Chapter 273 Office

Chapter 273 Office

Michael swallowed, his eyes filled with both tenderness and hunger. "I was just about to tell you — I've already handled things on that end. Don't worry, I'll make sure everything goes smoothly for you. So tonight, should I come pick you up, or will you come find me in the study?"

As soon as Alice heard him mention the study, she knew exactly what he meant. Her face immediately darkened.

"Michael! Don't even think about it. Not happening!"

Michael felt a pang of disappointment. He glanced up at Alice's photo on the wall, his smile turning sly. "We've got plenty of time ahead of us. There'll definitely be chances in the future."

"No. I'm hanging up now." Alice didn't dare keep talking to him. She knew Sidney was listening to every word, and if they continued, she'd be too mortified to show her face.

Sidney couldn't help but laugh. He put on the air of a wise older brother. "You two are pretty bold in private. Going to the study? Wow, I never would've guessed — Michael looks so buttoned-up on the outside, but he's actually a total freak behind closed doors."

"Okay, stop it. Keep going and you'll make us sound like a couple of degenerates."

Alice covered her face with one hand and smiled helplessly. "Let's just get this over with."

"Alright." Sidney smiled indulgently. The two of them walked one after the other, looking just like real siblings.

They soon arrived at the Hall Group building.

Alice stood on the sidewalk, looking up.

The building was so tall it seemed to scrape the sky. Standing below, she couldn't even see the top.

Plenty of people were still lined up at the entrance waiting for interviews — those who'd been rejected looked crushed, while those who'd passed had joy written all over their faces.

The glass curtain wall reflected blinding light in the afternoon sun.

Alice sighed. "No wonder everyone wants power."

Sidney thought back to when he used to pass by this building as an illegitimate son. Back then, he'd only thought to himself that it would be nice if he could get a chance to work inside.

At that time, he'd just wanted to be an ordinary person, save up money for a few years to buy an apartment. He'd never imagined that one day he'd become one of the future shareholders.

"Let's go." Alice stepped forward. She was no longer the woman who'd spent so long drowning in depression over marriage problems.

Now she was full of confidence, like someone standing center stage under a spotlight.

Sidney let out a long breath and followed.

Behind them, Robert was being watched like a prisoner under escort. Cold sweat kept beading on his forehead.

As he walked, he frantically sent messages to Byron.

[Mr. Reyes, I'm about to go in. Please come save me.]

[I'll give you whatever you want. Please come. That rebellious daughter of mine is at it again.]

[Mr. Reyes! At least reply! What's going on? I'm really screwed!]

But no matter what messages he sent, the other end was silent. No response at all.

What he didn't know was that Byron was currently stuck on the side of the road.

In front of him sat a sports car that had been totaled in a crash, and on the grass nearby lay a phone that had been completely smashed.

He waited irritably by the roadside, his gaze dark as he stared at the intersection in the distance that was backed up like a parking lot.

A middle-aged man in front of him kept bowing and apologizing. "It's all my fault. I was driving long distance and I wasn't paying attention and hit your car, and even broke your phone. I've already called the insurance company, but they still need some time to get here. And now there's a jam up ahead too. I'm so sorry. I never thought things would turn out like this."

The honest-looking middle-aged man looked ready to drop to his knees.

Byron said nothing. His eyes grew darker and darker.

He suspected this was all a setup someone had arranged specifically to target him, but he had no proof right now.

It would take at least an hour for the cops to come sort this out, not to mention the traffic jam ahead — who knew when that would clear up.

An hour ago, when he'd first gotten on this highway, the road ahead had been wide open with hardly any cars behind him.

But somehow, in just half an hour, traffic had suddenly picked up both ahead and behind.

Even more ridiculous was how this middle-aged man had driven his van straight into him like he had a death wish.

Yet the man only had minor injuries, and Byron himself was fine too, just some scraped skin.

Just as he was starting to suspect someone had deliberately staged the accident...

The bystanders all claimed they were fans of some popular celebrity, and had learned through social media that this star was coming to the area for a surprise performance, which was why they were in such a rush to get ahead.

It all looked like a perfectly arranged story.

Every detail pushed him to believe it was just bad luck that had him stuck here today.

He looked at the man beside him who was practically groveling on the ground.

Byron pressed his temples. "Wait for the cops to sort it out. What time is it now?"

The man immediately went to ask someone nearby for the time, then hurried back. "It's three o'clock now. I haven't delayed anything important for you, have I?"

Byron closed his eyes. He knew today was completely shot. His tone grew even more impatient. "Nothing."

He'd rushed over today without bringing his assistant, and now he'd lost contact with the outside world. All he could do was wait for the police to come handle things.

After getting his tacit forgiveness, the middle-aged man's face filled with apologetic smiles. "I'm so sorry. I'll go check how much longer we need to wait."

As the man left, Byron sat down by the roadside. His irritation suddenly became impossible to suppress.

Meanwhile, Robert was still waiting for him to come to his rescue, but had actually already been brought into the conference room.

Alice sat at the head of the table, with Robert in the seat next to her. His face was frighteningly dark, his teeth clenched as if ready to tear Alice apart at any moment.

"When everyone gets here, you know very well what you should and shouldn't say, right?"

Robert stared grimly toward the door, looking like he was still waiting for someone to arrive.

Alice directly shattered his expectations. "Stop waiting. He's not coming. The Reyes family was never your backup plan."

Robert's face went pale. "What do you know? What happened to Mr. Reyes?"

"Nothing. I'm just reminding you to behave yourself. Otherwise, I have plenty of ways to ruin your reputation completely. You probably don't want all the credibility you've built up over a lifetime destroyed today, do you?"

Robert gritted his teeth and shot back, "Do you have to back me into a corner? I'm your biological father, for God's sake. Aren't you afraid people will come after you and condemn you for this?"

Alice actually laughed at that. "You think I'd be afraid? You need to understand — this era belongs to my generation now, and you're already old. Alright, they're here. You should know what you need to do now, right?"

The conference room door was pushed open.

Shareholders filed in one after another.

Most of them had family ties or business dealings with the Hall family. Each face showed obvious impatience. "Mr. Hall, what's this meeting you've called us here for? And why did you bring your daughter? Don't tell me you're really planning to transfer all your shares to her?"

"Robert, don't lose your head over this. If you transfer all your shares to her, she could have you in a nursing home by tomorrow."

"And this bastard child — what's he doing here? Does he even belong in this conference room?"

These people didn't care at all that Alice was sitting right there. Every sentence was dripping with contempt for her.

Alice didn't respond to them. She just looked at Robert beside her, using her eyes to signal him to begin.