Patrick was sweating bullets. "Mr. Alex, I... I..."
Alex Joe's face darkened. "What? Manager Patrick, you don't want to do me this favor?"
Under Alex's intimidating gaze, Patrick's eyes darted around nervously. Finally, he gritted his teeth.
"Fine, I'll drink!"
No kidding! Someone like Alex joe, a scion of a top-tier family, was not someone Patrick could afford to offend.
The wine had just been spiked with an aphrodisiac, not poison. At worst, he'd feel uncomfortable for a day.
Glug, glug, glug...
To everyone's astonishment, Patrick picked up the wine bottle and downed the entire thing.
Afterward, Patrick burped, his face flushed red as he looked at Alex.
"Mr. Alex, can you forgive me now?"Alex
laughed heartily. "Good! Manager Patrick, you're straightforward!"
"The grievances my sweetheart suffered at your company, we'll let that slide for now. You've earned a friend in me!"
Patrick, feeling dizzy and unsteady, patted his chest and promised, "Mr. Alex, don't worry. From now on, Finley is like a sister-in-law to me!"
"When I get back, I'm going to promote her and give her a raise. I'll make sure no one dares to bully her ever again!"
Alex Joe gave Patrick a firm pat on the shoulder, smiling, "Thank you so much, Manager Patrick!"
"By the way, you look pretty drunk. Let's get a couple of the guys to help you up to the suite to rest."
Two eager subordinates immediately stepped forward to assist Patrick toward the door.
"Mr. Patrick, let us help you upstairs."
At this point, Patrick's head was spinning, and he started mumbling like a drunkard."I'm not drunk! Let's keep drinking!"
"Let go of me, I want to drink more..."
The two male subordinates, one on each side, helped Patrick to the couple's suite upstairs.
As soon as they entered the room, Patrick suddenly began tearing at his clothes, his eyes bloodshot, blocking the doorway with a lustful gleam in his eyes, staring intently at the two subordinates.
"Oh no! Mr. Patrick drank the entire bottle of spiked wine!"
"Mr. Patrick, stay back!"
"Help!..."
Unaware of the commotion upstairs, Alex Joe wrapped his arm around Julia and swaggered out of the private room.
With Patrick out of the picture, everyone else was too intimidated to act out in front of Alex. They all put on forced smiles, politely seeing him off.
Once inside the elevator, Julia let out a sigh of relief."Alex Joe, thank you so much for today!"
"Hehe, getting to be this close to the school beauty? I'm the one who should be thanking you!"
Julia playfully rolled her eyes at Alex.
"I didn't expect you to become so successful so quickly after graduation. And you've become quite the smooth talker!"
Alex scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly.
"Not really. I've always been outgoing."
"It's just that back in college, I was pretty much invisible. You never noticed me, so now you think I've become slick!"
Alex smiled, "From today on, it'll be hard to forget you!"
"That Patrick is the prince of our company. He's always been arrogant. It's the first time I've seen him so humbled!"
Alex snorted, "He's just a bully who picks on the weak. A total idiot!"
"From today on, you won't have to worry about himbothering you anymore."
Ding!
At that moment, the elevator reached the first floor of the Four Seasons Hotel.
Alex took a couple of steps forward and gave Alex a light kiss on the cheek. "Anyway, thanks for helping out today."
"I have to go now. Let's keep in touch!"
A whiff of perfume wafted by, leaving only a bright red lipstick mark on Alex Joe cheek before it faded away.
Alex closed his eyes, savoring the moment, then shut the elevator door and returned to the seafood buffet upstairs.
His good friend Bruno was shocked to see him, "Dude, what are you doing back here?"
Alex looked puzzled, "I was only halfway through my meal. Why wouldn't I come back? Leaving like that would waste the $300 I spent on this buffet!"
Bruno flipped him the bird, "Man, you'reunbelievable!"
"The school beauty came up to help you out. It's obvious she's into you."
"And you, instead of seizing the opportunity, are just thinking about food. Are you out of your mind?"
Alex thoughtfully touched his cheek where the scent lingered, "Is that so?"
"It didn't seem like Julia was interested just now."
Bruno then noticed the prominent lipstick mark on Alex's face, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
"Holy crap, when did Julia kiss you?"
"My goddess, has she fallen for you so easily?"
Alex began to show off, "Well, what can I say?"
"I've tried to hide my charm, but after saving her just now, belle Julia insisted on kissing me. I couldn't refuse her, so I reluctantly accepted her kiss."
Bruno scoffed, "Quit pretending! Just because you got a job at World Auto Dealership and get to bearound luxury cars doesn't mean you can act all high and mighty."
Alex joe looked utterly confused. "World Auto Dealership? Where did you hear that from?"
"From your phone!" Bruno pointed to Alex's phone, which was left on the table. "I checked your recent messages and saw you were chatting quite enthusiastically with someone named Sophia, the CEO of World Auto Dealership."
"You sly dog, cozying up to the dealership's CEO. No wonder you can drive those luxury cars around and show off!"
Alex couldn't help but laugh and shake his head. "It's not what you think. It's complicated, and I can't explain it all right now."
Bruno snorted. "Don't give me that!"
"You're just using your youth and looks to get close to a rich woman, aren't you?"
"Damn it, if I didn't stay up all night gaming, I'd be even more of a pretty boy than you and would have been taken care of by a rich woman long ago. You wouldn't stand a chance!"As Bruno's words became more outrageous, Alex picked up a piece of lobster with his fork and stuffed it into Bruno's mouth.
"Just eat, will you? This $300 seafood buffet isn't enough to shut you up!"
Bruno chewed a few times and laughed. "Look at you, getting all worked up. In today's world, people laugh at poverty, not at those who find a way to get by. Why are you embarrassed? No one's judging you!"
Alex waved his hand dismissively. "What nonsense!"
"Emily from World Auto Dealership? If anything, I'd be the one paying to keep her. There's no way I'd be her boy toy!"
Bruno nodded half-heartedly. "Alright, alright, you're treating today, so whatever you say goes!"
"Oh, by the way, my cousin's getting married next week. We've already borrowed a few Mercedes and BMWs, but we still need one heavyweight luxury car."
"Can you bring out your Koenigsegg for theoccasion? It'll give her some face, and I'll look good too," Bruno asked.
Alex joe nodded. "Your cousin, right? No problem!"
"But in return, you have to introduce me to some of the bridesmaids."
Bruno shot alex a disdainful look. "With you showing up in that supercar, do you really need my help?"
"Just wait, those girls will be all over you!"
Imagining the scene, Alex couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.