Chapter 300

Kurtis’s business covered all sorts of things, so aphrodisiacs were nothing new to him. He instantly realized, “Someone has spiked this room with a love potion.”

“Isn’t this your turf?” Bowen retorted. He was no stranger to such schemes and had taken counteragents before. While they couldn’t completely block the effects, at least they kept him from losing his mind entirely.

It clearly wasn’t Kurtis’s first time dealing with a setup like this. Bowen’s kick jolted him back to his senses, and without hesitation, he bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, using the sharp pain to snap himself awake.

However, Aubree was different. No matter how much she’d endured in her past life, her current body was still too delicate, completely defenseless against such a potent drug.

With her last shred of sanity, Aubree huddled into a tight ball, gritting her teeth fiercely to keep herself from lunging at anyone nearby.

Under the influence of the aphrodisiac, desire clouded all reason. It was impossible to tell who was who, or even whether they were male or female. Otherwise, Kurtis wouldn’t have lunged at Bowen in the first place.

All three of them were now in grave danger here.

“It is my place,” Kurtis admitted with a sigh, “but I never expected someone could get their hands in here.” Since it was a party dinner, many of his artists were on board the cruise ship to set the mood. Naturally, every detail in the private room–the lighting, the scents–had been carefully designed for the occasion. That’s why Kurtis didn’t notice anything amiss when he entered the private room.

Bowen suddenly cut in, his voice tense. “Wait, the footsteps.”

“We’ve been set up,” Bowen said tersely. There was no time for arguments now. If their current situation got exposed, it would hurt all of them. For Aubree, a young woman, the fallout would be devastating.

Bowen scooped Aubree up in his arms. “I’ll take Bree to hide in the restroom. You hold them off out here.”

Kurtis let out a wry smile and thought, ‘The guy really thinks highly of me. I was never a saint to begin with, and now, in this state…’ Anyway, Kurtis said, “I’ll do my best.”

The instant the bathroom door shut, Kurtis snatched the wine glass from the table, dousing himself with half its contents before smashing the remainder, glass and all, onto the floor.

He crossed his legs tightly, desperately trying to conceal the surging desire coursing through him. He ripped off his tie and, gritting his teeth, even punched himself square in the face.

The door burst open. Kurtis glared at them, his eyes bloodshot with rage. “Get the hell out!”

He looked every bit like a man driven to fury by an untimely interruption, a plausible explanation for his current disheveled state.

A pack of reporters barged in.

Those people were nothing but rabid dogs in human guise. Once they caught the scent of a story, they would sink their teeth in and never let go.

The group of people visibly hesitated, thrown off by the unexpected scene before them.

‘Isn’t this supposed to be a juicy scandal with two guys and a girl? Why does it look more like a brawl just broke out instead of, well… that kind of thing?’ they thought.

Kurtis muttered, “Why doesn’t a passionate affair count as a fight?”

Among these reporters were Alice’s plants. While most journalists of Kroit City still held some fear toward Kurtis, Alice’s people had no such reservations. They were there specifically to stir up trouble.

A reporter squeezed forward, voice sharp and eager. “Mr. Carr, rumor has it you were seen in the main hall getting along famously with Ms. Aubree and Mr. Turner from Rithol City. Is it true the three of you are planning a powerful alliance to shake up the business world?”

“Are you fucking blind, you idiot? Which eye of yours saw me getting all chummy with Bowen? Mocking someone counts as a friendly chat now?” Kurtis snarled. His public image was already less than stellar, but it was rare for him to curse so openly in front of the media.

Honestly, just keeping his composure to play along with this charade was already pushing him to his limit. Expecting him to put on a polite front on top of that was downright cruel.

Kurtis snarled, “Get the hell out already!”

Acting as if he hadn’t heard a word, the lead reporter pressed on, “Mr. Carr, was there some sort of conflict?”