Always Teasing His Wife

An hour later, Alex finally managed to calm Mark down and brought him to the office. As soon as he stepped into his office, Howard knocked and entered, holding a stack of documents. Ignoring Alex, Howard walked straight to the desk, placed the documents on it, and coldly pushed his glasses up. "These are the documents you'll need for the meeting. Please review them within fifteen minutes," he said, though his icy gaze suggested it wasn't a request.

With that, Howard headed toward the door, passing by Mark, who immediately stiffened and jumped back, hiding behind Alex with his hands clamped over his mouth. Ever since Howard kissed him, Mark had developed a bit of a phobia.

Howard simply chuckled, his mood visibly improved, and shot a sidelong glance at Alex. Alex's face darkened considerably. If it weren't for the fact that he needed Howard for the meeting, he might have thrown him out of the window.

"Fifteen minutes until the meeting. Keep an eye on the time, and stop wasting it by playing around with your wife instead of doing your job," Howard said before shutting the door with a bang.

"That kid," Alex muttered, his eyes narrowing as he clenched his fists.

Meanwhile, Mark's face flushed with embarrassment. The mention of the word "wife," combined with thoughts of what had happened between him and Alex, made him feel shy.

Covering his blushing face with his hands, Mark found it hard to believe. Am I really... Alex's wife now? He asked himself, his face growing even redder.

"Honey, I need to get some work done for a bit. You can sit on the couch and play some games," Alex said, picking Mark up and giving him a kiss before placing him on the sofa.

"Okay, okay. I'm not a kid," Mark grumbled softly, shifting uncomfortably as if his waist was still sore.

"Does it still hurt?" Alex asked, concerned. "Want me to rub it for you?" He reached out, ready to lift Mark, but Mark quickly turned beet red and pushed him away in a panic. "No, thanks! You go do your work, I'm fine."

There was no way Mark would let Alex touch him right now—what if he got carried away again? This was the office, after all, and it was too easy to cross a line.

"Alright, just sit tight," Alex said, realizing he was pressed for time. He walked over to his desk, hit the intercom button, and asked his assistant Monica to bring some snacks into the office.

Monica quickly responded, and soon she entered with a tray of snacks, placing them on the coffee table in front of Mark.

"Thank you!" Mark said politely.

Monica gave a nod and quietly left, closing the door softly behind her.

Mark happily grabbed a snack, leaned back on the sofa, and started playing his game, humming a little tune in contentment.

Alex couldn't help but smile as he reviewed his documents. Even though he wasn't looking at Mark, he could easily picture the expression on his face.

Suddenly, rapid footsteps sounded from outside, followed by Howard bursting into the office. He strode quickly to Alex's desk and handed him his phone, looking visibly disturbed.

Alex raised an eyebrow in confusion but took the phone. On the screen was a video showing the company's resort, where a large number of people were vomiting and being taken to the hospital by ambulance.

Alex's expression darkened as he gripped the phone tightly.

"This has already become a huge scandal. Every major news outlet is covering it," Howard said, adjusting his glasses.

"I thought they'd try something different to bring me down. Didn't expect them to resort to such cheap tricks," Alex sneered as he handed the phone back to Howard, his face emotionless and calm.

"They plan to use this to pressure you through the board of directors while you're acting as CEO. If this crisis causes the company to suffer, they'll try to oust you," Howard said, his tone filled with contempt.

"Pressure me? More like they're trying to send me to prison. Two hundred guests at the resort suffering from food poisoning—if anyone dies, it'll be a murder charge, and I'll be the one to take the fall," Alex replied with a cold laugh.

Howard's eyes narrowed, and anger flashed across his face. He knew Rick's brothers had to be involved in this.

Alex closed the file in front of him and instructed Howard, "Send someone to the hospital to reassure the victims and their families. Tell them the company will cover all medical expenses and bring some gifts as a gesture of goodwill. Ignore any questions from reporters and have the police get involved."

"Got it," Howard said, turning on his heel and leaving the office.

On the sofa, Mark quickly closed his game, his face filled with worry as he looked over at Alex. He had overheard Howard and Alex's conversation.

"Don't worry, it's not a big deal," Alex reassured him with a smile, motioning for Mark to come over.

Without hesitation, Mark hurried over to Alex's desk and climbed into his lap.

Alex pulled him close, kissing him gently. 

"It's not the time for this! How can you think about kissing me right now?" Mark said, exasperated. How could Alex be so calm?

"Just a little kiss," Alex said with a chuckle, kissing him again.

Mark's frustration grew. Seriously, now is not the time for this!

What Mark didn't know was that Alex was waiting for someone. And sure enough, just then, the door was flung open with a bang as his uncle, Lucas, stormed in.

"Alex, how can you be sitting here holding your wife when there's a crisis going on?" Lucas shouted angrily as he marched up to the desk, pointing a finger at Alex.

Mark was startled and immediately tried to climb off Alex's lap, but Alex held him in place, his arm firmly around Mark's waist.

Why is he still holding onto me in this situation? Mark thought in disbelief, struggling to get free, but Alex wouldn't let go.

"Let me go!" Mark whispered urgently, giving Alex a frustrated shove.

"Be good, love. Let me handle this," Alex said, ruffling Mark's hair and planting a quick kiss on his lips.

Mark rolled his eyes so hard they nearly got stuck. He was trying to get off so Alex could deal with this properly, not because he wanted to!

Seeing Alex completely ignoring him, Lucas's fury only grew. "You've lost all respect, Alex! How dare you ignore your elders?"

"Ignore you?" Alex scoffed, his tone mocking as he looked at Lucas standing on the other side of the desk. "Since when did you have the right to barge into my office without knocking?"

"You—" Lucas began, but he faltered, unable to come up with a retort.

This damn kid, how is he so calm? He must already know about the resort incident—Howard just left, so he must have informed him. But why is he so composed in the face of such a major issue?

"My father was just concerned and wanted to check on you. How could you be so ungrateful?" Isaac, who had followed Lucas into the office, snapped at Alex, stepping in to defend his father.

"Did I give you permission to speak?" Alex's eyes narrowed dangerously as he turned his gaze on Isaac, his voice cutting like a blade.

Isaac immediately shrank back, retreating behind Lucas with his head lowered, his hands trembling slightly.

Damn it, why is this guy always so terrifying? Isaac had thought this would be a good opportunity to give Alex a hard time, but one look from Alex was enough to send him running for cover.

Seeing his son cower so easily, Lucas was livid. Both his sons were spineless, unable to stand up to Alex.

Lucas clenched his fists, his teeth grinding together as he glared at Alex. He had come here to use the resort incident to give Alex a dressing down, to show him who was boss. But instead of getting the upper hand, he was left speechless.

"Is there anything else?" Alex asked coldly, his presence intimidating.

"You arrogant brat! Don't think you can hold onto the CEO position for long. Let's see how you handle this resort mess," Lucas spat, his voice filled with venom as he turned on his heel and stormed out, trying to maintain his dignity but clearly fleeing with his tail between his legs.

Isaac hesitated for a moment, glaring at Alex as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he slunk out after his father without a word.

Mark watched the whole exchange in stunned silence. They came in ready to attack, but left with their tails between their legs?

He looked at Alex, curiosity brimming in his eyes. "Was your uncle behind this?"

"Most likely involved. Otherwise, he wouldn't have shown up so quickly," Alex replied with a smile.

"Are they insane? Teaming up with others to bring you down—do they really hate you that much?" Mark asked, incredulous and ready to curse them all, though he stopped short, not wanting to offend Alex by insulting his family.

"To my uncle, my father and I are the enemy. To him, there's no such thing as family loyalty," Alex said with a bitter laugh.

Mark didn't fully understand the complexities of the Dupont family and didn't really want to delve into it.

"So you know who's behind this, and that's why you're so calm?" Mark asked, looking intently at Alex's face as he sat comfortably on Alex's lap.

"Once I get the

 evidence of who's behind the poisoning, they'll be the ones held accountable," Alex explained.

So that's why he's so calm. After all, he didn't do it, Mark thought, beginning to understand.

"Love..." Alex suddenly said, his arms tightening around Mark's waist as he gave him a mischievous grin.

Mark immediately sensed that something was off. Whenever Alex called him that way, it usually meant trouble.

"What do you want?" Mark asked, immediately on guard.

Without saying a word, Alex lifted Mark and placed him on the desk.

Mark knew Alex was up to no good and kicked him in the shin. "You're out of your mind! Get lost!"

Damn this guy. We're in the office—why can't he just focus on his work? Mark thought, exasperated.