The Platonic Trap novel Chapter 49

High up in the auditorium, the stage lights spotlighted the podium, illuminating the broad, powerful lines of the man's shoulders.

Alistair had always been meticulous about his public image, and in settings like this, his attire was ruthlessly immaculate and imposing.

Tall, commanding, and dressed to kill, his eyes settled firmly on the girl sitting dead center in the front row.

Ken had informed him earlier that she wanted to attend the lecture, which was why he had authorized her VIP entry.

Likely due to her dance performance later that afternoon, her makeup was slightly bolder than usual.

It wasn't overdone, but it made her strikingly radiant, allowing her to instantly outshine everyone in the massive room.

The young woman looked up, her shimmering eyes locking onto his without breaking contact.

She tilted her head and offered him a brilliant smile.

Alistair's expression remained entirely unreadable as he finally looked away.

The deafening applause slowly tapered off.

Standing at the apex of the room, Alistair gave a brief, authoritative nod. "Good morning. I am Alistair Zucker, from the Zucker Corporation."

It was the briefest introduction imaginable, yet the thousands of eyes glued to the titan held nothing but absolute reverence and awe.

Alistair was the ultimate personification of wealth and power.

As a leviathan in both the political and corporate arenas, he almost never made appearances at public academic events. His presence at Capital University had sent shockwaves throughout the entire Capital!

Today's lecture focused on macroeconomic trends and high-level corporate finance.

Unlike other self-important billionaires who used podiums to brag about their resumes and turn lectures into autobiographical vanity projects, Alistair used granular, real-world case studies to effortlessly deconstruct complex financial phenomena.

Celia had originally only planned to show up to flaunt her VIP status and remind him of her existence, but as he spoke, she found herself genuinely captivated and frantically taking mental notes.

Standing by the wings, Ken immediately prepared to intercept.

His boss despised discussing his private life in public forums.

But before Ken could step onto the stage, Alistair answered in a flat, deeply composed voice, "My professional obligations are too demanding. I have no time to consider such matters."

"T-Then... what is your ideal type in a partner?" the girl pushed, clearly unwilling to give up.

"Apologies," Ken finally materialized at the front of the stage, cutting her off with a polite but iron-clad finality. "Mr. Zucker's personal life is not open for discussion today. Please restrict your questions to professional topics."

The girl looked crushed. She hastily mumbled a generic finance question and sat back down, completely deflated.

"Alright, alright. Since we are running short on time, let's take one final question from the audience."

The host seamlessly smoothed over the awkwardness, gesturing for Alistair to make his final pick.