Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 192: I’m fine, don’t worry

Ryan had been out for a while, and in his absence, the conference room buzzed again with hushed discussions.

Voices of agreement, dissent, and some outright kicking someone when they’re down filled the air.

Regardless of individual opinions, the fact was that the voices supporting Alice were dwindling.

Yet, Alice, at the eye of the storm, was a picture of calm.

She elegantly crossed one leg over the other, sitting serenely on the sofa.

She had just had someone bring her a freshly brewed coffee, her lips parting slightly to gently blow away the steam.

She had this inexplicable trust in Ryan, even finding time to enjoy her coffee amidst the chaos.

“Miss Alice, your guy hasn’t gotten back to you yet, looks like he’s out of options.”

“I told you, it was a pointless move from the start.”

After witnessing Alice’s fierce tactics before, Rocco was probably the only one bold enough to talk back.

Today, it was clear, either he or Alice was going down.

And Rocco definitely didn’t want to be the one going down, messing with Alice’s head seemed more advantageous at the moment.

Alice glanced up at him and clicked her tongue, clearly annoyed by Rocco’s mocking tone.

If it weren’t for all the eyes on them, throwing her hot coffee in his face would have been a tempting option.

“First off, Ryan isn’t my subordinate,he’s my assistant.”

“Secondly, you’d better mind your own business. Poaching my people to frame me, that’s a new low even for you.”

Alice didn’t rush to bring up the morning’s attack. Although she wanted to throw Rocco into the abyss, now wasn’t the time.

After all, her ultimate goal wasn’t just to take down one person, but to steer this warped system back on track, creating a better future for herself and those mocking her.

“Miss Alice, you jest. I am utterly loyal to you, you wound me with your words.”

Rocco clutched his chest, feigning heartache.

A few sharp words sent Rocco packing, but Alice wasn’t pleased,she frowned, still worried about Ryan.

Time ticked by. Dante, who had been sitting, started pacing, clearly getting anxious.

His glances didn’t catch Alice’s attention, which annoyed him even more.

Mia, meanwhile, kept her head down, absorbed in her phone, occasionally looking up to gauge the room’s mood.

“Ugh, what a fool…”

She thought Ryan was being ridiculously naive, not looking out for himself at all.

From her experience in the gang, it was every man for himself—nice guys like Ryan usually ended up dead first.

She didn’t believe Ryan could sway Travis. If Travis had turned against them, he was ready for a showdown with Alice.

If a few words could make him see reason, that wouldn’t be a conversation,it would be a miracle.

Ryan’s mission to meet Travis Crowe was doomed to fail, and Mia would probably be the one to console him when he returned, disappointed.

Such a hassle, but considering Ryan had been feeding her, Mia decided she’d lend him her shoulder to lean on.

The room fell silent, everyone harboring their own schemes, when Alice’s phone rang.

“Oh, he’s back.”

Her eyelashes fluttered as she picked up the phone, listening to Ryan’s voice, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

Though she knew Dante wouldn’t dare interfere midway, she was still afraid something might have happened to Ryan.

Her voice was soft, but everyone in the room could hear.

Mia’s face fell, while Rocco and Lorenzo couldn’t help but smile.

“Miss Alice, please forgive my earlier offense.”

“There’s really no bad blood between us, just some narrow misunderstandings.”

Rocco walked over to the sofa, all smiles as he spoke to Alice.

The audacity of the man.

No bad blood? He made it sound so trivial.

If wanting each other dead was considered having no bad blood, then indeed, everything could be seen as a misunderstanding.

“Of course.”

Despite her deep disdain, Alice casually nodded.

Her eyes shifted towards the conference room door, saying she wasn’t nervous would be a lie.

“Miss Alice, don’t be nervous. We all believe this is just a misunderstanding by your people, and it definitely has nothing to do with you.”

Rocco kept blabbering on, his voice loud, clearly not just addressing Alice.

Everyone now believed that Travis had kidnapped Mr. Russo’s granddaughter, and while Rocco seemed to be clearing Alice’s name, he was actually planting a seed of doubt in everyone’s minds.

If others believed Alice wasn’t involved and then were proven wrong when Travis outright blamed her, the backlash would be even more dangerous.

“Shut up, shut up, you’re so annoying, old man.”

Mia wasn’t one to coddle Rocco. She swung her fists at him, really putting her muscle into it, and soon had Rocco backing off.

She was also feeling uneasy, her eyes fixed on the conference room door.

“Alice, how about this? Whoever can save Ryan gets to keep him.”

She tried to joke to ease her own nerves.

But Alice’s look was icy, as if staring at a dead person.

“Are you sure?”

“Just kidding… haha, just a joke.”

…

Ryan had just hung up the phone, and a man in black had driven him to the hotel entrance.

The car door opened, and the man roughly shoved Ryan, used to switching faces like this. Ryan was used to it too.

Travis, following behind Ryan, looked oddly respectful.

“Make sure you keep it straight when we go in, no slick moves,” Ryan said, not entirely trusting, as he turned to Travis.

“Keep it straight, say what you need to say, got it?” Travis surprisingly responded to Ryan with a bow.

“At your service, my respected master.”

???

The other three frowned at the situation, their drug effects worn off, forgetting what had just happened.

What was up with Travis?

Wasn’t he supposed to be acting under Miss Alice’s orders to kidnap someone? Why was he showing such genuine respect to Ryan?

Ryan sighed as he looked at Travis, whose eyes were now ringed with dark bruises.

He had taken advantage of the drug’s effects earlier to have Dante’s men beat up Travis — the black eyes and swollen cheeks were the result. It was a way to let off some steam for Alice.

As for Travis’s current demeanor, it wasn’t due to Ryan’s personal charm but because he had drugged Travis.

“Don’t call me master when we go up there. Just speak your mind, and don’t say I told you to, okay?”

“Got it…”

Travis’s gaze was vacant, unsure of how to address Ryan, his words trailing off.

Clearly, the guy wasn’t at his sharpest, which was worrying.

Ryan checked his watch,it had been five minutes since he drugged Travis, leaving twenty-five minutes effective time — more than enough.

“Hey! Move it!”

The man in black was indifferent to Ryan and Travis’s relationship,their only job was to bring them back, nothing else.

It was just their bad luck to be stuck with this task, potentially getting dragged into gang infighting.

Annoyed, he pushed Ryan again, ushering him into the elevator. Ryan just shrugged, ignoring the man’s bewildered look.

Thirty seconds later, the conference room door swung open, and all eyes turned their way.

Ryan entered with a smile, immediately gesturing reassuringly towards Alice.

“Ryan… you…”

“I’m fine, don’t worry.”

Ryan approached Alice, whispering something in her ear, and her expression gradually warmed from the icy demeanor she had maintained since his departure.

Like ice thawing into spring.

Lorenzo, watching Ryan’s actions, was seething with irritation.

Keep smiling, keep smiling, because soon you won’t have the chance anymore.

His gaze then fell on Travis, who appeared somewhat timid behind Ryan. Lorenzo’s lips curled into a smirk, his mood instantly lifting as he imagined the downfall of Alice and Ryan.

He didn’t understand Ryan’s confident demeanor, but he didn’t care.

In this dire situation, could Ryan really turn the tables?

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