Stella stopped in her tracks, turned around, and saw Rhoda holding out the glasses. "Are you trying to throw another drink at me, Ms. Ford? That trick is getting a bit old, don't you have anything new?"

Rhoda forced a sweet smile. "You're joking, Ms. Hawthorne. I have no intention of throwing wine at you. That was all just a huge misunderstanding earlier. I brought these over to apologize.

Stella pressed a hand against her forehead. "No, it's just... I feel dizzy."

The moment the words left her mouth, she swayed, preparing to collapse.

She had seen this exact scenario play out in enough cheap soap operas; her acting should be convincing enough, right?

Did these two idiots buy it?

Seeing her about to hit the floor, Rhoda and Una eagerly rushed forward, catching her by each arm.

"Wow, I didn't expect this drug to be so potent," Una whispered excitedly. "She's completely out after just one sip!"

"The real show will start once the aphrodisiac fully kicks in. Let's hurry up and drag her somewhere with a huge crowd."

The two of them looped their arms under Stella's, preparing to haul her away to a populated area.

Seizing the perfect opportunity, Stella brought both of her hands down in swift, brutal chops against the back of their necks, instantly knocking them both completely unconscious.