The Platonic Trap novel Chapter 97

When it came to the same mistake, Alistair did not tolerate his subordinates messing up twice.

The first time the data was reported incorrectly, Alistair was angry but didn't actually blow up at the executives. He succinctly provided a solution and ordered them to fix it. But this was their second strike.

Tapping his right hand rhythmically against the desk, Alistair reached out and unmuted the meeting microphone.

"Mr. Miller—"

"Uncle Alistair..."

Another soft, sweet voice chimed in right beside him.

Caught completely off guard, the words Alistair had prepared caught in his throat, and he froze for a second.

Celia was holding her laptop, seemingly ready to show him her revised speech.

She heard Alistair's voice too, her eyes widening as she realized she might have "messed up." She froze in place, not daring to say another word.

In the virtual meeting room, the moment they heard that woman's voice, the executives held their breath. The room fell dead silent!

Attending the meeting, Ken's eyes also went wide with shock when he heard Ms. Stafford's voice!

—How did Ms. Stafford's voice get broadcasted over the mic!?

Clearing his throat, Ken unmuted himself and naturally took over the conversation. "Mr. Miller, your data presentation doesn't seem to follow the required format at all."

In front of the computer, Alistair muted his microphone, letting Ken handle the situation.

He turned his head slightly to look at the young woman beside him.

With her eyes wide, Celia blinked at the man as he turned to her, tilting her head with an inquiring look, still too scared to speak.

Her hair was a little loose. Even pinned up with the wooden clip, a few stray strands had fallen down.

Alistair looked at her and let out a soft chuckle. "It's fine."

Through one earbud, Ken's voice hosting the meeting filtered in, followed by the continuing data reports from the other executives.

Alistair turned to look at her. The scent of her body wash, mixed with her signature lily of the valley, drifted toward him without warning.

The fragrance was incredibly faint, but in the woody scent of the study, that subtle floral note was overwhelmingly distinct.

"Regarding next quarter, our plan is to achieve a customer retention rate of over 85% in our core categories."

"However, due to the adjustments, the probability of risk will increase by five percentage points."

"For profit conversion, we've prepared several risk-hedging scenarios in advance and need Mr. Zucker's further instructions."

The reporting voice in the earbud paused, waiting for Alistair's response.

"I've rarely spoken on stage before, so I'm a little worried about tomorrow's speech."

Outside the earbud, the young woman's soft and sweet voice spoke, looking at Alistair with genuine eagerness to learn. "Uncle Alistair, you're so amazing. Could you teach me how to calm my nerves?"