Chapter 84 Drunk and in Trouble
"Sophia, we meet again."
Raymond sat in his wheelchair, looking at her with gentle eyes.
After returning to Empire City, he would set aside two hours each week to go to Sophia's temporary lab for treatment. The rest of the time, he stayed in his home rehabilitation room, constantly training his leg functions according to the recovery plan she had given him.
A summer had passed, and the results were quite good.
Sophia was mostly gentle with her patients.
She nodded and replied, "What a coincidence."
William's perfectly shaped, thin lips pressed tightly together. He stared at the man in the wheelchair without saying a word.
The latter smiled at him, "Mr. Smith, long time no see."
The last time these two had met was by the pond in the Johnson Villa garden. It really had been quite a while.
William nodded slightly in response.
Standing beside Sophia in her black velvet gown, William looked like a lofty emperor, looking down on Alvin, who still hadn't recovered his senses.
The latter finally realized he was still kneeling.
He glanced at Sophia with a wronged look, but didn't get the response he wanted. He rubbed his knees and stood up with the help of the wall.
Three handsome men and one beautiful woman standing together looked like a pleasing picture even without saying anything.
Just then Harper arrived too.
Sophia greeted her and went straight to their reserved private room with her.
Harper looked curiously at the three men whose eyes followed Sophia closely. As soon as they entered the private room, she couldn't help but show a teasing smile.
She joked, "Our Ms. Johnson is as charming as ever!"
Facing her friend's teasing, Sophia replied calmly, "You're the really impressive one. Just a few months back, and you've already secured exclusive domestic cosmetics sales rights for a famous foreign brand. I'm impressed."
The two smiled at each other and quickly put the men outside out of their minds.
Raymond also said goodbye to William and walked toward a private room in another direction. Today, he was here to have dinner with the Roberts family, but in the private room, he saw an elegantly dressed, strange woman.
Alvin desperately wanted to see Linda.
Since she was taken away by people Sophia arranged, he had completely lost track of her.
He had secretly sent people to follow Sophia, but was discovered early on.
With no other options, Alvin created today's "chance encounter," trying to use this self-inflicted suffering to make Sophia soften.
"Alvin, stop bothering her."
This was William's warning to him, but the boy with a desolate heart now wasn't afraid of his threats at all.
"What position is Mr. Smith speaking to me from?"
"I'm no good, but when Mr. Smith has a candlelight dinner with another woman during his marriage, and it trends online, that makes him good?"
"No, wait, Mr. Smith isn't a thing of course. Mr. Smith is the great CEO of Peace Group, a person, a good man who takes James and Michael to dinner with other women."
The sarcasm in Alvin's words was too obvious, each sentence hitting home.
Especially the last "good man," deliberately emphasized, sounding full of mockery.
People around who recognized William's identity widened their eyes.
"This is the first time I've heard someone dare to speak to Mr. Smith in that tone!"
"Who is this guy? He's really bold!"
"I know! He's the boss of the Jordan Group. A while ago, his girlfriend jumped off a building because he cheated with an internet celebrity. I heard she was already pregnant. So pitiful."
The whispers around them fell on the two men's ears like barbed blades stabbing into their hearts, twisting viciously.
Alvin's face turned even paler.
Thinking of how Linda looked lying on the safety cushion, his legs instantly lost strength, and he almost knelt before William.
It must be said, William's natural kingly presence was domineering and powerful, commanding respect without anger. Just standing there made people afraid to look up, willingly submitting.
"Whatever position I'm in, if you bother her again, feel free to try the consequences."
William's voice was very low, as if just casually mentioning it.
But as his gaze swept over the others who were sneaking glances, everyone couldn't help but shudder, their scalps tingling, feeling like these words weren't just aimed at Alvin, but also warning them.
The temperature on site plummeted.
Though it was summer, was the restaurant's air conditioning set too low?
Everyone present just felt a chill on the back of their necks.
Those who had been secretly recording this on their phones, planning to send it to friends and reporters, tremblingly put away their phones and silently deleted all the content.
Their inner voices cried: People who oppose the Peace Group won't have a good ending!
William's presence needed no words. He calmly withdrew his gaze and returned to the private room where he had arranged to meet with clients.
He didn't see a long-haired woman wearing a baseball cap sitting in a corner of the restaurant, her gaze following his back with obsession.
Looking carefully, one could see the woman's clothes were the same style as something Sophia had worn recently.
Even her hair color and curl pattern were very similar to hers.
This person was Alice.
Before and after returning to the country, she had been secretly learning, covertly imitating Sophia's dress style and expressions.
Seeing William again today, her desire to have him grew stronger and stronger.
Perhaps because of Sophia and Alvin's confrontation tonight, or because her intention to distance herself from him was too obvious, William couldn't help but drink a few extra glasses while dining with clients.
By the time Tony helped him out, his vision was already doubled.
Since Sophia had complained about the smell of alcohol on him last time, William hadn't touched alcohol in a long time.
At business dinners, he would decline clients' toasts, citing poor health.
Plus, given his status, no one dared to really force him to drink.
Not having drunk in so long, he was somewhat intoxicated.
Tony helped him to the hotel below the restaurant to rest. William kept an executive suite here year-round.
Just after he left the room, a woman went to knock on William's door.
William, whose rationality had slightly returned, went to the bathroom to take a shower.
As soon as he came out, he heard knocking. Thinking it was Tony, he went to open the door, wearing a bathrobe.
"William..."
Alice deliberately imitated Sophia's cold and distant voice. She wore a hat and mask, and had just changed into clothes identical to what Sophia wore today.
She slowly raised her head. The copied eye makeup made her eyes, already ninety percent similar to Sophia's, reach one hundred percent under the warm yellow lighting of the hotel.
If she hadn't seen that William was drunk, Alice wouldn't have dared to knock on his door tonight.
But God had given her this opportunity, so of course she had to cherish it!
William's deep gaze was tinged with intoxicated light, lingering a bit longer on the eyes before him.
Alice was secretly delighted.
She suppressed the obsession and love in her eyes, deliberately imitating Sophia's way of looking at people and speaking.
"William, I want to talk to you about the children."
Under the lights, William's eyes were like a bewitching demon from mythology.
Looking at how he wrapped himself tightly even in a bathrobe, Alice's thoughts of "surrogate pregnancy" grew stronger. She couldn't help but reach out to touch William's Adam's apple.
William's handsome brows furrowed. He stepped back half a step and said coldly, "What is it?"
Her hand fell empty. Alice was about to continue when she caught William's cold gaze falling on her fingers. She quickly pulled her hand back.
Alice lowered her cap brim and continued, "Let's go inside to talk."
William looked her over thoughtfully, then slightly stepped aside to let her into the room.
On the other side.
Sophia, who had just returned to the Johnson Villa, received a flurry of urgent message notifications from Rat.
"Sophia, guess what I found?"