Chapter 264 He Wants a Proper Status

Chapter 264 He Wants a Proper Status

That night, Alice finally understood what he meant by "you don't have to do anything."

Michael did everything he could to protect her injured leg from exertion, but aside from that leg, he took care of practically every other part of her body, leaving nothing untouched.

When Alice opened her eyes the next day, the first thing she saw was her body covered in countless kiss marks, with his large hand still holding her waist tightly.

Michael's burning palm pressed against her thigh, as if deliberately restricting her movement, not letting her budge.

She felt sore and weak all over, like her whole body had been taken apart. She turned her head toward the floor and saw that by the trash can, an entire box of condoms had been used up.

Alice raised her arm to cover her face, slowly recalling what happened last night. She felt like she'd been completely overwhelmed by desire, losing all reason so easily to his body and presence. She couldn't help turning her head to look at him again.

Michael had a high nose bridge, his lashes casting a faint shadow below his eyes. His arms had several fresh red scratch marks, and at the base of his neck was a clear kiss mark.

Just thinking about how that mark got there made Alice's face burn instantly.

Last night, Michael kept pestering her, wanting her to leave some mark somewhere others could easily see.

Alice refused no matter what, so he wouldn't let it go, deliberately stopping his movements and leaving her hanging, forcing her to finally give in.

"Alice, what are you thinking? It's too late to try to get away from me now."

At some point, Michael had woken up. He pulled her closer into his arms, his tone carrying a hint of grievance and dissatisfaction.

"At least this time I didn't let you run away. Alice, you should give me some status. You can't just keep hiding me like I'm something shameful."

Alice instinctively pushed against his chest. "Michael... what status?"

"You've already slept with me twice. Are you planning to just pretend nothing happened? Alice."

Michael planted a light kiss on her cheek, his gaze burning, as if trying to see right through her.

They'd just finished last night, and now Michael clearly had interest again.

Alice quickly put her hand between them, knowing very well that she absolutely couldn't indulge him anymore, or she wouldn't be able to get out of bed for the next two days.

"I have to go to the office later, and you still have a meeting."

Only then did Michael reluctantly suppress his impulse and get up to dress, but he deliberately arranged his collar lower, just enough to expose the kiss mark Alice had left on his neck.

Alice watched his obvious showing off, feeling helpless, but she didn't call him out on it. She just changed her own clothes and followed him downstairs for breakfast.

"Sidney doesn't have enough people or funding. I've already pulled some team members and budget from my side to support him. And those distributors at your company, I've already given them a heads up, they'll cooperate with you."

As Michael spoke, he blew on the hot porridge to cool it, then brought it to her, his movements methodical, like he was conducting a small morning meeting.

"I've already sent someone to remind Mr. Hall. He won't dare make any moves against you for now, and he won't interfere with Stella's situation either. And that pharmaceutical company you just took over, I'll send people with you to help rebuild the data system and do tax audits and safety checks."

Alice had just opened her mouth to interrupt when a spoonful of porridge was brought to her lips, directly blocking her words.

She silently marveled at Michael's methods and resources.

If she'd known Michael had such strong capabilities, that just sleeping with him once could get her this much support, she felt like maybe she really should have seriously considered this guy earlier.

After she finished the bowl of porridge, Michael pushed a report in front of her.

"This is a plan I put together for that pharmaceutical company in my spare time. It's an improvement on your original proposal."

Alice picked it up and flipped through a few pages, then looked up at him somewhat suspiciously. "Did you prepare this ages ago, deliberately waiting for me to ask today?"

Michael's lips curved up, one hand propping up his chin, those attractive eyes staring at her without blinking.

"No, I had all this planned already. If seduction didn't work, I was going to switch to bribery."

Alice looked at him, her voice carrying a hint of mockery. "Michael, you've been putting on this gentle nice guy act for years. Don't you find it exhausting?"

After last night, Alice was very clear that Michael's surface gentleness and courtesy was just a carefully maintained shell.

Beneath that shell, he was more like a very patient hunter skilled at hiding his sharpness, slowly pushing his prey to exactly where he wanted them.

Michael gave her a very gentle smile, that earlier edge instantly disappearing.

"Not really, I quite enjoy it. Who told you to fall for exactly this approach?"

He had Alice's personality figured out perfectly. Alice always responded to softness, not hardness. She'd immediately bristle at pressure and force, but had much lower defenses against this kind of gentleness mixed with a bit of calculation.

Alice finished the last bite. "Take me to the office."

Michael looked to be in a good mood and was happy to comply. "Okay."

As soon as they got in the car, Michael shared his location with Alice.

"This is my private location tracker. No matter what happens, even if something happens to me, this tracker can keep running for about a week. If you want to know where I am, you can check anytime. The password for all my devices is your birthday."

Alice looked at the location request that popped up on her screen, finding this thing somewhat novel.

She'd heard from Zoey before that every member of the Davis family had their own tracking system. If someone stayed in an unusual location for too long, the system would alert and push the information to all family members.

She hadn't expected to directly receive the tracking permissions Michael voluntarily handed over today.

Alice opened the location and saw the distance displayed was almost zero, the marker stopping less than two feet from her.

Michael suddenly leaned close to her, his lips near her ear, his voice low and husky, carrying obvious teasing.

"So when we're in bed," he murmured, "what do you think this will show for our distance? Will it go into the negatives?"

Alice's entire face instantly turned red. "Michael!"

Afraid she'd really get angry, Michael toned down the joking and fastened her seatbelt for her.

"Alright, I'll take you to the office. Sidney should already be waiting there."

Michael had deliberately switched to a very flashy red sports car today, pulling up smoothly at Alice's company entrance with a press of the gas pedal.

Sidney was startled by the car's engine sound and appearance, directly spilling the coffee in his hand all over the ground. He was about to let out a curse when he looked up and saw Alice and Michael getting out of the car.

He forcibly swallowed the curse, turning it into an angry question.

"What are you two doing so early in the morning? And you, Michael, you made me wait at the door. Are you trying to kill me?"

Alice forced a smile. "I'll order you another one in a bit."

Michael took off his sunglasses and deliberately pulled at his collar, making the kiss mark even more visible.

Sidney kept complaining. "One isn't enough. You owe me at least two."

Alice quickly nodded in agreement.

Michael noticed that almost no one was paying attention to his little "gesture." He cleared his throat lightly. "Sidney, did you get the contract I sent you?"

For the sake of money and connections, Sidney's attitude improved slightly. "Got it. I have to say, different status brings different treatment."

He glanced at Michael, his tone full of sarcasm. "If you're hot, why don't you just take off your shirt instead of constantly showing off that neck?"

Not only was Michael not angry, he actually laughed. "That sounds a lot like jealousy."

He turned to look at Alice again. "Contact me when things are done, or just check my location to find me. I need to go see Hugo later."

Alice nodded, watching Michael drive away.

Sidney rolled his eyes at her without mercy. "Guys like him have all kinds of schemes. Alice, he posted a photo on Instagram early this morning, publicly asking you for status."

Alice opened Instagram but found his profile completely clean, with no content at all.

Sidney paused, then showed her his phone.

On Michael's Instagram, the latest post had just three simple words: "Good morning," with a photo of Michael where the kiss mark on his neck was clearly visible.

The comments below were almost all congratulations, with a few other styles mixed in.

Zoey: [Looks like Alice is finally going to be my future sister-in-law.]

Hugo: [Ms. Baker really pulled it off.]

Sidney: [It's broad daylight, cut the horny comments.]